Heart Shaped Spotlight

Prologue ~ Trisha

* Branch at the Window *

My bedroom was in absolute shambles as I tried to organize, purge, and stuff all of my belongings into cardboard boxes.

There was no time to be sentimental as I pitched clothing that no longer fit, various knickknacks, and books I knew I would never read again into the blue-tinted plastic donation bags. I didn't have time to be irritated that my light pink nail polish was becoming chipped from throwing around all of my worldly possessions. It figured – the one time I tried to look girlish.

What kind of man tells his wife and daughter that they’re moving to a new city in under twenty-four hours? My father had always been self-centered, focussed on making more money, but this was a new level. The feeling of being helpless seeped under my skin until everything stiffened with frustration.

As I rifled through my dresser, pulling out t-shirts and too many pairs of jeans, I thought I heard someone at the front door. Maybe my father had decided to give us a break and ordered pizza for dinner. But his raised voice sounded even more agitated than usual, and the exchange was too long for a delivery person.

A few minutes later, I heard the tiniest tap of a branch being dragged across my window. Silently sliding it open, I looked down to see Nate’s gorgeous face. I still couldn’t believe that he was my boyfriend. His infinite sweetness was far more than I deserved. Those magical gray eyes were a magnet, drawing people to him.

No wonder the three most popular girls in school had been staring at Nate when he sang a few songs at Sara’s party two weeks ago. It didn't even matter whether I was sitting beside him or not.

The hot girls seemed to know that I wasn't pretty enough, popular enough, or interesting enough for Nate. Yet he only had eyes for me. He was always polite to the other girls of course, which they took as encouragement. He was simply friendly and enthusiastic around everyone.

Nate loved meeting new people. It lit him up from inside. Which made our relationship tricky, since I cringed from large groups of people and strangers.

Looking down from the window ledge as he smiled up at me so hopefully, I honestly wasn't sure whether he realized how different we truly were.

He balanced on a couple of decorative stones so that his face was just below my windowsill. "Wow, Trisha, your dad is pissed," he whispered. "I was hoping he’d let me talk to you on the porch. What's going on?"

"We're moving," I whispered back, not believing that this was the way I had to tell him.

We'd been together for six months now. Even though I wasn’t allowed more than porch hangouts, walks on the beach, and library study dates, Nate was completely convinced that we would be together forever.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "A bigger house or something?"

"Chicago. He didn't say for how long. But he also didn't say whether we'd be coming back to Toronto. We might be going somewhere else after."

Even in the dim light, I could see his face fall. I reached down so that he could nuzzle his head into my hand like a puppy. Then he reached up so that I could clasp his hand. My skin prickled with electricity from that simple touch. The confusion in his eyes made a fist tighten around my heart.

"I'm sorry, I have to pack tonight,” I whispered quickly. “The moving truck comes at eight in the morning, and we have to leave at ten to catch our flight."

"What the hell? You're leaving tomorrow? You can't." Another fist circled my throat from the desperation in his voice.

"I know,” I choked. "We’ll have to figure it out. I don’t even know the new address."

"I can always email you," he said. Even his fake smile was cute on those beautiful lips. "I'll send you funny photos so often you'll get sick of me."

"My dad's been in hyper spy mode lately. He shut down my email account because Tina and Amber sent me a couple of photos from that party." Nate knew how much crap I’d gone through over the past year, with constant intrusions, and complete lack of respect for my space.

"I thought you had that locked down.” Nate was never big on technology. That was my department.