‘Not a fan of that song. Reminds me of my ex-boyfriend, Ted.’ She looked around, squinting into the darkness outside, and said, ‘Hey, I think you might have taken a wrong turn. Genesee is back that way.’ She hooked her thumb toward the rear window. He slowed the car and pulled over to the side of the road. She looked at him and laughed nervously. ‘What are you doing?’

He slid his arm around her shoulders along the back of the seat and leaned closer. ‘You’re real pretty.’

She laughed again nervously and leaned away toward her window, trying to put distance between them. ‘Thanks, but look, I have a boyfriend. You’re really nice but I just can’t, I’m sorry. You understand, right?’ She smiled and blinked her eyes a few times.

‘I saw you kissing John after the game. Seems like having a boyfriend doesn’t stop you.’

‘How do you know his name? Were you watching us?’ her voice wavered and her smile slowly fell. He leaned in and tried to kiss her, but she turned her head and put her hands on his chest, pushing him away. ‘John was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m really not that kind of girl.’ She tried to smile again but the fear in her eyes was evident. ‘You’re just … not my type, okay? I’m sorry. I really am.’

His face hardened. ‘Not your type? So, you just go around flirting with guys and leading them on?’

‘No, I didn’t flirt with you, this is all a big misunderstanding. I was just being nice because you offered to drive me to the party. Look, I’ll just walk from here. Thanks for the ride,’ she said, her fingers pulling up the lock on the door.

His breath came quicker and he could feel the telltale heat rise to his ears. His heart was beating so fast that his hands shook. How dare she reject him! Just as she reached for the door handle, he retracted his extended arm until his hand was hovering behind her head. The urge overcame him. He grabbed a fistful of hair.

‘Ouch! Wait a minute …’ she yelled.

He slammed her forehead into the dashboard. Linda screamed and started crying, begging him to let her go. He pulled her head back and slammed it forward again before letting her limp body lean back against the seat. Blood covered a round wound on her forehead. As her head lolled to the side, a trickle of blood slid down between her eyes. He quickly made a U-turn and headed back to the highway. She was quiet now. Just as she should be.

CHAPTER 3

I gripped my bottle of hard cider and gave an audible sigh. ‘It’s been two weeks. I can’t believe none of the people I messaged on 23andMe have replied.’