You're Driving Me Crazy - Phan

Chapter 10

"Phil I'm home!" Dan yelled from the door as he kicked off his shoes uncaringly. He didn't receive a reply. It wasn't unusual for Phil to ignore him, especially if he was 'in the zone' while doing some sort of seemingly unimportant activity. Nevertheless, Dan couldn't help but think that something was a little off. The apartment was drowning in silence, only getting a chance to breathe when Dan himself breathed. The further Dan walked into the apartment, the more he began to speculate the worst until he was convinced his home had been invaded by aliens like the ones he used to make with his food.

"Phil! Your scaring me!" A brief thought passed through Dan's head as he called out for his boyfriend. Is this how Phil felt the night he came home? I most of never answer him then. Ignoring it completely, though subconsciously agreeing with him self, he walked into the lounge then their bedroom, next the kitchen followed by the office. After all other possible rooms were checked, Dan stood outside the bathroom door. The door had been jammed shut. Taking in a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm him self, Dan raised his fist to the door. "Phil! Phil are you in there? Are you alright?" What started off as a gentle knock turned into frantic pounding. It really was a miracle that Dan didn't punch though the door, not that he would of cared if he had. His mind had taken him to a very different place that he wasn't at all happy in. As expected, Phil didn't answer. Obviously Dan wasn't going to give up. Stepping back from the door, he rammed his shoulder into the wood until it swung open sending him tumbling after it.

Ahead of him was a sight he really didn't want to see. It wasn't like he was unprepared for it because as soon as he figured out that Phil was in the bathroom, he knew exactly what had happened. Well, maybe not exactly. There were two possibilities: Phil was bleeding out on their bathroom floor or he hadn't eaten and had collapsed. The second possibility (although still very horrible) was definitely the better of the two and much to Dan's relief, also the true one. Quickly yet as gently as he could, Dan knelt down next to Phil. Slowly and even more gentle than before, Dan tilted Phil's head back while looking for a pulse. He had a pulse. He was breathing. He was alive. One Dan had done everything he had to do to help Phil medically, he suddenly realised just what was happening. He had yet even more proof that he had failed Phil. Nowhere in the definition of save did it mention ignorance leading to the near death of the person or persons being saved. However it would certainly make Dan's life easier if it did.

Panic began to rise in him. Not knowing what to do next when even his breath had left him stranded, he pulled out his phone from deep inside his pocket. Dan took longer than he wanted to find someone who could help as his whole body had began to shake. It had been a while since his last panic attack. Crumbling to the floor in a surrendering manner, he put the phone to his ear and spoke. "L-Louise h-help. Phil, Phil he and and-" Dan tried to form some kind of understandable phrase but when Louise didn't reply he realised he hadn't said anything useful at all.
"Dan what's happening? Talk slowly and calmly okay?" Dan paused to take in a few deep breaths before trying to explain the situation to Louise once more.
"Phil, he's, Phil's passed out and I don't know what to do and I don't know if he's okay and I'm scared Lou!" His voice got progressively higher as he cried out the sentence in one breath. Louise clearly wasn't expecting the answer she got but tried to continue calmly.
"Okay just try and stay calm for me got it? I'm on my way now, just keep talking to me okay?" Dan hummed in agreement although it was mostly just to prove that he was still there and able to understand Louise. Seemingly undeterred, Louise continued to ask Dan a series of questions which she got very short and sharp replies for. "Is he breathing? Does he have a pulse?"
"Yes."
"Have you called an ambulance?"
"No." Louise quickly fixed that, somehow persuading her cab driver to let her borrow his phone so she didn't have to hang up on Dan to talk to the emergency services. "He's so pale Lou." Dan kept muttering over and over all while Louise herself was trying to tell a nice, calm lady Dan's address. It looked (and sounded) like a very odd sene. The cab driver seemed clearly thought that as well because he kept looking in his mirror to check on his frantic cargo.

It took about fifteen minutes for Louise to get reach her destination and she did so at the same time as the ambulance she had phoned. Out of politeness, Louise thanked her cab driver, giving him his phone back as well as a hefty tip. Before the man could thank her, she was running up the stairs far away from him. She was swiftly followed by the paramedics who, despite their quick pace, were calm and collective as if they didn't really care about Phil's health. Of course, they did care really but it's always best to stay calm in situations like that. The paramedics went upstairs to look over Phil while Louise went over to Dan, hugging him firmly in an attempt to calm him down. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Louise realised that she had a long night in front of her.

Louise and Dan sat in unwanted silence. Dan hadn't spoken since he had phoned Louise at least five hours ago. Louise knew exactly why the man sitting next to her was drowning himself in his own silence, he blamed himself. He blamed himself for not noticing, for not being there in time, for not being able to look after the person he loved more than anyone. Obviously none of that was really Dan's fault so Louise, being the supportive friend, told him just that. "Dan please, it isn't your fault. Don't beat yourself up over this." Louise, with two smooth fingers, gently turned Dan's head to face her. Ever since she had been allowed to see Phil, the young man she was with had stared intently at his boyfriend laying on the hospital bed. Louise looked down at Phil then over at Dan. What had happened to her boys?

Through the curtains there shone no sunlight. The outside world had no golden tint left to spill through into the room. It didn't exactly fill either of the pair with that fuzzy sweet feeling that the day would be happy. Full of sunshine? Maybe, it was hard to tell. But the pair didn't see the sun coming through their curtains as a nice, cheesy way to wake up, it just informed them that the hospital, indeed had bought thicker curtains. They weren't as nice as anyone thought they'd be.