I think I've packed enough to last me for two weeks. This weekend upstate calls for some snow so I need to be prepared. Although spring is almost here it's not unusual for a late snow storm upstate. My parents had a huge cabin up there and we'd spent some winter vacations and summer vacations on a lake, so I'm familiar with the weather up there.

There's a knock on the door and when I answer it Jace is standing there with a smile on his face. He looks grateful that I answered the door, like I was just going to slip out the window and run far away. It's weird seeing this side of him, it's almost like he's second guessing himself. From what I know and I've seen in the few short weeks I've known him he doesn't second guess anything. He's usually cocky, and full of himself; but that's all changed.

Thinking about how much I've affected him makes me second guess everything, but I know I can't fall back on my plan because he needs to feel the pain those girls did when he used them. I shake my thoughts as he enters the apartment, thankfully Henry and Nicole are at work so they aren't here to mock me; although they definitely had a lot to say before they left.

"What's all of that on the counter?" he asks pointing to a bunch of containers and plates with tinfoil covering it.

"Snacks..." I half smile.

"That's a lot of snacks," he laughs.

"Well I kind of go on a baking spree when I'm stressed, and the other day before the funeral I was stressed. I needed an outlet and that was it. I made so much that someone needs to eat it, I mean we'll be there all weekend so we'll have..."

I feel his eyes on me, when I look up he's got an amused look on his face. I purse my lips.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing," he laughs. "So um... maybe I should stress you out more often," he teases.

I smack him on the arm, "Dumbass I was stressed because of my parents," I say.

"Right, take note Faith bakes lots of yummy treats when stressed, make her stressed often," he says mumbling to himself.

"It's an expensive habit," I say.

"So you're saying it happens often and I should expect baked treats like once a week or more?"

"In your dreams," I laugh.

"So what can I bring down to the car for you?" he asks.

"The black suitcase, I'll pack the food and be down in a minute," I say. "I should probably leave some for Henry and Nicole, they might starve without me..."

"Faith."

"Jace," I respond.

He rolls his eyes, shakes his head and then grabs the suitcase. I quickly pack all of the food into a reusable bag, and head downstairs. I'm nervous as heck and I'm not sure why. I know I'm not afraid to hurt him, I can't be afraid. I can do this, no matter how good the kissing feels I'm in this to break him.

I step outside as tiny droplets of rain splatter onto the steps in front of me. I look towards the road and parked right out front is a gray minivan and I nearly choke on my spit. I come walking down the steps with a smirk on my face there are so many things I could say to tease him about this. He hits the button and the door glides closed.

"Where's the soccer game?" I ask as he turns.

It takes him a minute as he grabs the bags from me, he shakes his head.

"Very funny, it's Frank's. He didn't drive it much here in the city, but it's great for long trips lots of room," he says. "I've got the seats down in the back so the whole thing opens up, could fit a bed back there if I wanted," he winks.

"That would be a fun story; couple caught having sex in a soccer mom mobile," I joke.

"Or we could just use the floor..."

I laugh, "So how longs the car ride?" I ask when he turns to take the remaining bags to the car.

"About four hours. Once we get to town we'll stop at the food store, I got canned goods and nonperishables, but I need my bacon," he says.

Inside the van it's like new, it definitely has not been driven too often. I look at the dashboard and notice this van is old enough for a tape deck and CD player. Jace pulls a CD from a bag that sits between our two seats.

"Road trip mix," he says.

"It's not a road trip without good music," I say.

"Anything good?" I ask.

"Breaking Benjamin, Avenged, P Roach..."

"Thank god I thought you were going to say Taylor Swift or something mom like..."

"Be nice to Shelia she's a beloved family member..."

"Shelia... oh the van, she has a name?"

"Guys name their cars just like they name their..."

"Okay!" I say stopping him with a laugh.

"Mines named...."

"I don't want to know what you named you dick Jace," I laugh.

"I was talking about my car back home..."

"Right, sure you were," I say.

"Veronica," he says. "Ronnie for short," he tells me.

I snort. "She's got a nickname too huh? Must be very special," I laugh.

He starts to pull out of the spot and into Friday rush hour traffic. Four hours was being generous, this might take a while.

