Chapter 4: Heat, Confession, and a Second Chance
The comments were flying by too fast to keep up. Before I could react, Julia burst into the room. She pushed me onto the bed.
She was soft—just like when we were kids.
Her hand trembled a little as she gripped my shirt. Her breath was hot against my neck. For a heartbeat, it was like the world had shrunk to just us, the hum of the comments fading into white noise. The wildness in her eyes was something I’d never seen—vulnerable and fierce, all at once.
"Noah, I feel awful..." Her voice barely above a whisper.
Her voice broke. And I finally understood: for all the years I’d been blind, Julia had been waiting for me to see her. The ache in her words made my heart lurch. Maybe—just maybe—it wasn’t too late to try again.
Outside, the comments kept roaring; inside, I finally went quiet.













