6. Calix

6

CALIX

Acreaky floorboard and a feminine voice echoed through the wooden walls, making me jerk awake in bed.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you allowing me to stay with you,” a woman expressed her appreciation.

“We couldn’t let you be stuck in the guest treehouse with Daisy,” Nathan assured her, and the way he said Daisy was as if the name itself burned him.

“Calix won’t mind. Just make sure to keep everything clean and disinfected,” Micah added in his low, gruff tone that seemed softer than I’d ever heard it in the two years I’d known the man.

Hauling myself out of bed, I ran a hand through my unruly tangled hair and groaned before snatching the cotton mask on the nightstand and tucking it carefully over my ears to cover my mouth and nose.

I could hear the hissing of disinfectant as I stumbled toward the exit and grabbed a freshly cleaned pair of rubber gloves on the dresser. I slid them on before opening the door and going out into the living room.

The small amount of moonlight streamed through the window enough to make out a beautiful woman standing between Micah and Nathan, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Brown hair tumbled down her shoulders in waves, and her pretty blue eyes widened as she noticed me.

“And this is Calix,” Nathan introduced me with a dramatic arm wave my way, and Micah finished spraying her off before setting the disinfectant on the table.

Her lips curved into a shy smile as she wrapped her arms around her torso. “Hi. I’m Tori. I’m sorry for barging in.”

Her voice was soft and sweet, different than I had originally thought when I had been woken up by it, and her smile made my chest tighten.

I tilted my head and scanned my eyes over her sweatshirt and leggings, blood splatter coated both. The guys had deposited their shoes and hers outside like usual, so her feet were covered by faded blue socks. “You’ll need to clean up. The room’s already contaminated. Got extra clothes?”

Her smile dropped as her brows scrunched together. “Excuse me?”

“She will,” Nathan interrupted. “We all will. We know how you are, man.”

“Then why haven’t you done it correctly? How’d you find her?” I turned my gaze to Micah, and he gave a heavy sigh.

“There’s a horde coming through. We ran across her family’s ranch, and they came with us. It’s her, her sister and parents, and two others. She doesn’t get along well with the two others, and there was arguing. Figured it’d be best not to have conflict during the horde passing through.”

“Horde? How far away until it comes through?” My brain was still foggy from sleep, but the news of a horde making its way through sent adrenaline pumping through me.

“Any time now. The horde was too close for comfort on the way here.” Nathan shivered.

“Do you think it’s smart to have a stranger stay with us for days on end while an army of undead shamble below us?” My tone came out flat, but my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest.

“I can go stay with my family instead. I don’t want to be an inconvenience,” she offered just before Bane let out a snarl and some low rumbles outside.

“It’s too late for that,” Micah grumbled, turning and locking the multiple locks on the door to the treehouse.

Nathan strode toward the window and glanced out. “Everyone is settled in their treehouses, and the horses are locked up in the shed. Besides, Bane only makes that noise when he senses the dead.”

“I’m sorry.” Tori glanced down after her feet.

“Don’t be,” I grunted, my skin crawling the longer my gaze kept snagging on the bloodied clothes they all wore. “Nathan, are you sure she’s safe?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nathan’s lips flattened. “Of course she’s safe.”

“Your impressions aren’t always good,” I reminded him, and he winced.

“She’s safe,” Micah stated with a warning gaze. “I’m a good judge of character. I vouch for her.”

“I’m sure I can get to the other treehouse before the horde makes it through,” Tori snapped, then whirled on her heels, and headed for the door.

Micah blocked her path the same moment Nathan started walking into my personal space.

“Your room, now,” he practically growled at me.

He’d got so close to me with the blood on his clothes that my stomach rolled. “Bathroom,” I compromised.

I didn’t want him in my room with his clothes like that.

Once we stepped inside and shut the door, he glowered at me. “What the fuck, Calix?”

“What?” I grumbled, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall that I’d disinfected earlier that morning.

“It’s good to be paranoid and skeptical about people in the world now.” He stood, careful not to rub his dirtiness anywhere. “But we saved Tori and her group of survivors. They didn’t seek us out. That poor girl has been through enough without you giving her the cold shoulder.”

“I wasn’t giving her a cold shoulder.”

He shot me a firm look, and my shoulders sagged.

“Okay, fine. I was. But can you blame me? She’s covered in blood! And she’s been who-knows-where. What if she’s sick? We don’t know what kind of germs she’s been exposed to, Nathan!” My head spun with different scenarios, and my throat thickened. “She could have her period here! That’s a bodily waste!”

