"You took too long," I told Tate as soon as he stepped out of the door. His shirt was still pressed cleanly against his body, not scrimped or ruffled in the least so most likely a fight didn't really occur. Although if a fight had occurred, it wasn't my problem in the least. They were big guys already who didn't need anyone's help. Though one of them was definitely grateful to receive help before. Isn't that a little hypocritical of him then?
Tate stared at me, emotions flitting across his eyes before it settled on the concern I had come to know so well from the people around me. It was like a punch in the gut, that familiar worry in their eyes which said they did not know if I was going to break down again or do something which wasn't normal.
I started walking, Admittedly, I hadn't been normal since the day I had been born and the family I was born in was far from it as well, so what did they really expect for me to turn out into? Even if I suddenly break out into a song and dance on a sunny midday afternoon, it still wouldn't be out of character.
However, I think it would border on eccentricity on Phink's level, so maybe it would be out of character. Phink? I thought, his name tickling something at the back of my mind. It had been a while since I had last seen him and even after days of being up and about, it was only now that I remembered him.
Coming up short on what I could have forgotten, I shrugged it off. It would come up later, I was sure of it. It most likely was not even detrimental to the task at hand, so no need to beat myself up trying to remember it right now.
Speaking of the task at hand, I looked back and saw Tate still looking worriedly behind me at the top of the stairs of their house. There were lines on his forehead that spoke of his rising worry which was totally not necessary. I didn't need him worried about me. In fact, I didn't need anyone to be worried about me at all.
Sighing at his whole pointless worry, I barked at him. "Come on, let's go. Time's a-wasting, right?"
He nodded his head and walked down the stairs, heading right to one of the parked cars in front of the house. It was a sleek gleaming pure white Mustang that purred when it roared to life as we pulled off the curb and headed for the meeting we were already so late for.
As we zoomed down the road heading right into the bustling center of Ashburn city, there was only silence in the car besides the soft purr of the engine. I glanced at him, wondering why he was quiet when he normally would have said something at this point.
He gripped the beige leather handle of the steering wheel hard, staring straight at the road in front of us like he couldn't have looked at anything else.
I needed other details for this meeting with the Thyranos pack, and he wouldn't have told me about it if he refused to talk to me because he had a stick up his ass. Succumbing on that need to know, I spoke first, "What's wrong?"
His hand dented the leather of the wheel before he decided to enlighten me with his voice seconds later. "That friend of yours is an idiot," he said, stressing out the word friend like it was necessary.
Rastor and I weren't even friends now, I was sure of it with how he was treating me, so he didn't have to emphasize it nor state the obvious. Rastor was an idiot—a hopeless, sapless, idiot who was formerly my friend but was now letting his misgivings color his opinion of me.
I was not an extension of my pack, no matter how closely related I was to them so he didn't have the right to be such a bastard to me.
"Yes, I know. You have a point here or what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Tate.
He only sped up faster and faster until it looked like we were going to reach the city in seconds instead of less than half an hour.
"Don't take what he said to heart, he's just stupid which was why he was acting like that."
