Prologue

“You think he’s okay?” Nick asked Kevin, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“I really don’t think so, Nick. And right now I’m just praying that he didn’t do anything stupid. We never should have left him alone last night,” Kevin answered and Nick simply nodded. Kevin unlocked Brian’s front door and slowly turned the knob, afraid of what he might find lying behind the door. He inhaled deeply then pushed the door open. He and Nick stepped inside, observing their surroundings. It looked like a tornado had ripped through the house, leaving a sleeping Brian in the center of the huge mess of broken things. “Oh man…” Kevin said, letting out the breath that he’d been holding.

They both walked over to where Brian was lying in the fetal position on the floor, holding a picture frame in his arms. He was still in the clothes he had worn the previous day, with the dried blood on them as evidence. He looked far from peaceful as he slept with a tear stained face contorted with pain.

Nick knelt down beside his best friend, almost in tears at the condition he was in. He gently laid his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “Bri…” he spoke quietly almost afraid to speak in anything besides a whisper. He looked up at Kevin as the older man knelt down at his side, letting his know that he couldn’t stand this.

Kevin’s hand replaced Nick’s and he gently shook Brian out of his slumber. With bloodshot eyes, Brian looked up at his cousin. “I killed her…”