Stray Cat

Chapter Six

For a moment, he forgot where he was. His eyes were closed and he tensed, expecting to be hurt by someone at any moment now. But nothing happened. No blow fell, and Dan opened his eyes. There was bright yellow fabric about an inch from his nose and Dan could smell sugar, instant coffee, and Lynx deodorant. Phil.

Dan shifted to see his face. Phil had fallen asleep and his chin was resting on his chest. There was the slightest bit of dark stubble along his jaw and upper lip. His skin was pale, like he'd never seen the sun, and it contrasted nicely with his dark hair.

This was the face of the man who he had started to trust. There was something about the softness of his eyes and genuineness of his smile – Dan could tell that Phil had a gentle soul, and he couldn't imagine him doing anything violent. Phil made him feel safe, but at the same time feeling safe made Dan feel unsafe – he felt like he should be alert at all times, and like if he dropped his guard for a moment then something bad would happen. Dan sighed a closed his eyes, too exhausted to be scared anymore.

He felt Phil shift beneath him, and Dan opened his eyes again. Phil blinked bleary eyes and he reached up to rub his black eye beneath his glasses but winced at the contact. The pain seemed to rouse him to full awareness.

"Ouch, don't do that to your eye." Dan smiled when he glanced at him. "Hello, you."

Phil beamed at him. "Hello. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, thank you. Looks like I fell asleep in your lap and pinned you here. Sorry about that."

Phil shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I had a nice nap. What time is it?"

Dan sat up, scanning the room in search of a clock, but when he moved Phil pulled his cellphone from his pocket.

"Good, we didn't sleep too late. I wanted to pick up some things at the store before dinnertime, or we'll be eating tuna sandwiches for dinner again."

"Shopping? Like in a real grocery store?"

Phil laughed. "What? You're excited by the thought of a grocery store?"

"I've never picked out my own food before. I've always just had things brought to me. I do find the idea exciting, but I think it's more about what it represents. Independence, you know?"

Phil's smile faded. "Oh, Dan... you know how I mentioned that I'm broke?"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about spending all your money. I'd be happy to just join you in the store while you buy whatever. And I know how inconvenient it is that I'm here when you can't afford a houseguest. I'm going to find a way to repay you, I promise."

"It's okay." Phil retrieved his wallet from his pocket and extracted a piece of plastic. "I have a credit card. I only use it for emergencies, and this kind of counts as one. I've got just enough in my bank account to pay my rent this month – I'm a week late paying it actually. Hopefully I'll have a new job by the time my credit card bill is due."

Dan bit his lip as he hesitated, but he asked, "Phil, can I ask you how much your rent is?"

Phil was quiet for a moment, perhaps wondering why Dan wanted to know. Dan realized that maybe his question was rude. Just as he was about to tell Phil it didn't matter, he answered, "My rent is £2,000."

Dan didn't say anything as he absorbed the information. He became lost in thought.

* * *

A couple weeks ago, Dan had been told a number. He had asked for the number, even though it didn't mean anything to him at the time. He just had to know.