On The Run [phan]

twentytwo.

Phil's eyes were still heavy with sleep when he walked down the stairs to his job.  Last night was yet another flashback of nightmares, they rolled around his head like a tide crashing.  The moment it was swept away by a nice thought the next wave would come.  It drowned out everything.  Phil's heart was pounding especially quick as he bit the inside of his mouth.  Dan was in school but promised to visit him afterwords. 

Dan seemed to be the only thing to distract him from the awful memories.

There was no way he would tell Dan they affected him outside of his dreams.  No, that would put stress on Dan and there's no way Phil would be able to live with himself if he did that. 

Lifting up his shirt sleeve Phil let a finger graze the permanent art stained in his skin.  It took his breath away every time he saw it. 

It was early in the morning, the sun just rising, the air still.  Dan had stayed the night, much to his parents disagreement.  The sky outside was barely visible through a thick wall of fog.  It hung in the air, not wanting to move.  Phil always enjoyed the fog, it's as if the clouds had become too tired of flying and decided to rest. 

Nick would be in shortly, according to Dan he had taken the news lightly.   But Phil was still his jealous self and couldn't stand seeing the handsome kid with his boyfriend.  He's sure that Nick could read his negative feelings like a book but that didn't matter.  Phil couldn't care less what Nick thought of him.

Squinting his eyes Phil made out a large figure walking towards the door.

Nick is here rather early?

As it strode closer Phil's heart began to race, the mans features were coming to life as if it were a drawing. The familiar eyes, the slanted nose, curled lips. He's seen all of this before, many many times.

Phil's hands shook and his body froze. He had been running from him for months, how did he find him? How did he know where Phil was? What did he want.

His eyebrows were furred in a look of anger and excitement. Phil swallowed hard not knowing what to do, his body went numb.

The whole persona of him being a brave bad boy was crumbling at the sight of this man. Of his broad shoulders and baggy pants. Phil couldn't believe he once thought he was attractive because all he could see now was evil.

The door opened and for a moment the only thing in the air was the sound of the bell and Phil's heart. Fear welled up in his chest. The whole world seemed to freeze.

"I finally fucking found you, you shit." His voice was low and gurgled, he must be drunk.

Phil pulled a weak smile and tried to steady his hands by folding them together, with no success, "I-I-I'm s-sorry. W-w-what d-do you w-want s-s-sir." His voice was pathetic, and the man could tell.

He grunted into a laugh, "shit off. Michael, I know it's you."

The sound of Phil's real name made him almost faint. No one had called him that in what seemed like forever.

"I-I-" Phil didn't have much time before the man was charging at him, hands outstretched. He was left with only a minute for his thoughts.

He deserved this, this is what he was running from. Hiding from Dan what a true monster he was.

The mans large hands made contact with skin, pushing him to the ground. Phil fell back against the tile, shaking, heart pounding.