Caught In The Middle

~Joan~

Everywhere was silent. No one said a word, we just stared at each other. For a minute, or two?

But that did nothing to ease the hard expression on Aaron's face. His eyes just darted between us.

How is he here? How did he even know we were here? Rhoda had insisted he didn’t have a clue—she hadn’t even told him.

“Rhoda...” His voice was low, cold, just as it had always been. He wasn't one to talk much, but once he did, it carried a certain confidence. “Care to explain what you're doing in 'my' house, without my permission?”

Rhoda was silent. If I didn’t know her so well, I might’ve believed the man across from us wasn’t her brother. Seven years wasn’t much of a gap, but Aaron made it seem like a big deal.

He made everything seem like a big deal.

His gaze moved to me, and I mentally braced myself for what I knew was coming next.

“And you,” he muttered, his tone grew a little bit colder. I could practically sense his annoyance. “Still following my sister around, I see.”

“Okay.  Before you get this all wrong, I had no idea this was your house,” I said quietly, elbowing Rhoda.

This was not the time for her to stay fucking silent.

“No idea?” He interrupted, standing up. And oh boy, the man was on the taller side.

His height could be imposing at times too.

"You want me to believe this wasn't your idea?" He asked and I pressed my lips together.

There we go.

I drew in a deep breath, ignoring the annoyance already building inside of me.

“Like I said, I had no idea this house belonged to you until we were here," I muttered.

And Rhoda still remained silent.

"And whose idea was it?" He asked, his eyes not leaving me.

"Maybe if you weren't such a controlling bastard, your sister would have told you we were going to use your house,” I bit out.

Okay. If Rhoda wasn't going to speak, I wasn’t going to keep silent and take the blame on something I knew nothing about.

Rhoda’s eyes darted from me to her brother. She dreaded him.

Aaron took a step toward me, his eyes grew darker. Rhoda raised her hand, stepping in front of me.

“Aaron, stop—please,” she said quietly. “She's  right. This was my idea. Don’t take it out on her.”

She took a step closer to him, while I took one step backwards.

“You’ve always been trouble, Joan. From the very first moment I saw you, I knew you'd be trouble,” his voice had a chill to it.

I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to go all out on him. I was in his house afterall.

“You know what?” I said after a while, taking a step forward and meeting his glare head-on.

“Fuck. You.” I raised my middle finger, thrusting it in his face before storming off toward the room where we’d kept our bags.

There was no way I was letting Aaron ruin the one vacation I’d had in a year. I was going to enjoy my trip—without his godforsaken, insufferably handsome face hovering around.

I yanked my clothes out of the closet, shoving them into my bag in quick movements.

I didn’t care that it was late, I would find a hotel, spend the night somewhere else, anywhere but here.

From the hallway, I heard Rhoda’s muffled yells—she’d finally shaken off the shock, but I didn’t care anymore.

“Aaron, don’t you dare! You can’t keep being a jackass to her every time she’s around!”

Her voice grew closer, footsteps approached as I zipped my bag shut, ready to leave.

The door swung open, and there they were—Aaron just standing there and Rhoda behind him, looking exasperated.

Their gazes flicked to my packed bag, Rhoda’s eyes turned glassy as she took a step forward.

“Jo...” she whispered, her voice breaking.

I looked at her, ignoring Aaron completely.

“Just so you know,” I said calmly, “your brother is an asshole. And yeah, I’ll text you my address in the morning.”

I stepped forward, waiting for them to move out of my way.

Aaron’s voice stopped me.

“You’re not leaving at this time of night,” he said, not a statement, but an order.

I stared at him, hoping the daggers in my eyes could pierce him to death.

It would hurt Rhoda... But it was worth the try.

“No,” I said annoyed. “You don’t get to dictate what I do.”

His jaw tightened, a flicker of something dark crossed his face.

“Try me, Joan. See if I won’t drag you back here myself. And trust me, it isn't something you'd enjoy,” he muttered, and somehow the  threat sent warmth curling in my lower belly.

Damn him.

“You’re going to leave in the morning,” he continued. “I’m not letting you storm off in anger and end up getting murdered somewhere, not like it would affect me. And besides...” He glanced at Rhoda. “We still need to talk.”

With that, he turned and left the room. I blinked at Rhoda, stunned.

“Did he just threaten me?” I asked.

Rhoda stepped forward, throwing her arms around me.

“I’m sorry, Jo,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. “I never meant for this to happen. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.”

I sighed, wrapping my arms around her.

“It’s not entirely your fault,” I murmured.

As much as I hated her brother, I couldn’t deny that he was disgustingly handsome.

“Just stay for the night,” Rhoda pleaded. “Please.”

I sighed again.

“Fine. I’ll stay,” I muttered. I wasn’t staying because of Aaron’s thinly veiled warning or the strange warmth his threat had sparked in me.

I was staying because Rhoda asked me to.

Not because of Aaron. Definitely not because of him.