Rumor Mill - Phil

Chapter 11

I blink myself awake. The room is mostly white, a suspiciously fake looking potted plant in the corner and a television bolted to the wall. I'm in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital. I remember all too quickly. I'm in a hospital because four guys attempted to beat me to death, and Dan Howell saved my life before they could do so. My left arm is in a sling, and I wince when I try to move it, the mix of numbness and fiery pain making me clench my jaw involuntarily.

I look farther to the right, a strain when I know I probably shouldn't move my torso too much, and I see my mother curled up on the seat beside me, sleeping shallowly.

I consider letting her sleep, but I know she would rather me tell her I'm awake and alright than wait for her to wake and let her know she's been oblivious that I've been fine for however long. 

"Mum?" I whisper, and she jolts awake, her eyes slightly disoriented before focusing on me. She nearly falls from her chair to kneel next to my bed, gripping onto the hospital gown I'm wearing with one hand and frantically placing a hand on my forhead as if I might have a fever. I smile weakly at her, and she smiles back, replacing her hand with her kiss. 

"Phil," she says gently, a restraint in her voice. "Thank god." 

Tim appears in the doorway, eyes tired and dull, but when we lock eyes his face lights up, and he rushes to the ground next to my mother, latching onto my hand with a strong grip and squeezing. 

"I'm so happy you're alright, son. Don't worry. They took him into custody." Tim smiles reassuringly, but I nearly bolt upright before the pain in my abdomen throws me back down. 

"He who? What do you mean he?" I rasp desperately, turning wildly towards my mother. 

"Dan. He's the one who hurt you, isn't he?" she says, her eyebrows dropping low. "They found him with you. He literally had blood on his hands."

"No!" I nearly shout. "No, no, no." 

"Phil?" Tim says softly. "Did Dan hurt you?"

"No." I shake my head gently, my body suddenly restless. They had arrested Dan. They had arrested Dan. I let go of Tim's hand and latch onto my mother's arm. "Mum, Dan saved my life. It was a group of guys that hurt me, guys from school who had been bullying me. Dan took a punch for me, he told them to never touch me again, then he called the ambulance for me and kept me awake in case I had a concussion. Mum, you have to get them to let him go. You have to--" I'm hyperventilating, my heart beating uncontrollably, and a nurse enters, placing a hand on each of my parents' shoulders and whispering that it's time for them to leave. They stand in resignation, my mum pressing one more kiss to my forehead before following Tim dutifully out of the room. 

The nurse is kind, kneeling in place of my parents and smiling with a sad undertone to her eyes. "Phil, do you want to hear how you're injured? So you can know how long your recovery will be?" I nod weakly, dropping my eyes to the bed in front of me. She pats my hand and stands, unhooking a clipboard from the end of my bed. 

"You have a few broken ribs, which is why your side is hurting so much, you nearly had a broken nose, but luckily enough whoever hurt you didn't hit you with enough force there, although you were bleeding a lot. Your arm was broken too, which is probably obvious from the sling. But you had a lot of internal bleeding, which is what made your state so dangerous. But, you're going to be ok, and you'll be released in a few days, we think. You'll see a lot of bruising, although when you were examined, we noticed a lot of older bruises." I stare at her with wide eyes. I had never told anyone about my frequent bullying. I didn't want my family to know and try to intervene. 

"Another thing, Phil." The nurse's eyes flit to my forearm and my stomach drops. Of course they saw my self-harm cuts. They had to check for any injuries. "The wounds on your arm are not from the beating you received. It seems like a blade caused them." Her cavalier, nearly robotic presentation of this fact makes my heart pound. "If you don't mind, not right now, but soon, while you're still here with us, we would like for you to talk to our counselor here. Just once. Will that be alright?"