Rage of Vendetta (The Vendetta Series #2)

BONUS STORY - Nemesis Et Hestia

Nemesis Et Hestia — Time Frame: In between the last chapter and the epilogue of Rage of Vendetta

"Hit that any harder and you're probably going to break it," Jesse Verdak said nonchalantly. To drive his practiced air of composure home, he took an ironic sip from the juice boxes his mom had opened up for them. 

Eric threw down the controller in a fit of fury. Jesse couldn't help it. The mask of haughtiness slipped and he burst out laughing.

"This game is rigged!" Eric insisted. "You rigged it before I got here!" He waved a finger around. "You're probably controlled it with your mind!"

Jesse laughed even harder. 

"Stop laughing!" Eric looked close to stomping his foot. "You know what? Californian controllers are made differently."

This was the sixth game Eric had lost, and none of them had even been close calls. With a storm of indignation, he stomped into the kitchen where Jesse's father was chopping up carrots. 

"Eric, are you alright there?" Jesse heard his dad ask. 

"Fine," Eric muttered. There was the sound of water pouring. He was getting himself a glass of water, angrily, and when Eric started answering another question that hadn't been asked, Jesse realized he was talking to Tiana, their puppy.

"I know right, the cheat can't even pick up his own socks."

Jesse was almost in tears.

That was when a door down the hallway flung open, banging against the wall, and the resident sixteen-year old dragged himself into the living room.

Jesse lifted his head, smirking at Jake's grimace. There was a visible gloop of hair gel piled onto his hair, cow-licking the blond and bright red curls back.

"Weird ass," he muttered under his breath. 

"What was that?" Jesse called after him lightly.

"I said, weird ass."

Jesse narrowed his eyes at Jake. Halt, he thought.

Jake froze in place. The problem was, Jesse had been using this nifty little trick often enough that Jake knew exactly what he was doing. And Jake had come into his own power a few months ago. 

Out of nowhere, Jesse begun slapping himself. And it hurt.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

There was a pulse of power in the room, and then both the two siblings' grips on each faded. They turned to see their father glowering in the doorway. Eric was standing behind him, smiling slightly, his earlier annoyance forgotten.

"Both of you, go to your rooms," he demanded. Another figure appeared behind him, having just strolled in from the back door. 

"What is going on?" their mom asked curiously.

Jake thinned his lips. "Dad is sending us to our rooms because Jesse is being a jerk-off!"

"Really?" Jesse challenged, smug. He was completely unable to resist egging his brother on further. "Am I really the jerk off here?"

Their mom raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "That's really something I don't want to hear in my house."

"Go to your rooms," was all that was said from their dad again. 

Jake made an indignant noise. "Larissa is coming over in ten minutes!"

"Who?" There was an immediate shift in their mother's face. "Jacques Verdak—" Jesse held back a smile, bracing for the incoming onslaught. As long it was Jake becoming Jacques, and not Jesse becoming Josse, then he was fine. "—what have I said about des gens au hasard in my house?"

Jake tried to argue, "She's not a random person—"

"You do tend to bring back a lot of random people," Jesse cut in.

Jake threw back a murderous glare.

"Rooms!" their father's voice boomed.

There were no arguments this time.

"Next time, if you want to hang out, you're visiting me," Eric muttered to Jesse, as they slumped off. Jesse nodded his agreement, rubbing his sore cheek, right as a piercing shriek came from the other end of the house. 

"Is that your phone?" Eric asked, listening and picking up his pace. "Why is your ringtone so weird?"

Jesse held back the slightest grin. It was Ariel's custom ringtone. She had set it herself, in fact, and in her words, "With this, there's no way you can miss any of my calls even if you tried to."

Not that he ever would.

Right as Jesse and Eric turned the corner into the hallway, they saw Jake disappear into Jesse's room.

"Oh, no."

Jesse broke into a sprint, but Jake had already hunted down his ringing phone carelessly tossed among the mounds of blankets and picked up. 

"Hello?" Jake answered in an overly posh accent. "Yes, this is Jesse, lord of dickwads. What is your business?"

"Come on, asshole, hand me the phone," Jesse demanded, making grabs as Jake skillfully avoided his grasp. Jesse looked to Eric for help, jerking his chin towards the birds outside, as if indicating Eric should ask for some help from there.

"No way, man," Eric said.

Traitor.

He could dimly hear Ariel talking over the line, but it wasn't loud enough to pick up exactly what she was saying. Jake suddenly went pale, and Ariel's faint laughter traveled through the speaker. Jake left the room so fast he left behind a gale of wind.

"Just calling to say hi," Ariel said pleasantly when Jesse pressed the phone to his ear. "Oh, and your brother thinks I'm a serial killer now. Might want to clear that up."

She hung up.

"Jacques!" Jesse screamed down the hallway, imitating their mother's accent. "You're going to get it!"

Eric snickered as Jesse rummaged through his closet. They could faintly hear a female's voice at the front door.

Jesse pulled on a colorful jacket way too small for a nineteen-year old, and gestured Eric to follow. 

"What are you doing?" Eric asked, sniggering with laughter.

"Larissa's about to see what it's like in the Verdak household."

Jesse had been gone for two years. Now it was his daily job to play his role of the infuriating older brother well.