Chapter 1

On the Fourth of July, my fiancé locked me inside his SUV during a highway traffic jam.

It was 104 degrees outside.

We were driving to meet Wes's parents when a pileup brought traffic to a standstill near a rest area. Jade, his childhood friend, occupied the passenger seat. She complained that she was thirsty and wanted an ice-cold Coke.

Wes took our last bottle of water and went with her.

When I said the back seat was unbearably hot, he switched off the engine, disabled the rear windows, and walked away with the key. The child-safety locks were engaged.

"Jade gets overheated easily," he said. "Stay in there and think about why you're always so difficult."

I had asthma. With the air-conditioning off, heat built inside the vehicle so quickly it felt as though I was breathing through a furnace.

"Wes!" I screamed. "Open the door! I can't breathe!"

I slammed my fists against the glass. My inhaler was missing from the glove compartment. My vision blurred.

Outside, Jade pointed at me and laughed.

"Look at her, Wes. She's putting on quite a performance."

"Knock it off, Maya!" he shouted. "This isn't going to get you the front seat."

Then he took Jade inside the rest stop for lunch.

The last thing I saw was the sunlight burning across the dashboard.

I died in that car.

Half an hour later, I was hovering above it, staring down at my own motionless body.

Wes and Jade returned with iced drinks.

"She's still playing dead," Jade giggled.

A truck driver approached, alarmed by my face. "Hey, man, your girlfriend doesn't look right. You need to open that car."

"Mind your business," Wes snapped. "She's throwing a tantrum."

"It's over a hundred degrees! She could die in there."

"She won't. She does this whenever she wants attention."

Wes pushed the trucker away. Other travelers started to gather. Jade assured them I was simply jealous of her.

I tried to scream from where I floated above them. My voice made no sound.

They were discussing whether I was spoiled while my body was already dead.

Wes got a reflective windshield screen from the trunk and covered the glass, blocking anyone else's view.

"Let's see how long she keeps this act up," he said.

He had no idea there would never be another breath.