7. Tori

7

TORI

This was a bad idea.

Guilt and regret swarmed in my gut as I stared at the closed door that Calix just walked into.

The man had been abrasive, and I hadn’t expected him to be a germaphobe. It must’ve been an absolute nightmare for him to live in the world the way it was. Even though he’d worn a medical mask, his bright green eyes had been calculating and beautiful. His black hair had stuck up in every direction, and I felt bad for waking him. His voice had been deep, and it sent chills down my spine the more he talked.

I hated that I made him feel uncomfortable in his own home.

All because I hadn’t wanted to deal with Daisy and Jay.

Micah cleared his throat and walked across the wooden floor to the kitchen area and waved his arm over the wooden cabinets and a wood stove. “It’s getting chilly now that summer has ended, but with the horde, we don’t want to start the wooden stove unless we’re cooking something or it’s below freezing.”

Nathan strode toward an open door with a porcelain sink visible and jerked his thumb toward it. “This is the bathroom. When you’re finished with your business, spray the disinfectant solution in the blue bottle and wipe it down with the blue cloth all over the toilet and bathroom for Calix’s sake. For future reference, he has the cloths and spray bottles color-coded for each room. Blue is the bathroom, green is for the floors, white for walls, red for the kitchen, purple for the living room, and black for the bedrooms.”

My face burned as I nodded, getting under the covers Nathan had laid out on the bed for me. “Sure. Thanks for letting me stay with you. I’m sorry I made Calix uncomfortable.”

“You’re welcome here. Calix will come around. Give him time.” Nathan smiled, and my heart fluttered at how welcoming the two were—but I hated that I’d intruded on Calix’s safe place.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m beat.” Micah yawned, stretching his arms over his head. His flannel rode up a bit to show his toned lower abdomen with a dark trail of hair leading into his pants. “Ready to get some sleep?”

I nodded. “If it wasn’t for you, my family and I would’ve been terrified. I don’t want to think of what would’ve happened had we seen the horde and had to deal with it on our own. Thank you.”

They both shot me reassuring smiles.

“Don’t worry about it, killer. I’d be dead on my feet if it wasn’t for you.” Nathan gave me another longing look before retreating back into the door closest to the wood stove. “We’ll leave the door open in case you need anything.”

“We should really be thankin’ you, darlin’,” Micah said with a grin before following Nathan into his room.

My heart throbbed painfully in my chest as I snuggled down in the bed and let out a breath.

They were extremely kind. I hadn’t met many people so open to helping others even before the apocalypse.

I hoped Spencer and my parents were doing okay in their treehouse. I didn’t have time to think about the state of the world, our home, or even mourning Kovu because the moment my eyelids fluttered shut, exhaustion took over.

My body jerked awake,and the sheets and blankets stuck to the surface of my body.

Groans, moans, and shuffling came from below us, and fear leaked into me as I shot upright in bed with sweat rolling down my spine.

The moonlight still shone into the treehouse, but there was barely enough light to see, let alone move around in a place I didn’t know well.

But my body screamed at me to get up anyway.

I tossed the covers off and slid out of the bed before tip-toeing over to the window.

My stomach rolled as I saw the amount of zombies making their way through the forest, miraculously not noticing us up in the treehouses. A shiver worked its way through me as horror knotted my gut.

An entire army of undead was below me.

If any of us had been down there, we would be dead. Just like that.

I hoped the horses were safe in the shed, but the way the horde came through made me think the worst. They destroyed everything in their path aside from the trees themselves.

The ranch wouldn’t have survived this.

A tear slipped down my cheek, and I glanced up at the treehouse adjacent from ours to meet Jay’s gaze.

He stood there, staring out the window same as me, but his eyes were locked on me rather than the zombies.

You okay?he mouthed.

My brows furrowed for a moment.

Of course I wasn’t okay. We’d all but lost our home and were forced to relocate with other survivors we knew nothing about.

But these survivors were kind, and they’d saved our lives.

I gave a stiff nod and turned before I shuffled toward Micah’s room without another thought.

Jay didn’t deserve to know anything about me anymore. Not after what he did. Jay hadn’t just been my boyfriend, he had been my best friend along with Daisy.

Their betrayal hurt me deeper than I’d ever been hurt before.

I didn’t want anything to do with them aside from surviving together, and I didn’t see why I should have to waste energy speaking with them anymore than I had to.

The floorboard creaked at the threshold of the room, and Nathan shifted up in bed, holding his arm out to me. “Come to bed, killer.”

“Did I wake you?”

“I’ve been up. Figured you’d need someone. I was terrified the first time a horde came through here too. Micah’s so used to it, he can sleep through it now.”

I reached out and took his hand. “Thank you, Nathan.”

“Any time,” he mumbled, pulling me over him and into the soft bed between him and Micah, curling his arm around me.

I stared at Micah’s sleeping form next to me. “Are you sure Micah won’t mind if I stayed in his bed with you both?”

“Not at all.” His warmth consumed me, and I snuggled closer to him. “He’ll just be happy you’re comfortable.”

“I hope so.” I glanced up at him, but the moonlight was even more scarce in this room than the living room. “How many hordes have been through since you’ve been here?”

“Every year around this time actually, so two.”

“You’ve been with Micah for two years then?”

He let out a ragged sigh before his fingers began to skim over my scalp, and I laid my head against the pillow. “Yeah. I fucked up really bad that first year, and that fuck up led to my dad, my step-mom, and me to flee our fortress of a homestead. After we fled, we were staying in a warehouse for a couple of months, and Micah came through to scavenge. That’s how we met him, and when he learned our story, he offered us refuge here so long as we did our part.”

“I’m sure whatever you did wasn’t that bad,” I murmured, my eyelids becoming heavier. “Besides, it led you to where you are now with Micah and Calix. It seems like you have a great set up here.”

“That’s one way to look at it. But you don’t know what I did. That’s a story for another day, though.” He pulled me even closer. “Get some sleep, killer. You need it.”

“I know.” I slid my hands up his chest and slung one arm around his waist as if I’d been cuddling him forever. “You feel nice.”

“So do you. Tell me if you get uncomfortable,” he murmured.

“I won’t, but you tell me the same.”

“Having you in my arms is the most comfort I’ve felt in years.”

I inhaled his spicy scent as I snuggled closer.

Sleep didn’t take long to consume me again, and it was the best sleep I’d had in years.