Phil's POV
Whew. Just another casual day walking outside, nothing to see here, definitely not trying to avoid my ex, who seems to have a new boyfriend. Great.
So much for taking advantage of the sunny day and going for a walk. Sure, the grass was green, the sky was blue, the park I was walking through beautiful in the sun, but my insides were churning.
I walked a bit faster, just trying to make it back to my flat before I'm spotted. I wasn't really in the mood to endure meeting Mr. Cool Guy. What did he have that I don't anyway?
Oh no. Oh no. They're getting closer. I pushed my hair out of my eyes, gulping.
I had to find a way out. I looked around at the tree-covered expanse of the park and decided I had to do what I had to do.
I had to climb the nearest tree.
I mean, it was that or public humiliation. So I ran to the nearest tree with a foothold I could get to. I hoisted myself up, cursing myself for not deciding to actually work out like I had promised myself I would start doing. With a grunt that probably shook the tree, I pulled myself into the branches.
It was only then that I noticed that I had picked the smallest and probably least sturdy tree in the entire area. The branch I was standing on groaned with my weight, and I whispered a quiet 'sorry!' to it and shushed it.
But I rationalised that, hey, I wouldn't be up here for much longer. The pair had almost passed, so I held my breath as they walked under the branches of the wimpy tree I stood in. Thank goodness this tree at least had a lot of leaves, so hopefully nobody could really see me.
The branch continued to make noise, obviously not able to hold my weight very well.
"Alright, alright, I'm getting down, give me a second," I whispered to the tree.
Then I realized I was a grown man standing in a tree whispering to it. Way to keep up the image, Phil.
I was figuring out a way to get down without being spotted or causing any commotion when I saw this guy start in my direction.
It was evident that he had been stood up, I had noticed him sitting on a bench as I speedwalked away from my broken heart. I actually found him pretty attractive, but I was a bit too busy to dwell on the thought..
He had brown hair, straightened and swept to the side, and wore a black shirt and skinny jeans.
That only reminded me of how much of a bad idea it was to wear skinny jeans today, since I had ended up in a tree.
He got close to the tree, and I didn't see anyone else around, so I started making my plan.
Okay, Phil, you're just going to wait until he passes, and then you're going to step on that branch and-
It all happened in a second. The branch that had been complaining as I stood on it finally snapped, and gravity forced me to the ground at the most perfectly imperfect moment- right as the guy was under me.
As I fell, a surprised yell escaped me, and some words I won't repeat escaped his mouth as our bodies collided.
I got myself up, uselessly attempting to brush some of the grass off me. He lay face down, and a toxic jumble of nervousness and apologeticness overwhelmed me. I would rather have confronted my ex.
"OhmygoshIamsosorryareyouokay?!?" escaped my mouth, and I was amazed to find that he actually understood me.
"Oh yeah I'm totally fine, just probably have a broken arm, no big deal." His face was red with pain.
I was slightly taken aback by his sarcasm, although I guess I had just fallen on top of him. I wouldn't be the most pleasant person either.
"So, are you going to call an ambulance or are we going to sit here and talk about our feelings?"
-
I stared at the white wall of the hospital. Crap. Crap. Crap. What have I done?
I looked like a mess, I knew. Grass stains covered my jeans, and I could feel a leaf in my hair, but I honestly didn't care. This guy had not only been stood up, but then some doofus had to fall out of a tree and break his arm.
A nurse walked out of his room, and I shifted on the uncomfortable plastic chair.
"Is he going to be okay?"
She turned, and with a kind smile reassured me. "Yes, honey, your boyfriend will be just fine. You can go in and see him now."
The kind nurse lady, whose nametag read "Peg', left after I mumbled a thank you, not even bothering to correct her about the boyfriend part. She beamed another reassuring smile, probably just feeling sorry for the guy with a leaf in his hair.
I slowly picked myself up, and turned the door handle, peeking into the room.
There he was, sitting in the starchy hospital bed staring at the ceiling with a cast on each arm, his face broadcasting how much he currently hated the world and I assumed, me.
He turned at the sound of the door, and I slowly walked in.
We stared at each other, apology written all over my face. I really hoped he knew how sorry I was. There was an awkward silence until I cleared my throat and spoke up.
"Ahem. Um, hi, I'm Phil and I'm really sorry I fell on you and broke your arms. But at least you have double the room for people to sign your cast. . . " I laughed weakly, trying to lighten the situation.
His eyes softened a bit, but the rest of his face showed no change.
"Hi Phil, I'm Dan, and I'm really sorry I got out of bed today."
Ouch.
He turned over to glare at the wall, obviously not interested in talking to me.
I stood there awkwardly staring at the back of Dan's head until the doctor came in.
She walked in and cleared her throat, obviously sensing the awkwardness. "Hello, Mr. . ." She looked down at her clipboard, looking for his name, "Howell. Do you live alone?"
He raised an eyebrow, but told her that he did, in fact, live alone.
She continued, "Alright, then we are going to have," she glanced up at me, "your boyfriend here take care of you until you are able to use your arms again."
Dan immediately began protesting, and I did too, but he spoke louder. "Okay, first of all, he's not my boyfriend, and second of all, I can do just fine alone."
"Mr. Howell, you are incapable of using your arms. Either he moves in or you spend the time until they heal here in the hospital."
Dan glanced over at me, finally showing unsureity instead of sarcasm. He looked me up and down and sighed.
"I suppose he can move in."
