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.
8
MICAH
Afaint scent of strawberries filled my nose as I inhaled deeply, and my eyes opened to Tori tucked between Nathan and me—both our arms snug around her waist. My flannel hung loose on her, but she was still covered and looked beautiful. It had ridden up in the middle of the night, so I avoided looking down, but her skin wassosoft.
