Saving Shaw

Seven

The next morning when I entered the kitchen, everyone was sitting at the island counter except for Talon who was frying eggs on the stovetop. I was wearing the same, wrinkled clothing as the day before and tied my greasy hair up in a ponytail. I desperately needed a shower, but after assessing Talon's lack of hair products, I decided to wait until I could get my own.

I tried to not appear as self-conscious as I felt, but when everyone looked up and conversation stopped as I entered the room, it was difficult not to feel a little insecure. Putting on a brave face, I smiled. "Good morning," I chirped as I went over to the island and sat down in the only unoccupied seat.

Arrow was dressed in a tight athletic shirt that clung to his chest and a pair of running shorts. He had a thin layer of sweat coating his skin. Like he mentioned last night, he must've gone for a run earlier this morning before sitting down for breakfast.

Axel was wearing a loose T-shirt and a pair of sweats. His hair was disheveled and it looked like he'd just rolled out of bed ten minutes ago.

Steele wore a pair of dark jeans and was otherwise shirtless. He was more muscular than the rest of the guys, but not so much that he looked like he was taking some sort of enhancement for his body. He looked refreshed as if he'd gotten a great night's sleep or had just gotten out of the shower.

There was a hesitant chorus of responses, before I looked at Talon's back. "So when can we go get my stuff?"

Talon seemed to have found a shirt between last night and this morning, but like my own clothes, it was wrinkled. His hair was also unkempt and his body seemed stiff as if he hadn't slept the night before.

"Later," came his gruff response without turning around.

The other three just ate silently as if they could sense an argument coming on. The smart thing for me to do would've been to just leave it at that. It was obvious their selfless leader was in a mood this morning. I, however, was not going to let that intimidate me.

"Care to specify?" I asked in a light tone.

"Not really."

I nodded and pursed my lips. "Well if someone could give me their keys, I'd be happy to go on my own," I offered.

"Shaw," Talon warned as he turned around and gave me an exasperated look like he was already tired of me after only being in my presence for two and a half minutes. "Can we refrain from playing this game this early?"

His tone was condescending. It was as if he were speaking to a child and my eyes immediately narrowed. If there was one thing I hated more than anything in the world, it was the disrespect that came with someone belittling me.

"What game?" I asked defensively. "I'm just trying to get stuff. I need my laptop for work. I need clothes."

Talon turned back to shut off the burner before facing me again. "You don't need all that stuff right this minute."

"I wasn't asking to go 'right this minute.' I just wanted a time frame," I argued back, my eyes narrowing at him.

"Steele and I will take you around eleven," he said, crossing his arms over his chest as if daring me to argue further. Based on his smirk and the evil glint in his eyes, I could tell that he knew I wanted to.

So that's what I did.

I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth. "Can't Arrow or Axel go instead?" I asked slowly.

"You're hurting Steele's feelings."

"I meant in replace of you, Meathead," I practically growled.