Then I knock on my bedroom door, which feels weird. “You good?”

Every millisecond he doesn’t answer I get nervous.

“Come in,” he says after one whole second, alive and well. I open the door and he smiles when he sees me in his button-down. “It’s a good look on you.”

“You wear it best, but I want to keep it, and you should know I’m willing to fight you to the death.”

Valentino rises from the desk and pulls me into a kiss. “It’s all yours,” he says after.

He seems content in his Have a Happy End Day! shirt, though I invite him to raid my closet again now that I’ve robbed him. He goes through my hoodies as I do some cleaning up—condom and wrapper in my small trash, socks and underwear and skinny jeans in my hamper.

“All good with your message?” I ask Valentino.

“I think so,” Valentino says as he slips on an ordinary gray hoodie. “It’s not like I have a lot of time to get it right.”

“I’m sure Scarlett will love it, even if you just sat there in silence.”

“You’re probably right.”

I begin making my bed. Somehow, it’s going to feel so empty without Valentino, even though I only shared it with him once. Grief is a sneaky son of a bitch, trying to knock me out before Valentino is even down for the count. I’m not having much success with tucking the fitted sheets under the mattress, I always get this shit wrong. Then Valentino comes to the rescue, and it’s the millionth reminder that he won’t be around to help make my bed, to hold me close, to ask how I’m doing.

“We should get going, Orion.”

I try speaking, but I can’t. I’m not ready for this to be over.

“I thought we could share one last first,” Valentino says.

“Don’t say our first last goodbye or anything like that.”

Valentino holds up the camera. “First stroll down memory lane?”

“I’d love that,” I breathe.

“I thought we could do it at my place. Then I can leave the camera behind for Scarlett and we can go straight to the hospital after. Hopefully Dr. Emeterio has figured out something for me . . .”

That something being a peaceful way to die versus whatever else awaits him.

But I’m not giving life to those nightmares. I’m going to live the dream.

“Take me home, Valentino.”

Frankie Dario

6:24 p.m.

This day can’t get any worse.

First, that Decker tenant of his went off and died, killing Frankie’s dreams.

Then his wife’s best friend quit his job at Death-Cast, making himself useless to Frankie in the future.