Page 220 of Time Stops With You

I smile and curl my finger tenderly against the cell phone. He must be blushing right now as his imagination runs wild.

Good.

I plan to bring adventure to his nights as well as his days. If only he’d stop being stubborn about pushing me away.

ME: What are you doing tomorrow?”

CULLEN: Not you. If that’s what you’re thinking.

I burst out laughing, imagining his stern face.

ME: I want to borrow your kitchen.

CULLEN: So now you’re asking permission?

ME: I’d like to take my social media more seriously and film a cooking video. But our kitchen isn’t exactly the aesthetic that goes viral.

CULLEN: Since you plan to break in anyway, just make yourself at home.

I smile.

CULLEN: I’m going to bed now.

ME: Dream of me.

CULLEN: I’m taking sleeping pills. I won’t be dreaming of anything tonight.

ME: Do you want me to come over? I can tire you out so you don’t even need the pills.

CULLEN: Goodnight, Nardi.

I smile and whisper to the phone, “Goodnight, Cullen.”

Twenty-Three

CULLEN

I’m lying on a field of grass, staring up at the sky. Nardi rolls close to me and snuggles on my chest.

“It’s time to get up, Cullen.”

“I am up.”

“Wakey-wakey.”

“My eyes are wide open, Nardi.” I move to wrap her in my arms.

Suddenly, Nardi screams and backs away from me. I reach out to her, but my hands are covered in blood.

What the…? Panic engulfs me. I pat down my body, wondering where I’m bleeding from. Why is there so much blood?

The sky above me darkens and I realize I’m not lying in a field of grass but in a coffin.

Something grainy hits my face.

It’s dirt. The dying sun glints against the bottom of a shovel as it sinks into the dirt. More sand rains down into the hole that I’m in.

“Nardi, I’m not dead. I’m here,” I call to her.

---