Their Light

Chapter 40

Hadley

"You okay?" Ryder asked me as I stepped off of the bike. My legs felt shaky after being on the rumbling beast. I stood up unsteadily on my feet. His hands grasped my waist, grounding me as I took the helmet off.

"Yeah," I replied after a second. "I'm good."

He released my waist and stepped back. We made good time, but growling stomachs had prompted a stop. I looked over and saw the others getting out of their vehicles. I headed over to meet them. Isaac rolled down the windows for Joe, who was still passed out in the backseat. It was a nice day, not too hot or too cold, so he would be fine. Peter had also left him a dish of water and food so he could eat when he wanted to.

I looked at our chosen dining establishment, taking it in. It was the epitome of a home style diner. A covered porch with various outdoor seating ran the entire length of the extensive building. Kent lead the way as we headed inside. It was pretty busy, but considering it was prime lunch time that was not surprising.

"Eight," Kent told the host. Surprisingly, they had a table ready for us almost immediately. We headed over and they sat us at a large circle table. It was a bit of a squeeze, but I didn't mind. I surveyed the people around us feeling for anything off, but I didn't sense anything, thankfully.

Menus were passed around, and I looked at it immediately. I was starving. Motorcycle riding was fun, but I was pretty sure my legs were going to be sore the next day. I'll probably switch to another vehicle after we eat. I put that decision off and focused on the food instead. Dang, all of it looked good. I glanced at the others.

"What are you getting?" I asked Isaac, who was sitting on my left. He glanced up from his menu and pointed to the pancake breakfast. Apparently, someone was still feeling breakfast. I nodded and looked back at my lunch menu. Breakfast did sound good at the moment. I glanced over at Kent, who was sitting on my right.

"What are you getting?" I asked him the same question.

"The chicken pot pie, I think," he replied, pointing it out on the menu. Ooo, that did look good, and it came with sides. Too many options.

"Hello, my name's Tom and I'll be your waiter today. What can I get you guys to drink?" A guy around our age said as he came up to our table. He was wearing the same apron as everyone else and carrying a pad of paper. His long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail away from his face. He looked over at all of us, but his gaze paused on me. "What can I get you, Sugar?"

I flinched at the nickname, and the way he said it made my skin crawl. I shrank away, pulling my menu up slightly and mumbled out water. The guys gave him their drink order and glared at him until he finally left.

"You okay?" Kent asked me softly. I nodded, feeling self-conscious. I had forgotten what interacting with people besides the guys felt like. The emotions washing over me whether I wanted them to or not. He most definitely did not just want my drink order. I made myself focus back on the menu and decided to go with the chicken pot pie as well.

Ryder sat back down at the table, drawing my attention. I didn't even notice that he had gotten up. He smirked at me before focusing on his menu. I wondered what that was about. Surprisingly, a girl came out with our drink order. I expected her to leave and the guy, Tom, to come take our meal order, but that didn't happen. She took our order and was nothing but polite and cordial.

After we handed her our menus, she left us to go put the order in. I narrowed my eyes and glanced at Ryder, who stared back unapologetically.

"How much longer until we get there?" I asked the table, letting the waiter issue go. I hoped they didn't get him into too much trouble, but I wasn't going to complain about the switch.