Maybe I should check my horoscope for tomorrow and see if offing myself is in my future.

There’s a soft knock at the door, derailing those thoughts.

“Yeah?” I call out, not bothering to get up. Lars probably wants to complain about Perry some more—or do a sweep of the room to make sure he hasn’t snuck in here to kill me in my sleep—and I really don’t need to be standing for either of those things.

Instead of Lars though, I glance over to see Perry slipping through the small opening and quickly closing the door behind himself. His appearance makes me sit up immediately, but he doesn’t have his gun.

In fact, as he leans back against the door, I realize he doesn’t have much of anything. Just the too-small novelty shirt, which, by the way it clings to his muscles, was more of a gift for me than him, and his navy boxer briefs. Those are at least the right size for him, but as my gaze lingers on his crotch, I can make out just as much as through his T-shirt.

I suck a quick breath in through my nose. “What are you doing?”

“Ah …” His hands are tucked behind him, and he taps his fingers against the door. “Wanted to … say hey.”

“Hey,” I respond dryly, eyeing the nervous body language and the way that, even though he’s in my room, he looks like he’s trying to put as much distance between us as possible. “Was that all?”

“Yes.” He jerks to the side, like he’s going to walk out again, but stops. His chest rises on a deep breath. “No.”

“No?”

“Lars thinks I’m going to die,” rushes from him.

“He what?”

Some of Perry’s awkwardness fades as he paces to the center of the room. “With Luther. Thinks that I’m probably going to be killed tomorrow, and I know it’s probably not fair complaining about this to you, but I don’t actually want to die. Even if it might seem like an easy way to avoid Margot’s disappointment, I can’t fix any of it if I’m dead. And I want to fix things. A lot of things. Too many things to die.”

I pat the bed beside me, and Perry doesn’t hesitate to take up the spot. “You said you trust Luther.”

“I do! Did. I mean, I don’t think he’ll hurt me or anything, but then Lars put the what-if in my head, and now I’m having a case of the doubts.”

“I think that’s normal.”

His breathing is loud, like he’s working himself up. “There’s so much I haven’t done yet.”

I tilt my head, curious. “Like what?”

“Like … I can’t solve a Rubik’s cube. Or play an instrument. And I’ve never skipped a rock, like, ever.”