INIQUITOUS

CHAPTER XLVI

"Cleo–" she tried, remorse in her tone, reaching for me.

Roughly, I knocked my shoulder into her as I marched away, ignoring her yells, in a smog of acidic rage. As soon as I was free from the school grounds, my glower broke into a satisfied smile. The tables had been turned, as quick as a snap of fingers. I was a genius, of course throwing the guilt trip card wasn't entirely my design, being in Eton's company of tears and sniffles had taught me a thing or two. Now it was Winnie who was going to come grovelling, begging to make amends and build bridges. Unfortunately for her, it was going to be the same bridge where she'd meet her downfall.

***

There was a sudden downpour in the evening and the skies had darkened to an almost lightless shade, and thunder rumbled warningly as I speeded up, eager to reach the sanctuary of home before lightning struck and lit up the earth. I was soaked to the bone as I unlocked the front door and slammed it shut. My clothes clung to me like a second skin and I peeled them away once I was in my bedroom and changed into sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. Warm and dry, I went in search of my brother in the unusually quiet house. I found him in the never-used study in a Thrasher t-shirt and mom's furry pink slippers, in front of a laptop, clearly frustrated. He shoved his hands in his hair and groaned upon my arrival. "I don't fucking understand this equation!"

I circled the desk, skimmed over the work and the clear instructions on the side of the screen. His online classes were aimed towards twelve year olds. Eton was as dumb as a rock. "It's simple division–"

"I don't care! Why do I need to learn to add and subtract when I have a goddamn calculator on my phone? And algebra makes no sense and why is this bitch Jenny buying so many fucking apples?! Who the fuck eats this many apples?!"

"Move over." I sat down on his chair and pulled the laptop close to me. My fingers paused on the keyboard. "Where are you going? I'm going to explain this to you."

"I'm hungry. Uncle has been out all day. He was supposed to be making dinner. Finish the homework and I'll make you a sandwich."

"If you want to graduate and inherit your allowance, you'll sit your ass back down."

He made a noise of despair and pulled up a chair, staring at the screen like he was in death's grip. Half an hour passed and little progress was made, arguments broke out every ten seconds and I admitted defeat: He was reluctant to learn and I quickly clicked away at his mouse, finishing the test paper in the next ten minutes. I clicked out, waited for the pop up screen and Eton smiled upon seeing the bold green words: PASS. "I am smart," he said delightfully, taking the mouse from my hand and logging out of the programme. "At this rate, I'll be the discovering the weight of apples like Isaac Newton and the existence of gravity like Neil Armstrong. I'll be the greatest scientist the world will ever see. Even God will be afraid of me. I'll find evidence to prove his entire existence is a fairy-tale."

"Don't let your dreams exist only in your head, Eton," I encouraged, standing and stretching tiredly.

Lightning exploded in the bruised night sky behind us, the window was a camera into nature's hot-blooded temper. We glanced over our shoulders and Eton mused. "The storm looks like it's out to murder. The perfect scenery in a book or movie about us, don't you think so, sis?" He slung an arm around my shoulder playfully and then added as a thought came to him, "the storm could be either a reflection of our moods or incoming misfortune. I hope it's the former; I'm itching to resurrect and blow the dust off the games."

"Maths might not be your strong suit but you should definitely consider pursuing English if you ever want to go on to higher education,"

"I have a fortune just out of my reach," he scoffed softly, raised a sardonic eyebrow, grey gaze gleaming with greed, "why would I slave and sacrifice sleep for stuffy classrooms and bitchy classmates when I can cheat my way through the system? That money will be mine, Calla. Meanwhile, I'm going to find a priest and threaten to kill him unless he curses Mom's afterlife existence. She deserves to burn in misery for setting up conditions. It's bad enough she makes us into orphans but to refuse to hand over our inheritance? What a rotten bitch." His mouth quirked upwards into a wicked smile. "That was a good joke. If you don't get it, I won't explain it to you. Explanations causes for awkward laughter."

"Calla! Eton!" Our names were yelled.

"What?!" we shouted back, sharing a disgruntled look.

"CALLA! ETON!"

"Is the bastard deaf?"

"Sure acts like he is,"

"I hope he's brought dinner with him, if he hasn't I'm setting him on fire. We can roast marshmallows over him as he screams and dances to our amusement."

"Shut up, Eton. Come on."

We traipsed out of the study, walking along the hallway to the top of the stairs. Midway down, I glanced ahead as Uncle Hektor took a step to the side, revealing his companion, an unwanted guest. I stilled, Eton almost knocked into me and he cursed under his breath. "What the hell, Call..." I heard him take a sharp inhale, body tensing up, first surprised and then quickly, furious.

The ambiance fizzled with animosity, asphyxiating and ticking like a time bomb, eager to explode and dislocate limbs and splatter blood across the expensive carpet.

"Are you going to stand there like gormless dimwits or come and greet your brother? It's been a long time." Zeus cracked a chilling smile.

***