Chapter 2 - The Glowing Screen
The notification light blinked a sharp, electric blue against the dark surface of the confiscated smartphone lying flat on the dark wooden coffee table. Marcus stared at it, his chest tightening with a strange mix of dread and burning curiosity. The brief argument with his father still hummed in the air like static electricity, leaving David standing by the hallway archway and Sarah quietly drying her hands with a dish towel in the kitchen.
Marcus swallowed hard, his hands twitching against the gray fabric of his sweatpants. He wanted to apologize—or at least pretend to, just to get his device back before the screen flashed again. But the preview banner rolling across the locked display didn't feature a game update or a message from one of his high school friends. It was a string of numbers he didn't recognize, attached to a stark, terrifying line of text: The delivery is at the usual spot behind the garage. Don't let your dad see it.
David turned around, his sharp gaze catching the hesitation in his son's posture. He took a slow step back into the living room, his brow furrowing as he noticed Marcus staring intently at the phone rather than walking toward the kitchen sink as ordered.
"I thought I told you to go help your mother," David said, his tone dropping an octave, laced with a growing suspicion. "Why are you still glued to that spot?"
Sarah stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands, her expression tired and filled with maternal concern. She looked between her husband and her son, sensing that the tension in the room had shifted from a simple domestic argument to something much heavier, something cold and unfamiliar.
"Marcus, just do what your father said," Sarah urged softly, her voice carrying a plea for peace. "Let the phone go. It’s just a distraction anyway."
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Marcus couldn't look away. His mind raced, a cold sweat breaking out across the back of his neck beneath his black hoodie. He hadn't bought anything online. He didn't know anyone meeting behind the garage. As David reached down to pick the phone back up to silence the persistent notifications, the device vibrated violently against the wood, and a second message popped up instantly, revealing a photo of a heavy duffel bag resting on the concrete floor just outside their own back door.
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