The Road to Heaven is Paved With Broken Glass

Chapter 6

And then reality became reality. Dan suddenly awoke, sputtering, a mask over his face. He could hear a beeping noise. Where am I? He thought as his eyes adjusted to the light above him. He was in... a hospital? No, that couldn't be right. He was dead. There was no reason he would have woken up. And he had no fear of hospitals, so why would he be in one?

He felt a pain in his neck. At first, it just seemed like a crick, but when he tried to turn his head, he couldn't. His hands moved to his throat. His neck had been placed in a brace. Of course. The crash. He must've been in a coma and all those other things had been a strange, vivid dream.

   Wait. If he was alive and in the hospital, then Phil must be somewhere too. He prayed to any god that would listen that he was okay. Or at the very least alive. Dan wanted to scream his name. He needed to know if he was okay. The pain of not knowing was worse than that of his neck.

His finger reached for the button to call for assistance. Almost instantly, a woman with a painted on smile walked in. She frightened Dan slightly, but she was his only connection to Phil.

"What can I-" she started with her perfectly rehearsed line.

"Where... is... he?" He sputtered. He was ready to run to him as soon as she said where.

"Who? The boy who was with you?"

"Yes!" Dan cried. "I need to know!" He made to sit up, but the woman shushed him and pushed him down.

   "Shhh... it's alright everything is alright." She whispered.

"No!" Dan shoved her off of him. "I need to know if he's okay."

   "I'm sorry, he um... he didn't make it."The nurse bowed her head

"He's dead?" Dan asked heartbroken. The nurse nodded solemnly. Dan's world shattered. He had lost his other half. His best friend. He couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe. He felt like a cold hand had wrapped itself around his heart.

Silent tears streamed down his face. This isn't happening. This can't be happening. The nurse was playing a cruel joke. Phil was just outside the door. Yeah, that's it. It's just a joke. An awful joke. And it wasn't funny at all.

This isn't a joke. Phil's fucking dead and you're never gonna see him again. Dan told himself. He seemed to choke on his own unsaid words. Phil was dead and there was nothing he could do. He never even got to say goodbye or tell him how he felt.