Page 36 of Deviant

“People should mind their own business. Elias is just as innocent as anyone else.”

Joe laughs again.

“Ah, girlie, you’re a barrel of laughs tonight. That man right there is far from innocent.”

My eyebrows screw together at the peculiar statement.

“What do you mean?” I ask outright.

Joe sits on the steps of the town hall and pats the empty space beside him. I don’t think twice and sit down, eager to learn more.

“Maybe Elias knows something we don’t. Ever think that?”

“You mean… another loophole?” I whisper, trying to keep the conversation private.

Joe nods, eyes shining brightly.

“You and I both know that they exist. Maybe your boyfriend’s brother found one of his own and is exploiting it for all its worth. Not sharing what it is, is not only clever, but essential. Believe me, I should know,” he mumbles the last part to himself.

“I don’t think that’s the case here,” I reply, my gaze fixed on the heated conversation that Elias and my father are having.

“No?” Joe retorts skeptically.

“No,” I deadpan.

“Okay. I’ll bite. How can you be so sure?”

“Because…” I start, my chest starting to tighten. “If Elias was in possession of such a secret, one that would prevent him from being chosen, then he would have shared it with Nora.”

“Ahh,” Joe sighs in acknowledgment. “And if he shared it with his sister, then you think she would have shared the secret with you, too.”

“I know she would have.”

Joe takes another swig of his drink and hands me the flask.

I stare at it and then at my father to check if he’s watching before taking a sip of the foul liquor and handing the flask back to Joe.

“I get what you’re saying, girlie. I do. But the phrase, ‘blood is thicker than water,’ wasn’t invented in a vacuum. It resonates because it’s true. Do you honestly believe Nora would have shared such a thing with you and betrayed her brother in the process? Family is family, no matter how fucked up they are.”

“Iwas Nora’s family.”

He nods, hearing the steadfast certainty in my words.

“Okay, say that you’re right and that Nora would have shared such a secret with you. Not to play devil’s advocate here, but that does leave us with another scenario. One where Elias doesn’t tell anyone a goddamn thing. He somehow discovers a loophole all by himself and keeps it under lock and key, even from his own siblings, for fear of it ever getting out.”

“And risk Nora and Aidan being selected?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time family fucked family over to ensure their own survival in this town.” Joe shrugs nonchalantly, taking another sip of his whiskey.

I stare at a now disgruntled Elias and consider Joe’s suspicions.

No.

Elias might have kept the truth from Aidan since no love was lost between the two, but never Nora.

He loved her too much.

He’d never risk her life.

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