Insightful Fear (Phan)

And Then There Were Two

Phil

I woke up alone in the bed.

It really shouldn't faze me anymore. But every time I wake up to find her gone and her side of the bed cold, it still hurts. It still leaves a full ache in my chest.

I got dressed and put on my thick rimmed glasses.

I started down the hall with the intent of going to the kitchen and brewing a pot of coffee.

But I paused in front of Dan's closed door.

I should talk to him. After yesterday... After he had clearly been avoiding me for several days.

I knocked.

"Dan?"

No response.

"Can we talk? Please?"

Silence answered.

I knocked again. And when I still didn't get a reply, I cracked the door open and poked my head into the room.

No sign of Dan.

The bed was neatly made, as if it hadn't been slept in for days.

I walked into the room.

He wasn't there.

But his window was open.

The breeze blew the curtains to the side, revealing the open pane of glass.

I stuck my head out the window.

"Dan?"

Nothing.

"Dan?" I called again.

I ran out of his room.

"Pj!" I shouted down the hall. A string of curse words met my call, and a few moments later, the blonde stumbled out of his room, eyes still narrowed and red from sleep.

He grumbled in question.

"Have you seen Dan?" I asked hastily.

He raised an eye brow.

"What?" He asked in a comprehensible language.

"Dan," I repeated. "Have you seen him?"

Pj shook his head.

"No. Why?"

"He's gone. He just left," I explained, throat tightening.

Pj's eyes widened as he fully processed what was happening. Why I was frantic.

"Maybe... Maybe he just went for a walk." The blonde offered.

Yes. That had to be what happened.

There had to be a completely logical explanation for this. He went for a walk. He went to get coffee early in the morning. He was sitting on a bench in a nearby park, observing everything with his emotionless gaze.

I ran a hand through my hair.

"Okay." I said.

"Let's wait a few hours." Peej suggests. "If he's not back by then, we'll go look for him. Yeah?"

I nodded, head reeling.

So we sat on the couch and played Monopoly.

Right now Peej was winning. But I knew that if Dan were here, neither of us would stand a chance.

Three hours later, we were still playing. The more time that passed, the more apprehensive I became.

This was a waste of time.