"She's parked at my buddy's house, hopefully he's taking care of her," he says.

"I'm sure she's fine," I tease.

***

It takes us a good two hours to get out of the city, at one point we barely move. Once out of the city limits the traffic finally let's up and we start moving. The sun is practically gone, and with night brings a light snowfall. As we get further up the snow gets heavier and the traffic gets lighter. Pretty soon we are the only ones on the road and snow is spewing at an alarming rate directly at the windshield. One of the reasons I moved to the city was so that I wouldn't have to drive, I hate it. This is making me more anxious than the trip combined. I peak over at Jace and he's watching the road carefully, we haven't spoken in a while and I know it's because he's trying to concentrate on driving. My knuckles grip harder as a horn from a truck coming in the other direction blares at us for now reason.

I watch out the windows hoping he knows where we are because I sure don't. The GPS on his phone keeps going in and out, so I just hope it's picked back up in the right spot. A warm hand rests over mine for a few seconds.

"You okay over there?" he asks.

"Anxious, but okay," I say honestly.

"I'm sorry, the grocery store is actually only ten minutes from here so not much longer," he says reassuring me.

He's right, only it took us an additional ten with the snow. It lightens up slightly and we pull into an almost empty lot. There are a few people running inside, some coming out with coffee some coming out with tons of groceries. These people are used to this kind of weather, it looks like it doesn't even phase them. He gets a close spot and we head inside. I probably should have warn more appropriate footwear today, but no silly me has my boots packed deep in my suitcase. My converses aren't exactly snow or weather proof and the souls have been worn down so much that I have to literally walk like I'm a toddler trying to walk for the first time. I feel myself lose my grip over a small patch of ice at the doorway, and down I go. Jace doesn't catch me in time and I land on my ass. It's cold, hard and very wet. I look up at him and shake my head.

"I can rollerblade, ice skate, and skateboard; but I can't walk on ice," I laugh.

He looks down at me holding out his hand, and laughs with me. He helps pull me up and luckily I only slip a bit when I stand. He looks at my head then takes his black winter beanie off placing it on my head.

"You look cold," he tells me.

"Thanks," I say bumping into him.

We enter the store and grab a cart. I'm not sure how long we spend, but the weather seems to be getting worse. He hurries through the last of it and we head to the register.

"Can I help pay for that?" I ask.

"Don't be ridiculous, I got it," he says.

"Jace..."

"It's fine," he says.

I don't like that he's paying for all of this food it makes me uncomfortable. There has to be at least two hundred dollars-worth of food in that cart. He even stocked up on paper towels and toilet paper, he wasn't sure if Frank had been up there recently to restock. We finish up and the snow seems like it's coming down much harder than it was. Great. I help him put everything in the car and he puts the cart back while I get warm in the car.

"The cabin is five minutes from here, but I'm guessing it'll take a bit longer. You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, snow makes me ... nervous," I say.

"I know same, but we'll be there soon," he says confidently.

***
Fifteen minutes later we arrive, which isn't bad. The snow is still piling up and the steps up to the door are completely covered in white. The driveway is a bit long and full of snow but we're still able to make it up to the house.

"There's a snow blower in the shed, let's get all the food out then I'll make a path, this snow looks heavy," he says.

"I can help," I say.

"It would go quicker if maybe you could put away the food and I'll start on the snow, if I'm still out here I have two shovels in the back..."

"Sounds good."

We grab a few bags and head inside. It's cold and the heat needs to be turned on, but for now it would have to wait. The cabin is beautiful inside, the living room kind of has an old feel to it. The couches are probably at least fifteen years old, but still look in good condition. There's also a white brick fire place which is gorgeous. We head straight back to the kitchen which has been updated nicely. I love the granite counter tops and the cute little island with a wooden table top. He throws the bags on the island and I do too. He heads outside to get the snow blower while I head out front for the groceries.

I put everything away quickly including my stress made food. I can still hear the blower going out front so I decide to help. I bundle back up, at least I have a nice heavy jacket and outerwear to last me in this weather. I even found my boots in one of the suitcases I'd brought inside. I head out to the van and see Jace at the head of the driveway clearing away some of the snow. The shovel is laying across the back of the van and I pull it out and start with the stairs.

