Abby tells herself Travis will no longer be interested in her now that they have had sex, and she sets up a date with Parker in front of Travis. Travis yells at her, wanting to know what he did to make her act like this, then promises to prove it wasn’t just about sex for him. Abby knows something is missing while on her date with Parker and takes a call from Travis. When Parker invites her to the date party at the frat house, Abby says she is going with Travis. Travis stops by her dorm on his motorcycle, and they ride for hours. Abby enjoys the time with him and realizes that every moment she pushes him away leaves her “terrified it [will] work” (192).

When Travis tells Abby he loves her, she thinks, “When we met, something inside both of us had changed, and whatever that was, it made us need each other” (193). She tries to tell Travis that she doesn’t want to relive the gambling and drinking and fighting of her childhood; she moved to get away from that. Travis insists that he’ll change, do anything she wants, but Abby says she doesn’t want him to change.