Broken Windows // Phan AU

Chapter Three: Awake and Asleep

Dan is sprawled out on the sofa in my living room wearing a pair of sweatpants and old T-shirt of mine. I'm lying on a recliner next to the sofa. We're watching sitcoms on the TV, eating popcorn, and drinking cola. After Dan's breakdown, I decided to give him some more comfortable clothes and take him downstairs to calm down and get his mind off of things.

I've essentially accepted the fact that Dan will be staying for at least another day. I don't know exactly how long I plan on letting him stay here, but right now, I'm too tired to think it through. The exhaustion from my nearly sleepless night is catching up to me quickly. I can hardly focus on the show we're watching as my eyelids droop lower and lower. I probably shouldn't fall asleep while Dan is free to roam about the house... What if he steals a bunch of my things and then leaves...?

I won't fall asleep. I'll just shut my eyes for a moment...

~~~

My eyes fly open. Did I fall asleep? The TV is still on, playing a strange commercial for a home security system. The clock below reads 2:26 A.M. There's no way that can be right. It wasn't even noon yet when I fell asleep. The clock is surely way off. The sky from my view of the window is cloudy, gloomy, and dark, but not nighttime dark. I look to my right at the sofa, and my heart drops to my stomach as I realize Dan isn't there. Where could he have gone?

"Dan?" I call as I get up to look for him. "Dan! Where are you?"

I peek down into the basement. No sign of Dan, but Nuki is down there running in circles and chasing his tail. When he sees me, he starts barking wildly. What has gotten into him? Suddenly he runs up the stairs right past me and into the hallway. I chase after him, following him to the closet where Dan had hidden earlier. Nuki starts barking and scratching at the closet door. I'm afraid to know what's behind it.

The second I touch the handle on the door, it bursts open and hits me straight on, but oddly enough, I don't feel any pain upon its impact. Maybe I'm too distracted by the dark figure lunging at me from behind it. Dan rams himself into my body, knocking me over before I scramble to my feet again in a panic. Nuki has somehow disappeared from the scene as his viscous barks are nowhere in earshot.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shout as Dan locks eyes with me, preparing for another attack.

"I'm trying to kill you, son of a bitch!" He hurls his body toward me once again, but I dodge the impact and take off down the hallway. I run for the front door and make it outside, sprinting out onto the front lawn as Dan chases me at full speed.

I rush over to Louise's house and bang frantically on her front door, begging her to let me in as Dan draws nearer.

"Louise, help me! Come on, let me in!"

When I turn around, my heart stops. Dan is standing directly behind me on Louise's porch holding the steak knife from my kitchen. When I try to run past him, it feels as though my legs have turned to lead. I can hardly move. This can't be real.

When I turn and look directly at Dan's face, his mouth is pulled up at the corners in an eerie grin. I didn't notice before, but it's pouring down rain all around us. Somehow I'm completely dry.

Dan raises the knife up over his head like a psychopath, a crazed look in his eyes. I close my eyes and cover my face with my hands, bracing myself. I wait for the sharp, biting pain. I wait... but it doesn't come.

~~~

When I finally open my eyes, I'm no longer standing in the middle of Louise's front porch in the pouring rain. I'm lying on the recliner in my living room just as I was before, the dim glow of the TV illuminating the room. Dan is lying on the sofa to my right, looking at me casually but curiously.