“It feels like—”

“Snakes, I know, but trust me, you’ll get used to it.” I watched Chase give in to the sensation and become oblivious to us.

“Shall we pick up where we left off?” Alex asked.

I shrugged his hands from my shoulders and glared at him. “Don’t treat me like I’m this prize you’ve won. I saw you look at Chase before you kissed me. You knew he was watching us.”

“So? Do you have a problem with him knowing you’re my girlfriend?”

“No. I have a problem with you groping me every time Chase is near. You’re not a dog, and I’m not a tree. So, stop trying to piss around me.”

Chase started laughing, and I turned to see he was no longer connected to Medusa.

“It’s nice to see a girl who isn’t afraid to stand up for herself.”

I stared at Chase, not liking the way he was looking at me any more than I liked the way Alex was acting. I spun on my heel and headed toward the kitchen to help Arianna with lunch, and more importantly to put some distance between both guys and me.

“Jodi,” Alex called after me.

“See you at lunch.” I waved my hand, not looking at either of them, and kept walking. I turned the corner, almost smacking into Arianna.

“Jodi, what’s gotten into you?” She shook her head at me. “I’ve only known you for a couple months, but I’ve never heard you talk like that. Especially to Alex.”

She was right. I didn’t talk like that. I had no idea where it was coming from, all this anger. Before Chase came, things with Alex had been great. I’d never minded when he kissed me out of the blue. I thought it was romantic. But now…

“It feels like the only reason Alex is acting like this is because he doesn’t like the way Chase looks at me.”

“The only reason?” Arianna tsked. “Honey, that boy is in love with you. If you can’t see that, well, you need to get those pretty green eyes of yours checked.”

In love with me? No. No way. We’d been together less than three months. Alex couldn’t be in love with me.

“And Chase definitely has a crush on you. I saw the way he was looking at you. Holding your hand.”

My eyes widened. “Arianna, were you spying on me?”

“Sweetheart, please. I was dusting in the living room. It’s not like you and Chase were behind closed doors. I have eyes and ears, and they work just fine.”

“Well, since you know what’s going on, maybe you can help me. I really care about Alex. I do. But Chase is different. I’m annoyed by his cockiness, but drawn to him at the same time. It’s so much like the way I felt when I first met Alex.” I hung my head. “What should I do?”

“Okay, here’s one way to find out where your heart really is.” She brought me over to a couch in the living room, and we sat down. “Close your eyes.”

I took a deep breath and did what she said.

“Now clear your mind completely.” She paused. “Is it clear?”

Clearing my mind wasn’t easy these days. I had too much going on in there. “Not really.”

“Different question then. Whose face do you see?”

Whose face? I didn’t see a face. Wait! Yes, I did. But it wasn’t Alex or Chase. It was Matt. My ex-boyfriend, Matt. My human boyfriend I’d killed and brought back as a zombie, Matt. What did that mean? And did I really want Arianna to know I was this boy-crazed?

“Jodi? Do you see a face?”

“No,” I lied, opening my eyes.

“All right. Let’s try something else.”

I didn’t want to try anything else. I wanted to forget I was a complete headcase right now.

“Hades is coming.”

“What? Where?” I whipped my head around.

“Relax.” Arianna grabbed my arm, gently rubbing it. “It’s another method of figuring out what’s really in your heart. Pretend Hades is coming. He’s determined to take one of the boys. Either Alex or Chase. You can’t bargain with him. You can’t get out of making a decision. Who do you save?”

“Alex,” I said, without hesitation. “I’ve known him longer. I don’t really know anything about Chase.”

Arianna cocked her head to the side. “Is that the only reason you’re choosing Alex?”

“No. I really like Alex.”

“So, you don’t like Chase?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten to know him yet.”

“But you want to get to know him?”

“Yes.”

“Even if it hurts Alex?”

“I don’t know.” All this was doing was confusing me more. I felt like I should be lying on a couch in the middle of a therapy session while a shrink analyzed all my thoughts.

“So, if you could get to know Chase without hurting Alex, you would?”

“Yes.”

“And what if getting to know Chase means losing Alex?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Alex asked.

I spun around on the couch to see the twisted expression on his face. “No, that’s not what I meant.” I reached out to him, but he was already taking off upstairs.

“Alex, wait!” I jumped up and ran after him. “Let me explain!”

At the top of the stairs, Chase grabbed my arm. “Explain what?”

“Let go of me, Chase. I need to talk to Alex.”

“Don’t tell me you two are fighting again.” His expression was unreadable. Not quite concern, but not quite wishful thinking.

“We’re not fighting. Things are fine. Let me go.”

He released his grip, letting his fingers lightly trail down my arm until he reached my hand. He laced his fingers through mine, and a tingling sensation soared through me. I couldn’t deny the effect he had on me, but I didn’t want to feel this way. I wanted Alex. I dropped Chase’s hand and walked around him, careful not to touch him in the process.

“See you at lunch,” he called after me.

I rushed to Alex’s door and knocked. “Alex, please let me in. I need to talk to you.”

For a moment there was only silence, but then I heard footsteps coming toward the door. “Go away, Jodi. I have nothing to say to you.”

“Well, I have something to say to you. Please, Alex.” My voice quivered as I struggled to hold back tears. Emotions welled up inside me. Emotions I hadn’t realized I had. Arianna’s words echoed in my brain. Honey, that boy is in love with you. I pressed my palms against the door and let the tears spill from my eyes. “Alex…I love you.”

Time seemed to freeze as I waited for some sort of reaction, but all I got was silence. My throat constricted. If Alex didn’t listen to me after I’d said the L-word, there was nothing I could do to save our relationship. I was about to walk away when the lock clicked, and the door swung open. Alex stared at my tear-streaked face.

“I’m sorry if I said that too soon. If it freaked you out. I just had to tell you.”

His arms were around me before I could blink. He pulled me close and kissed me. He didn’t have to say it. I knew Arianna was right. He loved me. Alex pulled away slightly. “Do you want to come in?”

I nodded, and he stepped back so I could follow him into the room. Before I made it through the doorway, I saw Chase still standing in the hall. Staring at me. He’d seen and heard everything. My blood bubbled under my skin, but I looked away and walked into Alex’s room, shutting the door behind me.

Alex and I hung out until lunch. I let myself forget about everything else and focused on him. It was exactly like it was before Chase had gotten here. The only problem was that once we left this room, Chase would be there, and what would happen the next time he touched me?

I tried not to think about it while we walked to the dining room. Arianna smiled at me when she saw Alex holding my hand. I smiled back at her and mouthed the words, “Thank you.” She had helped me realize how I felt about Alex. I was still confused about Chase and why he affected me the way he did, but at least I had a handle on Alex.

We took our seats and dug right into the meatball subs Arianna had made us. I even had a side of mac and cheese with Alex. Chase still hadn’t shown up for lunch, but I pretended not to notice. Finally, I heard footsteps and looked up, expecting to see Chase, but instead I saw the corpse. The one I’d left in my bathroom with instructions not to leave unless I told him to.