Heart and chest heavy, I moved away from the mirror and turned on the shower, cranking up the hot water. Stripping the soiled clothing off me, I stepped in. Air hissed through my clenched teeth as the hot spray hit old and new abrasions. I pushed through it, watching the pink and brown water circle the drain until it cleared. I washed my hair twice and overloaded the loofa with so much body wash the pineapple and mango scented gel oozed down my arm. By the time I was done, the bathroom was a steamy fruit basket.

Once dressed in the pajamas, I picked up Zayne’s comb and worked out the tangles in my hair, hoping that there’d be a chance for him to get annoyed over that later. Leaving the bathroom, I grabbed the pillow and blanket, taking them out into the living room. I turned the corner of the couch into a bed and eased down, wrapping the blanket around me. The blanket smelled sweet, like chocolate and the sugary wine Matthew liked to drink. It smelled like Bambi—Roth’s familiar. The six-foot snake had spent the last several days curled up beside me, resting with her head on my leg while I healed. I think she’d done that because I’d helped return her to Roth. The pillow, though...

I turned my head, pressing my cheek into the pillow. It smelled of wintermint. The backs of my eyes burned as I squeezed them shut.

There was still hope.

He was alive.

It wasn’t too late.

That’s what I kept telling myself until I began to drift off. It felt like minutes passed before I was jarred awake.

“Trinnie!” a voice shouted directly in my face.

I jerked upright, my heart launching itself somewhere into the vicinity of the ceiling as my eyes popped open. Hovering several feet off the floor was the ghostly form of Peanut.

“Jesus,” I rasped, blinking several times. Muted daylight streamed in front of the windows. “I think you gave me a heart attack.”

“You? I gave you a heart attack?” he screeched, and it was a good thing that 99.5 percent of the populace couldn’t hear him. “Where have you been all night? I came home, and you were gone. I kept coming back and then it happened.”

Shoving the hair out of my face, I waited until my vision cleared. Peanut’s dark hair was messy, like he’d been inside a wind tunnel. The Whitesnake concert shirt was as vintage as his red Chuck Taylors, but when I focused on his feet, I realized from the knees down he was completely transparent.

My brows rose. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know. I’m dead. Do I look like I have a watch or need one?”

“Well, you think you need your own bathroom so why wouldn’t you think you need a watch?” I muttered.