Summary

Chapter 4 takes place in 1985. Ben was riding his bike over treacherous ice, trying to get hurt. He was upset that he had never broken a bone before or gotten a serious injury. He wanted to get hurt because he was teased by other kids who said that his mother protected him too much. He felt even worse because he thought that he wasn't a true man. His father was never around to teach him the things that the other boys knew. Furthermore, he was upset with his family because they had no money, and he thought it was irresponsible of his mother to keep having children if she couldn’t even take care of him.

Ben had a girlfriend, Diondra. He dreamed about running away with her and starting a life in the next town. His fantasy was ruined when he told himself that...