Becky is crying because she's insanely jealous of Tom's previous girlfriend. Tom has led Becky to believe that getting engaged is a big deal and that it only happens between people who really care about each other. But the fact that he's been engaged before to his first love, Amy Lawrence, indicates that this isn't the case for Tom. It's obvious to Becky that getting engaged isn't something that Tom takes seriously at all.
In fairness to Tom, he's still just a child and so has no real understanding of what getting engaged actually entails. He's far too young to understand its true significance and the incredible commitment required. But then Becky doesn't really understand what it's all about, either. One thing she does understand is that she no longer feels that she really matters to Tom, so she cries her eyes out.
Just prior to Becky Thatcher’s crying, Tom had asked her to get “engaged” to him. In Tom’s explanation, being engaged means promising that you will never love anybody else but the person to which you are engaged.
Understandably, Becky takes this to mean that Tom is very serious about his love for her and that she is special. When Tom ignorantly talks about being previously engaged, Becky is overcome with jealousy. She interprets Tom’s prior engagement as proof that he does not truly love her and that she is indeed unremarkable to him.
It helps to understand that both Tom and Becky are children, so their emotions are not regulated as well as adults, and their understanding of love and romance is limited. In Becky’s mind, it’s almost as if Tom has cheated on her because he had liked another girl before her. While this makes no sense from a mature perspective, it is a serious transgression for Becky. She feels betrayed and heartbroken in this moment because she can’t believe Tom has already been “engaged” before.
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