Secrets to Keep (Phan)

Chapter 23

The man's eyes traveled between the motionless boy in my lap and me, and for a second I swore my heart must've stopped. Towering over us, a smile twisted across his round stubbled face, which was shiny with sweat.

"Dan!" the giant of a man exclaimed in what sounded like relief; though his eyes seemed glassy and confused, while his entire presence reeked of peach schnapps. From down the hall I could still hear the hospital's employees shoes slapping against the linoleum flooring as they shouted after the intruder in a chaotic riot. Tears leaked silently from Dan's eyes like two faucets onto my chest as he was completely frozen in fear, his body tense and worryingly still. "Who're you?" the man slurred, dark eyes seeming to focus in on me as the words were spat with loathing.

I gulped, unable to answer such a simple question, or more afraid to I guess. Realization dawned on the monster of a man's face, and though I didn't think it possible, anger darkened his gaze.

"You're the creep who took my boy." he raged, clenching his massive fists at his sides so that veins bulged along the hairy tree trunks that were his arms. I regretted speaking at all the second the words left his mouth, as he quickly made a move to lunge for me. I gripped Dan tighter in my arms and turned my body, doing the best that I could in attempts to shield him from the surely impending blow that was coming our way. I was instead met with several heavy thuds and a couple of grunts of displeasure coming from behind me, sounds that I could only associate with many bodies hitting the floor at once.

I turned my head carefully to see two male doctors, and none other than the oh-so-helpful-Michael, heaped on top of the heavy-set man in what I could only describe as a dog-pile. From beneath the single grey suit and sets of blue scrubs, a stained white shirt struggled to free itself, cursing and twisting drunkenly in helpless exasperation. 

"Dan!" he shouted desperately as more people crammed through the door in order to subdue the not so friendly giant with greasy brown curls who had invaded the pediatrics ward, "Tell them I'm okay! I'm his father let me go! It's that pervert! He's who you should be attacking!" the man screamed in outrage, yet the doctors were having none of it. I turned back towards Dan just in time to spot one of them pull a syringe from their pocket out of the corner of my eye. 

It was only now that I noticed that Dan was trembling, his first sign of movement since the arrival of his father, and I gently caressed the back of his neck, peppering his head with kisses. 

"It's alright." I whispered into his messy curls, as the struggle behind us slowed, and I slipped a few 'I love you's into my reassuring mumbles. Quietly, I stroked the boy's back, whispering sweet nothings into his ears to distract him from the mess that was going on by the door. Doctors and nurses fought to elevate the unconscious beast onto a hospital gurney, which was apparently proving to be more of a contest than they had originally thought, given the noises of exertion that were being made.

 When the people had finally left and finished assuring that no one had been harmed, Dan slowly calmed himself down, and as I rubbed small circles into his back, his silent sobbing was reduced to quiet hiccups that jolted through his body and left him with shivers.

"Everything's okay." I assured in a soft voice whilst I ran my fingers through his brown locks that were in need of a cut. Dan took deep breaths, in through his nose and out his mouth in slow repetitions, until the trembling had slowed and he slowly removed his face from my damp chest, sniffling and rubbing at his reddened eyes. 

"I'm a fucking wreck." he groaned after a minute with an audibly stuffed nose, and I carefully pried his hands away from trying to straighten out the waves in his fringe.

"You're beautiful." I shushed him as I stared into his glassy brown orbs with a small smile in order to try to cheer him up.

"And you're a liar." he scoffed in response, immediately trying to fix his hair again, but it was no use without his straighteners.