Page 49 of Greed

Ever since she met freaking Riker Rhodes.

This all felt too normal. As they drove to Penny’s apartment, Minetta stopped to grab burgers and ended up ordering half the menu, the two of them laughing the entire time. She could barely get the drink order out without giggling hysterically. Her make-up had started to run, so she could only imagine what the employee thought as she pulled up to the window.

Minetta caught herself looking over at Penny and trying to see what she’d missed. How do you know someone for years and not notice something this significant? Yet, even knowing the facts, she still couldn’t see it.

She wanted to yell, “you’re a freaking demon!” Only a few short weeks ago, she would’ve told anyone that tried to convince her demons were real that they were out of their ever-loving mind. She wouldn’t have said it like that, but the thought would’ve been there. Penny was right about that.

Yet here she was sitting beside Penny with fries sticking out of her mouth, being her typical goofy self. Even as Penny sang terribly and bobbed back and forth to Pony by Ginuwine, she believed it to be true. Just before they arrived at Penny’s apartment, Minny paused. She should be running away, screaming, or throwing Penny out of the car. At the very least, she should be terrified. So why wasn’t she?

Minetta parallel parked her car in the only space left in front of Penny’s building. She took a moment to look around and sighed. The city seemed the same and vastly different. The tall buildings with their lights shining, the buzz of the people milling about, and the couples holding hands as they enjoyed the evening were all normal things. But there was this underlying edge that came with the knowledge that humans were not alone, and that had her seeing the world differently. Had her eyeing everyone she passed differently.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Penny smiled at her, and she couldn’t help but return the grin, but it slowly slipped as she stared at Penny’s face.

“Everything seems different, or am I just seeing everything for the first time? I feel like I just woke up from a dream or another dimension to this new reality, but it’s me that has changed, isn’t it?”

She watched a guy jogging by with his dog, and now, she wondered if he was a demon or something else. At this point, aliens, vampires, and hobbits could all be real and living among them. How would she know, but did she really want the answer to that question? Nope, she was definitely happy living in denial.

“Come on, let’s go inside and eat this mammoth amount of food, and I will explain what I can. You know Toby will be sulking,” Penny said, slipping out of the car. Grumbling, she followed Penny.

“Hey there, Mr. Granger!” Penny waved at the elderly man that lived down the hall from her. He stood next to his small fluffy white dog as he waved back. “No one else in the building will talk to him, but I like his snarky side,” Penny explained.

Minetta wasn’t much of an apartment fan. Even though her house wasn’t much bigger, she preferred to have that separate space with a backyard. Although, if she had to choose a spot, this one was pretty nice. It was clean, and they always updated it to stay with the constantly changing trends. The lobby was nothing like Penny’s decorating. Penny had a thing for the whole boho vibe and was completely obsessed with the colors red, white, and gold. Pretty much every fixture, piece of furniture, and decoration was one of the three colors.

They stepped out of the elevator into Penny’s apartment hallway on the top floor. Minetta was carrying all the bags and her jingling keys as she juggled the food.

“Here, let me take some of that,” Penny offered, taking three of the bags.

As soon as the door was pushed open, she was accosted by Toby. “Hey, bud! Did Penny steal you?” He licked her hand and then nudged at the bags. “Oh, you think you deserve a burger? What exactly have you done to warrant such a treat?” Toby cocked his head at her and then sat holding his paw up. She and Penny laughed hard as the goof woofed at them. “Alright, I guess we over-purchased enough for you to have one.”

“Did you want to get changed out of that dress? I have some yoga stuff and a sweater that will fit you.”

“Thanks, this seems a little overdressed now, although according to Skye, ‘it was cheap Hundo trash.’ ” She mocked the sound of Skye’s voice.

“Don’t mind her. She’s just a pissy little half-demon that gets jealous easily. And I’ll tell you she has gotten too big for her britches since she’s become Riker’s best friend. If she didn’t have him protecting her, there are a number of demons that would love to drag her down to Hell for her rude mouth. And that group would find very creative ways to fill it so she couldn’t speak.” Penny shivered, and she could only stare.

“Wait, so Skye is a demon too?”

Penny gave her a small smile and lifted her shoulders.

“Of course she is. I shoulda seen that coming. Let me guess Riker and Michael are as well?” She followed Penny into her bedroom and took the clothes Penny offered before being led to the bathroom.

Penny stopped outside the door and reached in to flick on the light. “Actually, they are not a demon, not really. But that is a tough one. I’ll wait until you’re out of the restroom to explain all that.”

“Okay, thanks.” Minetta closed the door to the bathroom and stared at her reflection. She had to wonder what her father would think of all this, and was he watching now and laughing or encouraging her? Turning away from the image, she pulled on the stretchy material, loving the feel of the soft workout clothes that were, of course, a vibrant red.

Walking back out to the kitchen, Minetta grabbed a burger and fries and then took her usual spot on the sofa. Crossing her legs under her, she settled with the food on her lap.

“I’ve been worried we’d never get back to this point. I was seriously scared you’d never want to speak to me again,” Penny said as she joined her.

“Yeah, so have I, but before we can have any semblance of our friendship back, you need to tell me the truth. About everything, including how I woke up in my bed with my house looking completely normal.”

Penny stuffed some food into her mouth and then set it aside. “So, how much have you figured out?”

“I know next to nothing. I borrowed some books from the library, and that was how I figured out what you are, or at least what I guessed you were. You ended up confirming it in the stairwell.” Minetta bit into her burger and then ripped a small piece off to toss to Toby.

“Good guess. I am an Erinyes. My fall from grace was over a man.”