Page 90 of Redeemed

“I’ll have to look through the ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner, then,” I say, hoping I can at least have this. “Using it once is one thing, but I don’t want to ruin my hair color.”

Colton stares at me for a beat before turning back to the blender. “That’s reasonable enough.”

Tension lingers in my body, and I bite my tongue to keep myself from snapping at him. I was expecting him to put up a fight, not concede so quickly.

A loud whirring sound fills the kitchen, and I jump. I’m just able to make out Xander’s snicker over the blender, and I shoot him a glare. I don’t care who they are, I don’t need to be made fun of for involuntary reactions.

Once Colton is done, he dumps the green smoothie he’s making into a bowl. I do a double take before sitting at the table as far from Lucas as I can. If Colton wants to eat his smoothie like it’s soup, whatever. I don’t care.

“Food’s done,” Xander says as he carries three plates full of eggs, bacon, and toast to the table. He places one in front of Lucas and kisses the top of his head.

“Thanks,” Lucas mumbles.

Xander slides into the chair next to him. “No prob.”

“Come here,” Colton says as he lowers himself into his seat. His plate has more food on it than the others, but he ignores it, leaning down and placing the bowl on the floor.

What the hell?

“Now, angel.”

As usual, I wince at the detached way he says that nickname. There’s no point in wishing for the warmth he used to give me, though, so I get reluctantly get up.

“No.” He’s still not looking at me—he hasn’t since he started blending the smoothie. “Crawl.”

He can’t be serious.

But the smug tilt to Lucas’s lips tells me that he is, and that they discussed this before I came down. My first instinct is to fight, but I clamp my mouth shut before I say something stupid. I can handle this—I can handleanythingthese assholes throw at me. Nothing they can do will ever hold a candle to what Isaiah would do to me.

While I lower myself to the ground and crawl, I glare up at Colton. He’s dressed in black sweatpants and a black hoodie, and his blond hair is swept to one side. If it was anyone other than him, I’d admit that he looks attractive right now. But I know that underneath his groomed appearance and the charming smiles he gives, he’s nothing more than the devil’s spawn.

“Eat,” Colton says, finally fixing me with a detached look.

I stare at the bowl in disgust. “Why am I the only one who has to eat this? It looks gross.”

“I had mine a couple hours ago.”

Hours? What time does he get up?

“Eat,” Colton repeats more harshly.

“What about Xander and Lucas? Why don’t they have to eat this?”

“I don’t control what they put in their bodies.”

All I hear is what he doesn’t say—that he thinks he owns me. Maybe, in a temporary way, he does.

“Do I need to tell you a third time?” Colton asks with an annoyed sigh.

I frown at the green concoction. My assumption is that it tastes horrible, but when I lean down to lick some of it up, it’s surprisingly sweet. The flavor of the spinach is still prominent, but the fruit covers a lot of it up.

“Good girl.”

Since he can’t see my face, I roll my eyes. This is on par with the level of humiliation they usually try to force on me, but their methods have never been this ridiculous.

While we eat, the boys ignore me and make casual conversation with each other. Lucas mentions that he’s meeting up at the gym later with some of the guys from the football team for an extra training session. It strikes me as odd, considering he’s in light workout pants and a sweaty shirt. It looks like he just got back from a run. How much exercise do football players have to do?

“But you’ll still have time to come shopping with me?” Xander asks.

---