Chapter 2

My best friend, Lucas Bennett, was a tech expert.

Basically, he knew everything there was to know about phones.

If there was really something wrong with this one, I was sure he'd be able to find it.

And if the phone itself turned out to be the problem, I'd go straight back to the store that sold it to me and raise hell.

The moment I got to Lucas's place, I handed him the shattered phone and told him to check it carefully.

He was still in the mood to joke around.

Turning the mangled phone over in his hands, he grinned.

"What happened? Tried to spice things up with the wife and pissed her off instead?"

I wasn't in the mood.

I kept urging him to check every inch of the phone and figure out whether there was anything messed up inside it.

I needed to know what the hell was going on.

Lucas went through the phone's information several times.

Eventually, even he got irritated with me.

"Dude, there's nothing on this thing."

"It hasn't even been turned on before. What exactly are you expecting me to find?"

"I've checked everything I can. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it."

"If you dragged me into this on New Year's just to screw with me, get the hell out."

He'd clearly checked it seriously, so I finally believed him.

I picked up the broken phone and ran my fingers over it.

Mom, Dad, my sister, even Yvonne.

All of them had turned on me after seeing this phone.

They'd called me a monster.

If there was nothing wrong with the phone itself, then what was the problem?

I was still trying to make sense of it when Lucas suddenly shot to his feet.

His expression was terrifying.

Before I could react, he punched me hard across the face.

The blow sent me crashing to the floor.

My head slammed against the edge of his computer desk, splitting the skin open.

I sucked in a sharp breath and clutched my head, staring at him in disbelief.

"Are you out of your mind, Lucas? What the hell are you doing?"

His eyes were ice-cold.

Worse than that, they were filled with hatred.

He strode straight toward me, grabbed me by the shirt, and started punching and kicking me without holding back.

"You sick bastard! You know damn well what you did!"

"You bought this phone for your own sister. You really think I can't tell what that means?"

"And you had the nerve to bring it here and play dumb in front of me?"

"You think just because I usually stay out of trouble, I'll ignore something like this?"

"A piece of trash like you deserves to die!"

"I'll kill you!"

My eyes went wide.

Lucas was over six feet tall and built like a tank.

Now he was grabbing a chair, raising it as if he meant to smash it down on me.

"You sick bastard! You deserve to die!"

I started shaking.

I scrambled toward the door, but even then, I didn't forget to snatch the broken phone off the table.

I ran out of Lucas's place and kept going for more than ten minutes.

Eventually, I ducked into a deserted side street.

Only after I was sure he hadn't followed me did I lean against the wall, gasping for air.

One thought kept pounding through my head.

They'd all gone insane.

Dad had wanted to come at me with a knife.

And now even Lucas, my best friend of ten years, had nearly beaten me to death.

They'd all lost their minds.

Still shaken, I stared down at the shattered phone in my hand.