confined ;; phan

pt. ii

PLAYLIST
dear happy by dodie clark
save yourself by kaleo

the catalyst.

missy howell sits behind a pane of bulletproof glass with a clunky telephone in her small hand. she ponders briefly about the glass; asking herself, who are they protecting? me or the inmates?

and then phil lester collapses into the chair on the other side of the glass barrier. he smiles at her. she smiles back, showcasing her signature dimples.

missy knows next to nothing about why she's been asked to visit this man today. she's certain it's to do with her little brother- but she doesn't like to jump to conclusions.

"you must be missy," phil lester says quietly into the receiver.

his voice is soft and timid and missy grows speechless as she nods in reply, long brunette locks flicking around her shoulders.

"i wish i could have dressed up a little for this occasion," phil chuckles weakly. "but this is my best jumpsuit."

the orange suit is worn and patched in odd places. missy doesn't mind. he speaks enough for both of them.

the girl racks her brain for things to say but only a few pathetic words come from her lips;

"is this about dan?"

phil winces but nods. "i-"

"wait!" she blurts, near dropping the phone back onto the table. "i don't want to know yet. can we talk about something else for a while?"

the older boy nods quickly, clearing his throat to prevent the tears spilling from his eyes. he's cried enough the last two weeks.

"what do you do for a living?" she asks.

"well," phil frowns. "i had been working part time at a convenience store before taking a gap year with my friend chris."

missy smiles, feeling suddenly relax. she leans back in the chair. "that's when you met dan?"

"yep. i had been passing through when we sort of just bumped into each other. literally."

missy laughs and phils heart stops; she's unbelievably similar to dan.

"you fell in love?"

phil sucks in a breath. "i t-think so, y-yes."

"how long ago did you meet?"

he counts backwards in his head. "about 4 years."

it's silent for a few minutes after that. but it's content and peaceful, meaning neither of them really mind.

"what makes you happy?" she asks, eyes closed with her head against the back of the chair.

phil raises his eyebrows, letting out a small chuckle. "um, the beach. and eating watermelon. new shampoo. dogs are pretty nice."

"how long is your sentence?"

"ten years."

"what are you gonna do when you get out?"

"go to the beach, probably."

they both laugh softly.

"okay." missy sits up abruptly, clutching the phone with white knuckles. "go."

phil has dreaded the words that are about the leave his lips. "i can't say it."

she swallows thickly. "i will never believe it if i don't hear it from you."

a tear spills down his cheek. "dan is dead."

she closes her eyes as tears slip down her pale cheeks in runnels. her shoulders shake as she cries silently.

"it hurts because i never took the time to be his sister," she sobs. "i mean, w-when we were kids, we used to p-play and shit. but not after that. after i moved out, that-t was it."

phil wishes he could hug her.

"i didn't know anything about my baby brother and n-now he's gone. it's too fucking late to be his sister anymore!" she yells, trying desperately to wipe away her incessant tears.

"it's not too late," phil says pathetically.

she looks up at him with tired eyes. "was he a good man, phil?"

the newspaper report reads behind his eyes. the headline is tattooed on the inside of his eyelids.

MASS MURDERER SENTENCED TO LIFE

dan howell, 24, best-known for his unmistakable sexual behaviour, was sentenced to life in prison after being arrested two days ago in front of his home.

whilst being suspected of numerous first-degree murders, he was finally caught red handed for the murder of much-loved officer, ginny prescott.

once in custody, howell admitted to many other unsolved murder cases as well as illegal firearm possession, drug abuse and possession, assault and prostitution.

he openly told police that he had brutally bashed officer ginny to death with a brick to the head after a fight with the officer and his 'secret' boyfriend, phil lester.

he also openly explained the murder of recluse, pj ligouri. he admitted to shooting the man once in the head with a six canister hand gun. howell later explained that this was this same gun that was used to kill many other innocent civilians, such as businessman, father and husband, vance arthur.

"nobody thought so," phil admits honestly, pausing briefly. "but i knew he was."

a/n
we are nearing the end folks