Consider it a Welcome

Chapter 7: I trust you

"What is that pile of shit" Dan gestures to the bright red fiat 500 sat in front of him. The right mirror was hanging off and the car itself was missing a bumper, there was a large dent in the passenger side door and enough things hanging from the mirror inside to obstruct your view entirely. "Phil" Dan paused as the man clicked the car doors open, "how bad are you at driving?" He finished, still rooted firmly to the spot in the pouring rain. "Uh..." Phil scratched his neck, "it looks bad but I promise I'm not entirely terrible" he attempted to reassure. "I'm amazed you're alive! Look at that dent! There is no way I'm getting in that death trap" Dan shook his head, folding his arms and stamping his foot like a tiny child. "Are you- Are you really not getting in?" Phil's face collapsed into a frown, his voice becoming soft. "No! Look at it! It's falling apart. I fear for my life Phil" Dan continued his little act, properly over dramatising it now. "Oh ok then" Phil said sadly, clambering into the car and slamming the door leaving dan alone in the sheets of ice coming down. Quickly the engine started and the car began to reverse, switching into gear to pull away out the car park. Still rooted to the spot, feeling the rain heavier now, Dan watched him drive away over the school zone and towards the gates as if he was watching someone leave forever at the end of a rom com. "Wait what the fuck am I doing" he asked as the headlights disappeared around the corner. "Phil wait!" He began to shout, breaking into a sprint after the shitty car. "Now this really does look like a rom com" Dan thought as he crashed through a puddle, face recoiling as he felt the dirty water seep into his trouser legs that were already clinging to his thighs.

Inside the car Phil sighed, turning out of the school gates and onto the main road. Maybe he'd been too forward with the new teacher? Or maybe he could just drive better instead of leaving the car so wrecked. It wasn't his fault that the car was ruined, ok well it was, it was a miracle he'd even passed his test the fourth time but he puts that down to the elated mood of the instructor. The man looked like he'd just won the lottery so practically passed him before he switched the key on.

The first crash had been his fault, completely swerved off the road. The second one was also his fault, got spooked by a dog. The third one wasn't on him, he really could've died that time. He could practically still see the lorry hurtling towards him out of no where, he could certainly still hear it. A pulsing cry of passersby as he watched the vehicle coming for him completely frozen with no option of survival. The banging of his heart, the sirens of the ambulance, the crash on his car door, the crunching of his bones in his arm,the knocking...on his window?

"Phil!" Dan screamed, banging hard on the passenger side door. The rain was coming down like bricks now, Dan had even sworn he heard a clap of thunder. He had to get in that fucking car. "Phil" he cried again, slamming the door harder. The older man was frozen in the drivers seat, his eyes were squeezed shut and he looked as if he was shaking. "Phil please please let me in" Dan pleaded, a clap of thunder sounding over his head again. He only realised now he was jogging alongside the car down the middle of the road. Cars were rushing past him blaring their horns, various Londoners swearing at him with lude gestures. "Phil I'm actually going to die let m-" and the door clicked. Quicker than he'd ever done anything in his life, quicker than he'd ran out the house this morning, Dan swung the door open and jumped into the seat, water flying everywhere and the door making a sickening crunch as it smacked something. "Well that's the leather ruined, sorry" Dan sighed, melting into the warm interior of the car. "It's ok" Phil said quietly, his voice seeming distant as he pulled into the main junction.

The two sat in silence for a while as Phil drove, Dan noticed his eyes were barely blinking and his knuckles were turning more white with every twist of the steering wheel. It was as if he was concentrating so hard to make dan believe he could drive. "Are you ok?" He asked after a while, the pretty scenery he'd been staring at was beginning to become one watery blur so he thought he should pay attention to the only other interesting thing in the car. "I'm fine" Phil said through gritted teeth, hands gripping the wheel even tighter. "You're going to pop a blood vessel like that will you please relax?" Dan asked. "No because if I relax we'll swerve and if we swerve we die and if you die-" he stopped his train of thought there, not breaking his staring contest with the road for a second.

It was dark now and Phil could barely see three metres ahead despite the glaring headlight he had switched on. Every few seconds he would flick up the windscreen wipers to brush away the water but it would soon replace itself. This was impossible. He really didn't want to crash, well no one ever wants to crash but, he knew he was long overdue one and that just made him panic more. His grip tightened on the steering wheel in an attempt to hide the shaking but he felt his leg wobble poised above the break peddle. Still focusing ahead he tried to ignore Dan and the tapping he was doing on the door, fingers drumming some beat Phil knew which was more than distracting. Up ahead he could see the fuzzy shapes of amber lights, a green sign for a roudabout, he wanted the second exit he knew that but driving in the dark was harder than usual without the rain to add to it. As he drove the car tires lifted onto the gravelled ground of the junction, he knew he was waiting to pull into the roundabout now despite not being able to see it. Now came the waiting game. He daren't blink for fear of wrong timing. One car. Two car. Three car- "Will you calm down you won't kill me ok" Dan reassured, putting a hand on his shoulder lightly, Phil lurched from the touch, eyes losing focus on the road and flying to the man. "I trust you" he grinned, an easing smile that made Phil relax. His shoulders dropped and grip loosened as the car began to roll forwards. Training his blue eyes on the road he barely saw it coming. "Fuck fuck- Mate move!" He heard a scream from the window and then a crash.

"I trust you" dan smiled but it dropped immediately when he focused behind Phil's head. The man relaxed into his seat but Dan couldn't unsee the terrified face hurtling at them, engine revving as the motorbike skidded towards them. "Fuck" Dan uttered. He felt the car wobble on impact, he felt Phil's arm collide with his side as his shoulder fell hard into the door with a thud. To the side of him he heard a sickening crack and the release of pressure into the air. The windscreen steamed up immediately and dan just shut his eyes tight, praying for it to end, he heard the lift of a helmet and someone murmur something outside the car but he couldn't hear it over the thumping of his heart in his ears.