Pure Vengeance

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Adrian

We’ve been here for two weeks, and I knew the peaceful bliss couldn’t last forever. It started with small things.

The usual things.

TPing the house, putting fish in the air vent, and setting off alarms were just some pranks that had been done between my and Noah’s fraternities. But Declan wanted to go full force. He wasn’t letting anything slide with the Delta Kappa Order .

My brothers saw me as an inside man to the fraternity because Noah is my stepbrother. But they don’t seem to realize what kind of connection that is. How deeply it runs, and how badly it can end.

So when they ask me to mess with one of Noah’s paintings during a house party, I’m almost reluctant to do it. If I don’t, though, they’ll be pissed with me, maybe even cast me out.

The house party is over at one sorority, and everyone is going to be there, from all the different places on campus, off and on living situations.

I sit and wait, and I watch as the members of the Delta Kappa Order slowly file out of their house, shutting the door behind them. No one locks their doors here. Everyone thinks it’s safe. I sneak up to the house, and praying everyone has left, I open the door and slip in. I take a few minutes to find Noah’s room, but it is unmistakably his. I recognize the artwork that’s hung up from his bedroom back home. There can be no question.

I see he has a painting mounted on an easel in the corner, and it’s half-finished. It’s of a naked man. Perfect. What better way to spook him than to mess with work that can imply I would tell his secret? I take out some paint and paint across the top in thick black paint. I know your secret.

I then toss his room, ripping down his artwork, tossing his bed and clothes around, and flipping his table. Once I’m done, I walk to the door, only to open it and bump into Noah. I look at him, and he growls. “What are you doing here?”

He looks past me into his room and grabs me by the shirt. “You fucking jerk.”

“It’s just a prank,” I snap. “Not like you guys putting fish in the air vent. Our place still smells.”

Noah looks at his painting and then looks at me. “You dickhead. You wouldn’t out me.”

“Who says I wouldn’t?”

“You couldn’t without outing yourself,” he says quietly. “I know you wouldn’t do that.”

“Don’t assume things about me, Noah.” I push him off me, and storm past him. “Enjoy tidying up.”

“I’ll get you for this, Adrian.”

The way he says my name, so angry and spiteful. It’s as though he spits it out instead of speaking it. I pause long enough to hear him scrambling to tidy his room. He doesn’t want his roommates to find out. They’ll want to know what secret. There are no secrets in fraternities, so they say.

Even though I’m holding a huge one myself.

I never thought of myself as gay, but now that Noah has brought these feelings to the surface, I have to wonder if I am.

It makes me doubt myself, and I hate that he pays off those girls to say they slept with him. That secret will be the end of him. The end of me, if anyone finds out. Because how could I not know? We’re brothers. We should know everything about each other.

I thought we did.

Then he kissed me.

It had been passionate and full of angst. Forbidden, but with nothing held back. I had only stopped it when his hand trailed down my chest toward my groin. I’d been semi-hard, but I balked at the idea of Noah touching my cock. A logical side of me said it was because what we were doing was wrong. A small voice in the back of my head had said it was because I didn’t feel adequate enough for him. I’ll never be enough for anyone, but I wanted to be, especially for him.

For that, I want revenge. I want to get back at Noah. I want to reveal who he really is to everyone, to our father, especially. Then he won’t be this free little asshole anymore. He will be cast out into purgatory where he belongs. Away from me. Which is safest, really.

It’s self-preservation in its most fundamental form.

Or maybe I could get my revenge elsewhere. I could get Noah to fail one of his classes or something. I haven’t quite worked it out in my head, but I know I need to get my revenge. Revenge for that kiss, and for bringing all these damn feelings to the surface. Feelings I never asked for. Feelings I didn’t want.

I had a girlfriend before that kiss. We hadn’t... fooled around. We hadn’t fucked, if I’m blunt. But we were solid, and since then, I had to dump her because all I could think about was him.

My grades also took a dive because I felt like I was harboring this enormous secret from everyone. It wasn’t a secret I wanted to keep. Dammit, Noah, you dickhead.

I sneak out of the house again and to my car, driving back to our frat house. Declan’s there waiting for me.

“Did you do it?” he asks.

“Yeah, I think I spooked him. He caught me though, and he’s pissed, so you can expect some repercussions.” I run a hand over my hair.

“They won’t report us. This is a tradition as old as time. We’ve been enemies since the frat houses were formed.” Declan pats me on the back. “You did good, Ace. You’re going to go far in life if you keep this up.”

“What? Pranking other people?” I know I sound annoyed, and I shouldn’t, but Declan looks at me.

“No, following orders. Doing what you’re told to do. Taking one for the team. Those sorts of actions will get you far in life.” He ruffles my dark hair, and I head inside. I go to the bathroom and splash my face. I’m irrationally angry. Why did I do that? I risk Noah outing me as much as I’m outing Noah. I stare into my piercing blue eyes and wonder if I look older. As though doing this sort of shit ages a person.

Or is it keeping secrets? Does keeping secrets age you faster than usual?

There’s going to be retaliation from the Delta Kappa Order, and, knowing Noah, he will ensure they target me. There’s nothing for it now. What’s done is done. I can only move forward and try to mitigate whatever return investment I get from my payment to the karmic circle of life.

There’s a banging on the front door, and then it slams open. I come out of the bathroom, and it’s the police in full swat gear. “On the floor now!”

The few brothers with me in the house raise their hands, and we all get on our knees on the floor. “What’s going on?” Declan asks.

“Drug raid,” the one officer says. “Anonymous tip off.”

Declan hisses. “ Delta Kappa Order .”

I frown. What a waste of police time. I should say something, but then if it was Noah, it’ll get him into serious trouble. I think this is best left to be played out.

A cop manhandles me on the floor and searches me. I know I’ve got nothing on me, but a weird part of my brain panics anyway. What if someone planted something on me? What if I forgot something in my pocket?

Wait, I don’t do drugs.

It takes hours for them to comb through the house, and by then, a few of the other brothers arrive back from the party to see what’s going on.