Chapter 7

The cool evening air struck Tim’s face like a bucket of ice water, but it did nothing to cool the furious, suffocating heat burning inside his broad chest.

I marched down the quiet, tree-lined street outside my apartment complex, my long strides eating up the pavement. Tim’s heavy sneakers slapped against the concrete, echoing in the quiet suburban night.

Tears of pure frustration burned hot in my eyes—or rather, Tim’s eyes—and every breath felt like inhaling broken glass.

Control freak. Mechanical. Transactional.

His words kept replaying on a cruel loop in my mind. I had opened up to him. I had shown him the rawest, most vulnerable part of my life—the fear, the isolation, the relentless effort it took to survive—and the moment things got uncomfortable, he threw it back in my face like an insult.

“Stella! Wait! Please, just stop for a second!” My own high-pitched voice echoed down the street behind me.

I paused, turning on my heel.

Tim was jogging after me in my pale grey sweatpants and oversized hoodie, clutching my favorite knitted scarf around his neck. He looked utterly ridiculous—my five-foot-five frame sprinting in flat sneakers, hair flying wildly in the wind, completely out of breath.

“Go back inside, Cullen!” I yelled back, my deep baritone booming across the empty street. “Go pack your things! I’m done!”

“I didn’t mean it!” Tim panted, stepping off the curb and into the street to cross toward me, his hands—my hands—gesturing frantically. “I was being an idiot, okay?! I got scared because everything felt too real, and I lashed out like I always do!”

“You always do!” I shouted, taking a step toward the roadway. “You hide behind sarcasm and cheap insults the second anyone asks you to be genuine!”

“I know! I’m sorry!” Tim cried out, taking another quick step into the middle of the road, looking directly at me instead of watching where he was going. “I don’t think you’re all that terrible, Stella! You’re the most incredible, fiercely loyal person I’ve ever met, and I was just terrified that—”

A blinding flash of white light cut through the dark.

Screech!

Tires squealed violently against the damp asphalt around the blind corner. A dark Camry came speeding down the narrow street, its headlights illuminating Tim standing dead center in the lane.

Everything slowed down.

“Tim! Look out!” I screamed, my voice cracking into a raw, gut-wrenching roar.

Tim snapped his head toward the oncoming lights.

My eyes widened in absolute, paralyzed terror inside my face. He didn't even have time to move.

The metallic thud tore through the night. The front bumper clipped his hip with terrifying force, sending my body tumbling over the hood before throwing him onto the cold pavement with a sickening, heavy crash.

The Camry swerved wildly, leaving black skid marks on the road before coming to a screeching halt fifty feet away.

“NO!”

I couldn't hear anything for a moment. I could only stare at him lying in the road. Seeing my own body lying motionless on the dark asphalt shattered every wall, every defensive shield, and every carefully constructed metric I had spent my entire life building.

It didn't matter who was right. It didn't matter about my job, my worker score, or my perfectionist pride. For the first time, losing him scared me more than losing control ever had.

I sprinted across the street, throwing Tim’s heavy body onto the pavement as I slid on my knees beside my fallen frame.

“Tim! Tim, open your eyes!” I sobbed, Tim’s massive hands shaking violently as I gently cradled my own pale, bruised face.

A thin streak of dark blood trickled from my hairline, and my body was trembling, gasping for air in tiny, painful wheezes.

“Stella...” Tim groaned, my squeaky voice coming out fractured and weak. His brown eyes flickered open, filled with tears as he looked up at me. “I’m... I’m sorry... I ruined... your body...”

“Shut up! Don't you dare talk about that!” Tears spilled uncontrollably down Tim’s cheeks as I lifted my upper body into his arms. “You complete idiot! Why didn't you look at the road?!”

“I was... looking at you...” Tim whispered, a small, bruised smile touching my lips.

I wanted to yell at him for being an idiot. Instead, I found myself staring at him. Somewhere between the late-night pizza on the rug, the silly arcade games, the genuine apologies, and the quiet rooftop sunsets, I hadn't just learned to tolerate Timothy Cullen.

I had fallen completely, undeniably in love with him.

To return to your body, you must kiss Timothy Cullen.

The words on the golden parchment blazed in my mind like a command written by destiny itself. Without a second of hesitation, I leaned down, wrapped Tim’s broad, powerful arms around my fragile body, and pressed my lips firmly onto his—my own lips—in a desperate, breathless, devastating kiss.

The moment our lips met, warmth rushed through me. Then everything went white as though we were covered in a film.

Something pulled me out of myself.

“Stella！”