The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 27

I took a deep breath. "Nicky... I thought you were only going to paint Luke's door?"

Nicky was unrepentant. "I never said that. Besides, when I took that can of paint back, this one literally fell off the shelf and into my hands. I couldn't pass it up. Then a smaller can hit me on the head, so I had to take that one too. Then I grabbed a few more."

"And you had to pick my door?"

"Of course! It suited you perfectly! Inspiration struck!"

Inspiration struck indeed. How she managed to pull this off in so little time left me completely baffled.

"Well, she does have a point. It suits you perfectly," Luke commented, looking amused.

"If you don't want it," Jess said, staring at my door with wide eyes, "I'll trade you. We just need to take the pins out of the hinges, right?"

Ignoring my sister, I crossed my arms and regarded the new paint job on my door. Nicky had managed a rather detailed sun and moon scene. Half of my door was light blue with yellow sunbeams beaming out from a red and orange sun, while the other half was a star-spangled dark blue with a pearly crescent moon. The tiny specks of yellow were actually tiny stars and not just round dots of paint. The moon token that had been hanging from my doorknob was now secured in the middle of the painted moon like a centerpiece.

To be honest, it looked really good. My apparent irritation had just been my instincts talking since she had touched something that belonged to me. I had a bad habit of covering up my happier emotions with a gruff exterior. I suppose I have to work on that...

With a heavy sigh, I walked toward Nicky, looking directly at her as I approached.

She ducked her head and hunched her shoulders slightly. "Ummm... Can I ask for forgiveness? Or perhaps repaint your door with a color you choose as an apology? I can fetch Jess's door and swap it out for you."

I hid a smirk. She thought the direct eye contact combined with her unauthorized actions meant she had crossed a line.

I was within reach of her now. "No."

Before she had a chance to respond or react, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders in a one-armed hug. "Thank you. I really like it."

Her jaw dropped. "You made me worry like that for no reason?"

I chuckled at her dumbfounded expression. Luke and Jess looked surprised at the hug, but they grinned when they realized I wasn't angry.

Nicky attempted a growl. "Grrr... I should have known you weren't actually upset. You didn't growl or snarl, and those are usually dead giveaways unless you're about ready to kill someone, but even then, you usually give some sort of warning."

I was amused she had picked up so much considering she'd only seen me that mad a handful of times. She began laughing as she hooked one arm around me in a hug.

"If you had attempted to paint my door bright pink, you would have been running for the hills," I informed her.

"Hey, I actually found a similar shade of pink to what Daniel dyed my clothes. I'm saving it for Nina's door. No one will ever take her seriously after that."

I rolled my eyes and responded dryly, "You are aware she works with zombie blood and chemicals all day, right? For all you know, she'll turn you into a zombie for that stunt."

Nicky just laughed harder as she stepped back, clasping her hands in front of her in a vain effort to contain her mirth. "No, she wouldn't!" Nicky gasped. "If I turned into a Terror, it would be her worst nightmare come true! Even if I ended up a Nightstalker, the two of us could tag team Daniel. Wouldn't that knock him off of his high horse?"