Take me to church (Book 1)

30- Conclusion

Being younger, Phil always had a thing for going outside and adventuring. He remembers it all as if it was painted permanently around him on every surface.

When his mum was alive, she would allow him to wonder off into the nearby woods. He'd stay there, just climbing trees and finding deer for hours.
As long as he came back in time for church and the evening prayer, then his father couldn't object.

Although he always said that he's never had a friend before, there was one friend who he made in the woods one time.

Whilst trying to make his own tire swing, Phil came across another little boy of his age in the stream. That little boy he soon spoke to and found his name was Damian. Damian had distinctive strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, he was tall and lanky but cute and funny.

Damian became Phil's first friend.

Everyday Phil would go and meet Damian in the woods. They'd talk for hours and play in the trees and bushes, hiding, laughing and being children.

One day Damian kissed Phil on the cheek. It had a weird feeling arise in Phil's stomach, butterflies and sparrows dancing in circles. It was nice and Phil kissed Damian back on the cheek-- they then held hands until the sun was setting and Phil had to go home.

That night Phil told his father and mother about Damian and the kisses on the cheeks. His father got angry and shouted. His mother tried to calm the vicar but in the end, she couldn't stop him from hurting her baby boy.

Phil fell asleep that night with bruises and marked skin. His muscles hurt and his face was damp with tears.

After a few days he went back to the woods to find Damian. He wasn't there.
He then went the three days following and on each of those days, Damian wasn't there.
Soon reality kicked in that Damian wasn't real. He was a person Phil made up to cure his loneliness and discovery. No real person would be friends with Phil, so he made his own friend.
But his father took that friend away by beating the innocence and wild thoughts of a child.

~
Phil lays in PJ's bed, the covers pulled up to his neck as his eyes stare at the blank white wall. His mind casting back to those events as a child.

Damian was much like Dan. He was sweet, caring and funny. He was perfectly imperfect. That's the motto that Phil seems to go by. No one is ever going to be perfect for you, but if you take their flaws and make it so they're more than just flaws and negatives, they become perfect imperfections. Phil doesn't want to lose Dan like he lost Damian. At least he knows this friend is real and that he won't just disappear as easily.

After last nights run in with Charlie in the alley, Chris had picked Phil up and took him back to PJ's.
PJ wouldn't shut up and stop apologising about how he should've went with Phil. The poor lad was nearly more a wreck than Phil himself was.

PJ let Phil have his room and the church boy didn't argue because he was tired, and he just wanted to sleep.

He's not sure whether Chris stayed or not last night. But by the sounds of whispering downstairs and the slight clatter of cups, it seems he did.

The morning sun's weak warmth taps the church boy's shoulder as it peeps through the gap in the curtains. The room is a slight orange but it's soothing. Especially with the birds singing softly.

Phil sits himself up and runs his hand through his hair. It's not greasy so he can manage not having another shower today. He had one yesterday anyway.

He pick's up his glasses and checks his phone, gasping when spotting a missed call from the police station. They sent him a qualified text though, something that he didn't know police even did but it's to say they have the final confirmation of Dans release.
That was a quick decision and Phil can't tell whether that's a good thing or not.