Chapter 2

Back in my small apartment, the truth was waiting for me.

It was a tiny, pathetic-looking thing, like a sapling that had been stepped on. It sat in a pot on my windowsill, its leaves drooping.

"You have some explaining to do," I said, my voice sharp.

The sapling trembled. A tiny, high-pitched voice echoed in my head, a voice only I could hear.

I'm sorry, Chloe. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

This was Willow. A dryad. A nature spirit. She was the one who had "borrowed" my body.

She told me everything. My car had crashed near her home, an ancient maple tree on the edge of the Moreau estate. She had pulled my spirit from my dying body and placed it in her tree to heal, while she took my place.

"Why?" I demanded. "Why Ethan?"

He saved me, Willow explained, her voice filled with a hopeless, romantic sigh. Years ago, developers wanted to cut down my tree. He was just a boy. He stood in front of it and refused to move. He saved my home. I've loved him ever since.

I rolled my eyes. "So you decided to become his number one stalker? Using my body?"

I just wanted to be close to him, she whispered. And I wanted to help him. He gets so anxious before his hockey games. So I made him something.

She directed my attention to a small wooden box on my dresser. Inside, nestled on a bed of velvet, was nothing. An empty space.

I used a lot of my life essence to create a lucky charm for him, Willow said, her leafy form wilting. It was a small maple leaf, carved from a branch of my own tree. It was supposed to protect him. He wears it all the time.

I slammed the box shut. "So, let me get this straight. You've ruined my reputation, made me the town joke, and given a piece of your soul to a guy who probably doesn't even know your real name?"

He loves me, she insisted weakly. I know he does.

I just stared at her. My life was a mess, and it was all because of a lovesick plant.

A few days later, my phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize. I answered.

"Chloe? This is Eleanor Moreau," a crisp, demanding voice said. Ethan's mother. "Ethan took a nasty hit in his game tonight. He has a minor concussion. I expect you to be here with your homemade soup within the hour. He always feels better after he sees you."

I almost laughed. They were so used to the fawning, obsessed version of me.

"No," I said.

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line.

"What did you say?"

"I said no," I repeated, my voice firm. "If your son has a concussion, you should call a doctor, not his fangirl. I'm busy."

I hung up before she could respond.

I looked at the wilting sapling on my windowsill. I realized I was stuck in this drama until I got her life essence back. That stupid pendant was the key.

"We're going to get your charm back," I told Willow. "And then you are going to leave my life forever."