Prologue
“Dude!” Nick yelled, slamming his hand against the doorframe. “Let’s go!”
Chase reluctantly pulled away from the blonde he’d been making out with. “Why?”
“Because I fucking said so,” Nick growled, his voice cracking on the last word.
Chase frowned, but he knew that tone. He stood up, throwing a polite smile down at the girl. “Sorry, I’ve got to run.”
“All good,” she said, biting her lip. “Catch you next time, sexy.”
Chase hurried out the door, following his brother to the parking lot. As they reached the vehicle, Chase hesitated, his eyes darting from the keys in Nick’s hand to his agitated posture. “You sure you’re right to drive?” he asked, the anxiety creeping into his voice.
“I’ve only had four,” Nick muttered, shoving his way into the driver’s seat. “I’ll be fine.”
Chase climbed into the passenger side and buckled up. He didn’t ask what was wrong. He knew his brother well enough to know that when Nick was this wired, pushing for answers only made things worse. He just needed space.
Unfortunately, space was the one thing they didn’t have inside the cramped cabin of the car.
Nick slammed on the gas, swerving violently as he pulled onto the highway. Chase’s hand instantly flew to the grab handle above the door, his knuckles turning white. “Maybe slow down a bit,” Chase said, trying to keep his voice level.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Nick snapped, staring straight ahead with white-hot fury.
The speedometer needle kept climbing. The headlights caught the slick, dangerous sheen of rain on the asphalt.
“The roads are wet and you’re doing twenty over!” Chase yelled, the panic finally breaking through. “Now slow the fuck down!”
Instead of hitting the brakes, Nick’s jaw tightened, and he slammed his foot to the floor. The engine roared.
Then came the bend in the road.
Nick tried to jerk the wheel, but the tires lost their grip on the wet pavement. Time seemed to fracture as the car slid sideways, caught the shoulder, and flipped. The world became a violent, sickening blur of shattering glass, crushing metal, and centrifugal force as the car rolled over and over, finally coming to a devastating halt upside down in the oncoming lane.
For a fraction of a second, there was a terrible, ringing silence.
Then came the blinding glare of oncoming headlights, the blare of a horn, and the deafening crunch of a second impact.
Good first chapter, but it'ss always better to talk to someone or wait to drive, when problems get hard to solve on your own.