chapter
1
“Ow—stop. You’re hurting me!” Eric Fraser loosened his grip on Becka Norwood’s shoulders.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” His face reddened. He stared at the snow-covered windshield.
Becka slid away from him until her shoulder bumped the car door. She adjusted the collar of her
coat.
Why am I sitting here kissing him? she thought. I’m going to break up with him.
Big, wet snowflakes continued to fall. The windows were completely blanketed now. It’s like
being inside an igloo, Becka thought, shivering.
Turning his dark eyes to hers, Eric leaned forward, reaching for her.
She raised her arm to block him. “We have to talk,” she said, not meaning to sound shrill.
“Talk?” He giggled for some reason. Becka realized that she hated his giggle. It always burst
out at the wrong time.
He stretched his arm around her shoulders and tried to pull her closer.
“No. Really,” she insisted, twisting to get out from under his arm.
He acted hurt. “What do you want to talk about?”
Becka chewed the tip of her thumb, a nervous habit.
Here goes, she thought. Her stomach felt feathery. Her throat tightened.
She realized she always felt jumpy around Eric. They’d been dating since school started in
September. More than three months. But she never felt comfortable with him.
He was so ... so needy.
She stopped chewing her thumb, clasped her hands together in her lap. “I think we need to talk
about—things.” It was cold in the car, parked beside the woods, the engine off, no heater.
She shivered again.
Eric rolled his eyes. “Why do you always want to talk?” His voice revealed more than
impatience. He sounded angry.
“Why don’t you ever want to talk?” she demanded. Her voice trembled. The feathers in her
stomach turned to stone.
Don’t cry, she instructed herself, biting her lower, lip.
It’s not the end of the world. You’re just breaking up with him. You haven’t even been going
out with him that long.
He turned away from her and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “Why are you on my
case?” he asked. “You said you wanted to come here.”
“I know.”
“So why do you want to start a fight? I said I was sorry. About holding your shoulder too
tight. It was an accident.” He ran a hand back through his short, brown hair, smoothing it.
Becka’s heart was pounding. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat. Outside, the wind roared,
piling more snow up against the windshield.
Don’t cry, she told herself again.
Be cool. For once in your life, be cool.
“I think we shouldn’t go out anymore.” There. I said it.
“Huh?”
She turned to see his startled expression.
“You heard me.”
He giggled. That hideous, inappropriate giggle again. He moved his hands on the steering wheel,
circling them around and around.
“I think we should start seeing other people,” Becka added, her voice shaking.
Don’t cry.
“Okay,” he said. His face became a blank—no expression at all. “No problem.”
She suddenly felt she had to explain. “I think you’re a great guy, Eric, but—”
He raised a hand to stop her. His expression remained a blank. “I said no problem. I’ll take
you home, Becka.”
He raised the collar of his leather bomber jacket. Then he turned the key in the ignition. The
car hesitated a second before starting up.
He’s certainly being cool about this, Becka thought, chewing the end of her thumb and staring
straight ahead.
I’m a nervous wreck.
You’re always a nervous wreck, she told herself.
If only her heart would stop pounding so hard. She could feel her pulse throb at her temples.
He switched on the wipers. They pushed the light fresh snow off the windshield, allowing the
blackness of the night to fill the car. The headlights cut a tunnel through the darkness,
illuminating the large, falling flakes.
“I’m sorry—” Becka started.
“No problem,” Eric repeated. He lowered his foot on the gas pedal, and the car slid out onto
the snow-covered road.
Does he have to keep saying that?
He doesn’t seem hurt at all, Becka thought, more than a little disappointed.
She had hoped it would go easily. But not this easily.
She didn’t want a fight.
It seemed that they’d done nothing but fight for weeks. Every discussion turned into a fight.
Every time they went out, they found themselves arguing. Or just bickering.
That was one reason Becka decided to break up with Eric.
Bill Planter was the other reason.