Manhattan Passion

~Joan~

“This place is... wow,” I muttered as we entered the house, it had floor to ceiling windows, a fireplace and....well, it was perfect.

But something felt slightly off.

“So... how did you know about this place?” I asked Rhoda, who sat on the couch while I walked towards the window and stared down at the view of Spain.

“Well, this is one of Aaron's properties,” she chuckled. I nodded, then paused.

My stomach dropped. What?

“He doesn’t know we're here. I have the spare keys to the building. I mean, why ask when I can just walk in?” Rhoda said, glancing at me with a small smile on her face.

“This is Aaron's house?” I asked slowly. She turned around fully, raising a brow at me.

“Yeah, it’s his.” Her voice was quiet. "What is it?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, disbelief washing over me. The fuck?

 “I can't believe you brought me to Aaron's house of all places,” I muttered. For God's sake, she knows what her brother was like and still she went ahead and brought me to his house?

Rhoda sat up straighter, her smile falling. “Exactly why I said he has no idea we’re here. Jo, your feud with my brother is seriously getting ridiculous.”

“Oh, really? You think this is ridiculous?” I snapped, crossing my arms. “Have you forgotten the time we both landed in jail and he bailed you out, leaving me there to rot?”

Rhoda opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. “Or the time we crashed his party, and guess who got blamed for that? Me! He called me a bad influence, told me to stop dragging you into ‘bad things.’ He acts like I’m the villain in your life.” I gritted my teeth.

“Jo...” Rhoda trailed off.

“And now you bring me to his house? You really think I won’t get blamed for this too?” I asked. If I had known, I wouldn't have followed her.

Okay maybe, I still would have. I mean who would turn down a trip to Spain? But we would have booked a hotel room.

Not here. Not this.

Rhoda stood up and turned around the couch, walking towards me.

  I’m wrong and I'm really sorry. I didn’t think. I just wanted us to enjoy our girls' trip, and this house is... well, it’s perfect.” She gestured around the house, but I barely glanced at it. “I should have talked to you about it. You’re right.”

I let out a sigh.

"What next?" I asked and her shoulders sagged.

"Well, we could still stay here. He doesn’t know we're here. So...." she wringled her fingers together. 

"We could still leave if you want," she added.

"If he doesn't know we're here we could stay," I muttered. Well, he wouldn't just pop up in Spain now, would he?

Rhoda grinned, and I could see the relief on her face. 

“We're not gonna stay inside all day now or are we?" She asked, a glint in her eyes. I pursed my lips.

“Please tell me we’re going to see Barcelona,” She added as she grabbed my hand, and she nodded a little too fast.

“Of course! We would," I muttered as we dragged our luggage to the room were we would be staying.

Despite all that Rhoda had said, I still felt slightly uncomfortable. Knowing the house belonged to Aaron just didn't sit right with me.

And hell, I knew something was bound to go wrong. Wherever the man was concerned, something always went wrong.

After freshening up, we decided to explore the neighborhood. At least, we should familiarize ourselves with the vicinity since we'd be staying for a month.

“Tomorrow, we'll go see the Tower, yeah?,” Rhoda asked as we walked back after wandering through a few blocks.

I gave a small nod. 

Rhoda sighed and tipped her head back, feeling the cool evening breeze wash over her face, she closed her eyes, a small smile playing on her face. 

“It’s nice to breathe fresh air outside of New York,” she sighed. I glanced over at her and followed her lead, raising my head and staring at the dark sky.

Rhoda suddenly opened her eyes, and stared at me. I could see the mischievous glint in them. 

“The first one back to the house gets a paid manicure at the fanciest salon in the city!” she said, and before I could process what she said, she darted off. 

A laugh escaped me as I ran after her. But oh boy, the girl was goddamn fast.

Who knows? Maybe I would enjoy this trip after all.

We stumbled into the compound and Rhoda pushed the door open stepping in.

I followed after her but she stopped abruptly that I crashed into her back.

"What's it?" I whispered as the color drained from her face.

She remained silent and I peeked at the inside from over her shoulder. 

And there he was, in the living room, swirling a glass of something dark. Whiskey maybe.

His eyes were cold and his expression closed off as he finished the last of his drink, slamming the glass on the table.

I was surprised it didn't shatter. Rhoda shuddered lightly while a small frown crept up my face.

Aaron.

The devil had arrived.