The Funeral of a Good Girl

By – TempestRaces

Chapter 63 – Of Black, White and Shades of Grey

AN: I feel like I should write some big long explanation about why I haven't updated anything in god knows how many years, but it's all been said already really. Suffice to say I was working two jobs to the tune of 70 hours a week to save up to move countries for about a year and since managing the move have been busy doing other things including getting engaged. This is still stuff I wrote back in the days I was regularly updating. I haven't written too much new in a long time. But I bought a car, I'm back to thinking about changing filters and spark plugs and driving around thinking with my music cranked up and I've written a couple pages so we'll see. After I finish this, Catalyst is next in my sights. Then part two of Funeral, which will eliminate 2 Fast from the Tempest 'Verse and since Tokyo Drift didn't rate in my world anyway I'm not concerned about Dom's little cameo or explaining it, and I'm doubting the 4th will come close to anything I could have written for them anyway so it also won't be a factor in Tempest 'Verse. (Sorry if that's big headed of me.) You may have to reread to remember. I know I did...

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the garage. Tempest chose to help Jesse instead of involving herself with any of the rest of his friends and that seemed to suit everyone. They headed home around six o'clock and she wasn't sure what they had planned for the rest of the night. She rode with Jesse to keep things simple. They arrived home to find that Mia already had supper on the table, so they piled around and the girls watched the boys decimate the meal.

After the food was gone they all disappeared at warp speed, leaving Mia to handle the mess on her own. While this wasn't something she was happy about, it was something she was accustomed to and she began the task of putting the dining room and kitchen back together with a tired sigh.

Right after dinner Tempest headed into the living room behind Jesse, intending on allowing him to kick her ass at some video game he just had to show her, care that she wasn't big on games or not. Before she could reach his side and plunk on the floor beside him she found herself grabbed by the wrist and tumbled onto the couch, landing with a startled noise on top of Vince, who was lying stretched out there. "Where you goin'?"

"To play some game with Jesse."

"That's your big plan for tonight? Video games with Jesse?"

"Guess so. Never got a better offer."

He wasn't sure if she was hinting around for him to make her one, or just making a straight statement. Her words were offhand, flip, but with her, that didn't really necessarily mean anything concrete. "I gotta go out. I'll be late. Don't wait up." Why the fuck had he said that to her like that? So abrupt, so dictatorial. Now she was going to get all riled up and pissed off with him and he really had it coming.

"Ok, fine. I won't." She shrugged before moving to get up.

"Don't get all pissy with me."

"I'm not. I don't care what you do with yourself. No concern of mine."

"I know it's not. It's just—It's just that I have a thing to do. And I'll be late getting back."

"It's fine. Whatever. Go do whatever. You never signed up to entertain me 24/7 and it's not even like it's you I came here to see, so whatever. Really."

"If you say 'whatever' one more time I'm gonna go out of my mind."

She shrugged. "Whatever."

"Trouble—"

"Save it! Seriously. I get it. You have something to do. So go do it and let me get on with my own night." She pushed away, broke out of his grasp and crossed the room to Jesse's side, sitting down on the floor beside him and mirroring his cross legged seat before picking up the other Play Station controller.

Vince watched as she shoved against Jesse's shoulder playfully when he quickly assigned her to be player two when she clearly thought she should have been player one. Jesse fell almost all the way to the floor sideways before he caught himself on his forearm, laughing. "Damn cuz, when'd you get so strong?"

"I told you already fool. I do the real work while your pansy ass designs shit on a computer screen."

Jesse grabbed one of her wrists and straightened out her arm. "But shit, look at those biceps. You sure you're still a girlie?"

"Wanna feel one of 'em cutting off your fuckin' airway? Keep it up."

"Testy cuz?"

"Nope. If you wanna play this game let's do it."

Rather than answer, Jesse popped the lid of the console closed, causing it to boot the CD resting on the spindle. When something called Medal of Honour loaded, Tempest groaned. "A military game? That's what you want me to play with you? Some first person shooter military game? Seriously?"

Jesse sputtered a moment. "But this game isn't even out yet. I hacked my way into the computer system of the production company and downloaded a beta copy to play!" Jesse caught the look his cousin was giving him. The one that clearly said 'so what?' "You have no respect for the fine use of computer systems and the internet."

"Oh, that's where you're wrong. I just don't think pirating some stupid game a few months ahead of its scheduled release is 'the fine use of the internet.' I've watched Angelo," the name flowed off her tongue in perfectly accented Italian, catching the ear of Vince, still sitting on the couch, and Dominic, lounging in his chair. "Use the internet and seen what he can do. I refuse to believe that stealing video games is the finest use of the internet."

"Fuckin' Angelo again," Jesse mumbled. "Fuckin' black hat cracker, making money off selling other people's information."

"He's not just makin' money. He's making major paper. And always has been."

"Just marry the guy already and stop talking about him like he's the king of the fuckin' world."

"Jesse," despite her cousin's obvious actual anger, it brought out his name with a laugh. It was an old, tired topic that they simply never allowed to die. "What's the big deal with the whole black hat, white hat, grey hat thing? Why shouldn't Angelo make his money taking advantage of other people's stupidity? And I would marry him already, but he's never asked." It was a lie. Not that Angelo had never asked, though he never had, but that she would marry him if he did. She loved Angelo dearly, but both were well aware there was no romance between them and never had been. He'd already been at least twenty five when he'd met her fifteen year old self one summer day. He'd never told her his age and refused to do so, no matter how often she asked since but she had known from the day they met when she was barely a teen that he was already an adult in every sense.

Angelo had loved once, in his own country, in Italy, and had loved this woman so deeply and so truly that the day she died, his desire to love a woman in that romantic way died with her and had never been resurrected. To get away from her memory and his past even at his young age he'd given up everything he'd ever known and moved to Canada to start over. And for the most part he had. But he'd never rediscovered a desire to date again. So while she was confident of his love for her, Tempest knew it was a plutonic love, that she was seen as the sister he'd never had. Angelo would take care of her for the rest of her life, or his, but he would never fall in love with her. And that was fine. She didn't feel that way about him either. But it suited her to make Vince think she might, if Angelo did too.

She figured she'd accomplished her goal when she heard him get up off the couch, his footsteps heavier than normal, because he was angry with her she knew. She was annoyed with him, so that was fine.

"Fine, you don't want to play this game we'll try this one." Jesse got up and switched the CD in the PlayStation. When it reloaded the splash screen for a game called 'Driver' filled the TV display.

"This isn't out yet either," Tempest pointed out. "Not til next month."

"I know. I acquired it too."

"Not another word about Angelo. He could find this stuff too, if he gave a care."

"What do you see in that guy? He's old enough to be our dad."

"J, I might not know just how old he is, but he's not old enough to be my dad."

"There's only one reason why a guy that old keeps a girl like you around."

One of Tempest's manicured brows rose into her hairline. "Oh? Do tell."

Catching the look on her face, Jesse refused to answer. He just shut his mouth into a mutinous line that clearly revealed he'd love to have the guts to say more, and hit start on the controller in his hand.