“We have precautions. We use pads and tampons for injuries, so we have some in here in case of that. But it probably won’t happen. If it does, we will handle it,” he assured me. “Listen, I get it. I do. But she’s going to follow all the rules we do. It’s going to be fine. Wait until you get to know her more. She’s respectful and sweet.”

I narrowed my gaze at the way his eyes lit up and lips curled upward as he spoke about her. “You’re infatuated with her.”

“I’m not infatuated. I just like her is all.”

Rolling my eyes, I pushed off the wall. “Whatever. She’s staying, I get it. But she has to follow all the precautions in place.”

“And she will. We will go over all of it in the morning.”

I flinched. “Clothes?”

He frowned. “We’ll take care of it, but would it kill you to be a little more welcoming?”

“It might if she’s carrying a disease or something,” I shot back before we left the bathroom.

Relief flooded me at Micah and Tori’s appearances, and my muscles relaxed a bit.

They’d both ditched their bloodied clothes on the deck outside, and I assumed they’d wiped down with the disinfectant solution and brown cloths we had set aside for blood. They appeared to be cleaned up even by my standards.

One of Micah’s flannels draped over her body, and she’d tied her hair up out of her face, revealing just how stunning she was.

Micah had gone through the routine for cleaning and disinfecting himself, but after I’d assured that, my eyes just stayed glued on her.

She shifted on her bare feet as she stared back at me. “I am sorry that I came uninvited.”

“You were invited,” Micah growled out, frowning at me. “He just hasn’t had a guest in our home before.”

“Not even Benjamin?” she asked.

“Not even my dad,” Nathan confirmed. “Calix is a germaphobe.”

“Not completely.” I cleared my throat, my cheeks burning as I called attention to myself. “I’m sorry for the hostile welcome. I just have to have things a certain way or it makes me anxious.”

“I can imagine,” she murmured, empathy shining in her eyes. “I’m sorry the world is the way it is. I can’t imagine the anxiety you deal with daily. I’ll do everything I can to make you comfortable with me being here.”

My mouth fell open, and heat streaked through me. I’d never had anyone be so open to making adjustments to suit my needs—aside from Micah and Nathan.

My chest fluttered at her kindness. “Thank you, Tori. It’s incredibly appreciated.”

She smiled hesitantly before holding out her dainty hand, but I winced.

Even with her smooth clean skin, a pit formed in my gut at the germs she could possibly have crawling on her.

She jerked her hand back to her side a moment later. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think.”

“It’s fine,” I croaked, stumbling back a few steps. “Where are we going to have her sleep?”

“I usually sleep on the couch,” Nathan admitted to her as he went over and pulled out the worn leather pull-out sofa until a full-size bed took its place. He grabbed the pillow and a couple of blankets from the wicker basket beside it and threw them over the mattress. “But you’re more than welcome to sleep with me.”

“Or you can sleep in the bed with me,” Micah offered as a smirk came over his features.

“Or Micah and Nathan could sleep together, and you could take the bed,” I added the suggestion. “You know, in case the woman wanted the option of sleeping alone.”

Both smirks on Micah and Nathan’s face wiped off as concern replaced them.

“That’s definitely an option.” Micah scratched his beard.

“Yep. It is.” Nathan cleared his throat. “Completely up to you, killer.”

“How about I sleep on the couch, and you two can have the bed?” She gripped the edge of the flannel, which reached mid-thigh, and I swallowed hard.

“That’s fine.” Nathan shrugged.

“I don’t mind if you want my bed,” Micah offered again, but she shook her head.

“You’ve given me a safe place to stay. I’m not taking your bed. Besides, this is a nice pullout, and I am more than ready for sleep.” She yawned, stretching her arms up over her head, and the flannel rose up.

Her skin looked so soft.

I turned my head before it went any further. “If you wouldn’t mind disinfecting the toilet with spray and wipes every time you use the restroom, I would be in your debt.”

“Of course,” she replied easily, the pull-out squeaking as she crawled on top of it.

“Night,” I murmured before turning and booking it out of the living room and to the safety of my room.

Once the door shut, I tore my mask off and peeled off the gloves before tossing them on the floor as I inhaled a deep breath.

I’d never wanted to physically touch another person before. I could handle Micah and Nathan if I knew they’d cleaned themselves right, but I’d never truly desired to touch someone.

Crawling back into my bed, I pulled the heavy comforter up and glanced at the door.

Tori would be sleeping just beyond that door for a few days, and it was abnormal just how much I didn’t hate the idea.