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Without Ryden, I would have drowned.

They were the best and worst things that had ever happened to me. They had stitched me back together. They had shown me exactly how broken I really was.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the seat.

No matter how many times I wished for another life, this was the only one I had.

I had to live it.

I will!

On the way to Enzo’s, I stopped by the pizzeria and picked up a few boxes. The streets were quieter, the city settling into that strange hour when the world was trapped between dreams and despair.

The sky was dark, heavy with clouds, swallowing the stars before they had a chance to shine.

I drove through sleepy roads, the hum of the engine filling the empty spaces between my thoughts. The darkness outside the windshield felt endless, pressing against the glass as though it wanted in.

By the time I pulled up in front of the funeral home, the pizzas had filled the car with the warm scent of garlic, cheese, and baked dough—a comfort that felt strangely out of place against the cold knot in my chest.

I killed the engine.

Just as I stopped, another car eased in beside mine, its headlights cutting through the darkness.

Enzo climbed out first, holding onto a leather bag. Trish stepped out, moving closer to him, as if seeking his protection. Pale and thin, she looked like she would fade away if someone didn’t hold on to her for a little while.

Looking at her made my stomach twist.

It was unsettling. She was supposed to be dead, supposed to have become another headline, a body in my morgue.

She survived when Kat didn’t.

I had a lot of questions for her, but I kept them inside for now. She didn’t look ready for them. Hell, I wasn’t sure I was ready either.

“Hi,” Trish said, giving me a half wave, still standing too close to Enzo. Her body trembled in the cold, and Enzo quickly pulled off his jacket and handed it to her.

“Are you alright?” I asked, studying the faint bruises beneath her eyes. Of course, she wasn’t.

She gave me a hesitant nod. “Better.”

“I figured she shouldn’t be alone for a while,” Enzo said, eyes lingering on her face.

Irene had a crush on Enzo—at least, that’s what Ryden told me—and now Enzo was bringing his crush to stay under the same roof as her.

Irene and Trish were… friends? Somehow?

I had no idea how I felt about any of it.

“I didn’t want to come,” Trish said quietly. “But he convinced me. He was good at it.”

“He’s right,” I said as we headed down the narrow trail behind the funeral home.

The idea of Trish staying with Irene rubbed me raw. Maybe it was stupid to feel that tug in my gut when I thought about Irene’s friendship with Trish, but it stayed. That feeling of betrayal lingered.

I hated myself for it.

I’d never liked drama. But lately my life had been so full of it I could barely breathe. Every day felt like I was stomping through someone else’s mess, someone else’s life. All I wanted was to go back to whatever passed for normal in my world. To slip past these human feelings within me. I wanted the darkness. The quiet, familiar one. The one with just my demons and the dead bodies. Things that made sense.

Feelings? They were the only mystery I never had the patience to solve.