Just Close Your Eyes (Phan)

Chapter 6

Two months later

Martyn had asked me to count the money we had made today, while he checked what he should order for next week. We had sold a lot this week, since it was Christmas in a few weeks and people were already looking for presents. Phil was in the back too, preparing hot chocolate or coffee for all of us. It was a habit we had developed in the first week after I signed the contract. After closing time, we would talk about whatever was in life around that time. I barely contributed to the conversation, but I loved to listen to Phil talk about what had happened at the university he was currently studying at. We had come pretty close in the last two months and I couldn't imagine anymore what life had been like when he hadn't been in it.

The bell tinkled and I looked up. It was almost closing time and I hadn't really expected anyone to come in anymore. But the moment I looked up and saw who had just come in, I froze. I couldn't move anymore, I was completely paralyzed and my heart sped up as if I had just run a marathon.

My hunters had just come into the shop. And I couldn't escape. They were between me and the front door, and if I wanted to use the door in the back, I'd have to go through the kitchen and the living room. They would follow me and Phil and Martyn were there... I couldn't do that. It would be the same as killing them myself, probably.

'Hey Dan,' the big blond one, Steven, said. 'Long time not see.'

I swallowed, registering he still knew my name. Until this very moment, I regretted ever telling them it. Not that I could have known back then.

It had been one of the first days of secondary school and our teacher had told us to make groups and get to know each other. Steven and David had already known each other, but Jesse and I didn't know anyone in our new class.

'Hi,' Jesse had said awkwardly to me. 'Do you know anyone in this class?'

'Nope,' I had said, smiling a bit because I didn't look like I didn't have any friends anymore. It had been true, I didn't, but nobody needed to know that.

'Wanna form a group together?'

'Yeah, sure.'

The teacher had put us and Steven and David together, since we were told to make groups of 4. We had quickly become friends after that. But I should've known friendship wasn't enough. When my parents had thrown me out, on my 18th birthday, I had called Jesse. I didn't know what else to do.

'Hi Dan! Happy birthday!' With those words he had picked up the phone, although he sounded like he had just woken up. Which wasn't weird, because it had been 7 in the morning. He always woke up around a time like that, getting ready for school. So I hadn't felt guilty about it. 'Hi Jesse. Could you please look up the nearest doctor to my house?'

'What is it? Has something happened?'

'My parents threw me out, but it's kind of urgent.' That was an understatement. I had been fighting to stay conscious, trying to ignore the everything-consuming pain in my back. 'I need that doctor's address.'

'You need me to pick you up and bring you there?'

'That'd be great. I'm in the small park at the end of my street.' I had dragged myself there, but I couldn't get any further. Hopefully nobody came into the park this early in the morning, otherwise they'd see me and the wounds on my back would immediately tell them something had happened to me. And I didn't want their attention, explaining everything to Jesse would be hard enough.

'I'm there in 5 minutes,' he said and hung up.

When he arrived, I couldn't move anymore. My small walk/crawl had taken all of my energy and I had ripped open the wounds on my back again. My shirt was soaked in my own blood, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. He had to carry me to his car and drove as fast as he could to the nearest hospital. I knew I wasn't his best friend, he had always preferred Steven, but he had been my saviour back then.