Get Out Your Damn Umbrellas

Chapter 7

The makeshift bed remained on the living room floor for the next few days, even after the storm had passed. Dan spent most of the time asleep. On the one hand, Phil knew that he would need lots of rest in order for his body to heal, but he also knew from experience that staying in bed all day was not good in terms of Dan's mental state.

To say their week-long absence on social media would probably cause some concern was an understatement. Still, the constant stream of messages and notifications that had been accumulating on Phil's phone since Sunday went unanswered. Their friends and coworkers were bound to be worried about them, and God only knows what their audience thought was happening. On Saturday night Phil decided it was time to talk to his brother.

Around nine o'clock in the evening there was a soft knock at the door. Phil had sat waiting on the stairs from the minute he sent the text to his brother inviting him over to talk. Taking a quick glance back at the living room to make sure that Dan was still asleep, Phil got up to answer the door, and in a matter of seconds he found himself wrapped in a tight embrace.

When it came to having a proper Lester hug, hanging on for dear life was a general requirement. Martyn could probably tell, though, from the way his younger brother clung to him that this time was different.

"It's okay," Martyn whispered. "It's all gonna be okay."

He rubbed soothing circles in Phil's back, but the boy was trembling now. Without breaking their embrace, Martyn edged towards the stairs and helped Phil ease down onto the bottom step.

Phil took a few deep breaths and rubbed his eyes. It was a minute or so before he was able speak. "Sorry, I," he muttered, swallowing back tears. "I really needed that."

"It's fine," Martyn reassured him. "Whatever you need, I'm here." He rested a hand gently on Phil's shoulder, but Phil still seemed somewhat closed off. "How is he doing?"

"He's asleep right now," Phil said in a hushed voice. His hands twisted anxiously in his lap. "I don't think I can really explain everything that's going on, but there's something I need your help with."

Hundreds of questions were jostling in Martyn's head, but he put them aside and said, "Yeah, of course. Just tell me what I need to do."

Phil sighed heavily. He seemed so tired. "I need you to post something on Twitter telling everyone that Dan and I are going to have to take a break from making videos on YouTube for a while because Dan is dealing with some...health problems."

Martyn nodded. "Okay... um... any idea how long that will be?"

"I guess just call it a brief hiatus so that people don't panic."

It was likely that people were going to panic regardless of how he put it, but Martyn pressed on. "Okay. I should probably email the agency as well to let them know what's going on, and I can make a few calls to cancel any other business stuff you guys had lined up."

"There's also the radio show," Phil said quietly. "Hopefully they can get someone to fill in for us for a little while."

"Yeah, I'm sure they can manage that." Martyn hesitated a moment before asking, "So this is temporary, right? I mean, he has a good chance of getting better, doesn't he?"

Phil turned to look at him. Something in those wide blue eyes reminded Martyn of when they were kids, when his little brother was lost and scared and running to him for help. Then Phil said the last thing he expected to hear.

"He's not sick."

Martyn's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? What's wrong, then?" Confusion and worry swirled like fog in his mind as Phil clasped a hand over his mouth and shook his head. "Phil, you're scaring me. Just tell me, please. What's going on?"