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the worst of the chill. A twinge of guilt at how rude I’d just been kept me from making eye contact. With the exception of his behavior at the beach and his cockiness at school, he hadn’t really done much else to deserve my bad attitude. I wasn’t typically a rude person. It was just that with everything I had going on in my life, coupled with the strong, unwanted reaction I seemed to have to Parker, I felt like I was losing control. The grip I had on my life was shaky enough. Each time Parker looked at me with those expressive eyes, I felt like it was slipping further from my hands.
    “Sorry,” I murmured. The warmth of my breath as I spoke hit the passenger window, causing it to fog up. I kept my gaze on the abstract pattern as it grew smaller and smaller before finally disappearing.
    “Wow,” he replied dryly. “Your enthusiasm just brought a tear to my eye.”
    At his sarcasm, I finally turned my body toward him and threw my hands up. “Jeez, I said I was sorry. What more do you want?”
    He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “How about a little sincerity? You know, I didn’t have to pull over and give you a ride. I could have just let you freeze to death.”
    “If I remember correctly, I didn’t ask for a ride in the first place. You basically bullied me into your truck.”
    “Unbelievable,” he grumbled under his voice. “Are you always such a ray of freaking sunshine?”
    “Nope.” I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled sardonically. “Just with you.”
    I could see the muscle in his jaw ticking as he glared out the windshield. “Lovely.”
    We remained silent for the rest of the drive. A few minutes later, Parker pulled up to my house and shut off the engine. “You really don’t like me, do you?”
    I pulled the strap of my bag over my shoulder and took a deep breath, prepared to give him the God’s honest truth. I could only hope it would be enough to get him to back off. “Look, I appreciate the ride, really, and I’m sorry if I acted like a bitch. Don’t take this personally, but I’m not looking to make any friends, okay? I didn’t even want to move to this stupid town. I just want to get through this year and get the hell out here. I’m not looking to make any connections along the way. I’m perfectly fine on my own.”
    His dark eyes narrowed as he studied me again, sending a disconcerting shiver down my spine. I hated how he could do that. It felt like with just one look, he saw every one of my secrets.
    “You didn’t seem to have a problem getting to know that redhead in our English class.”
    It was my turn to narrow my eyes, only I did it in disgust. “That redhead is Stella. You’ve know her since you were little kids. You’d probably remember her if you pulled your head out of your ass long enough to bother thinking about someone other than yourself or one of your followers. You’re missing out; she’s a pretty awesome person.” I shoved the door open and stepped out, delivering one last parting shot before slamming it shut on him. “Thanks for the ride, Parker, but do me a favor. Next time you see me walking along the side of the road, just keep driving.”
    I didn’t bother to look back at him as I ran through the rain up to my house.

My cellphone rang as I climbed from my truck to collect the mail. It was something I made sure to do every day after I got home from school. I’d grab the mail and rifle through, making sure there was nothing in there that could possibly set my mom off. After crumpling the pamphlet for a local swim camp and shoving it below my seat, I grabbed my phone and checked to see who had just called. A groan of annoyance rumbled up my throat at Cassidy’s name on the screen. That girl was really starting to become a problem. No matter how many times I told her we were never going to be a couple, she still refused to get it, even after I pulled her aside after lunch and told her to keep her hands to herself in public. It was