The driveway is huge and just a shovel won't do much, but once the steps are clear I make a path to the driveway and then start shoveling around the van. We've been out here for about an hour and I can feel my stomach rumbling, it's probably well after ten at least. I've gotten a decent amount done and Jace shuts off the blower and heads back towards me.

"Thanks for the help," he says with a smile.

"You forgot to take this back," I say placing his hat back on his head.

His face is so red I think it his ears and eyes might fall off from being so cold. He'd only been wearing the hood of his jacket over his head.

"A little late for that," he jokes.

"Sorry," I say.

"And for that," he says grabbing a ball of snow in his hands.

"Oh no you don't," I yell.

"Oh yes I do," he says.

I start to run but nearly slip on some ice, he grabs me with one hand and smashes the snow over my head at the same time. I scream because there's a cold rush of snow running down my back and down my jeans.

"Oh my god it's going down my ass," I scream.

He laughs so hard that he has to bend over and put his hand on his knees. I grab a snowball myself and as he stands with one hand I sneak a hand under his jacket and pull at the waist of his jeans. With my other hand I take the snowball and attempt to put it down his pants, he squirms and I only get a small amount in but he still hops around. Now I'm laughing, but he comes at me and gently knocks me down into a pile of snow. It's a soft fall and he falls down next to me. I start moving my arms and legs making a snow angel, he does the same.

"If you were to have told me that when I first met you in the club that night that we'd be fucking making snow angels in a cabin upstate I would have never believed it," I say.

"Truth, because as you know all I wanted was to get in your pants," he comments.

"I knew you didn't just want to dance," I laugh.

"We should get inside, and not because I want to have my way with you, but because my balls are so cold I think they might fall off," he says.

I snort and roll my eyes. I start to get up, but my eyes look up at the night sky. The snow has stopped and the clouds are clearing. I can see the moon in the distance and in the empty space where some clouds were I see stars. It's not like the city, it's dark out here the only light is coming from the small outdoor lamp posts on the property.

"When I used to go to my parents place upstate I used to sit outside for hours and look at the stars. It's so much brighter here than in the city. I do love the city, but out here everything is so much prettier," I say.

"Nice right?"

I nod. He stands and reaches a hand down to me. I lift myself up and we head back inside. The rest of the night consists of making bacon of course, and some eggs. It's a quick and easy dinner. We follow that with some wine that we got at the grocery store and some of the brownies I baked. He moans through every bite and I can't help but laugh at him.

"I'm zonked and if you want me awake for the rest of the weekend I need my beauty rest," I say.

"Do you want your own room?" he asks. "There are plenty..."

"Um... do you want me to have my own room?" I ask getting up off the couch.

We've been sitting in front of the fire for about an hour just talking and staring at it, I think I nodded off a few times, but I can't quite remember that's how tired I am.

"I didn't mean it like that I just thought because of everything with that guy wasn't sure how comfortable you were sharing a bed with one..."

My heart literally skips several beats and I have to catch my breath once or twice. I honestly did not peg him as a guy who would even think about someone else's feelings first. I'd heard the worst about him, but so far I think that although I've seen his worst I've also seen the better side too. This is getting more complicated by the minute, but I can't let these little things get in the way of my plan. I wish my heart would stop tugging me in a different direction. Even if my heart won there was no way we could really be together. He'd dated my cousin and had broken her many times over, and also my aunt and uncle despise him so there's no way that this could be real. I just need to start thinking with my head instead of my heart.

"Faith," he says.

I blink a few times and he's standing in front of me waiting for me to look into his eyes. It takes my eyes a moment to focus and when our eyes meet I feel okay.

"Sorry," I say.

"I can sleep in a different room, I can see it in your eyes," he says.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Don't apologize," he says gently kissing the top of my head. "I'm going to put the fire out and relax for a bit. You can take the second room on the right," he says.

"Thanks," I tell him.

"Mmm..."

I start heading towards the stairs, "Faith," he says softly.

"Yeah?" I say voice shaky at the end.

"Goodnight," he says.

"Goodnight," I whisper and then turn and head for bed.