Chapter Twenty-Three — One Little Lie #2
Nathan smiled wider. Police hauled him upright. He was maybe twenty-four. Average enough that Elliot had barely remembered him after the semester ended. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Thin scar near his chin. Nothing memorable. Except now. Nathan’s gaze stayed fixed on Elliot.
“You never noticed me.”
Elliot felt cold. Ronan stepped closer to him. Nathan noticed. His smile changed.
“There.”
“What?” Ronan asked.
“That.”
Nathan tilted his head.
“The way he looks at you.”
Elliot’s jaw tightened. An officer started moving Nathan toward the stairs. He resisted just enough to look back.
“I wanted to know what it would take.”
Ronan frowned.
“What?”
“To make you look at him the same way.”
Silence. Nathan laughed.
“Monster to monster.”
Elliot’s stomach turned.
“Get him out,” Ronan said.
Nathan ignored him. His eyes remained on Elliot.
“Mason screamed longer than you remember.”
Elliot froze. Ronan did too. The officer pushed Nathan forward. Elliot stepped after him. Ronan caught his arm.
“No.”
“He was there.”
“I know.”
“He saw it.”
“I know.”
Nathan looked back from the stairs.
“And Lucas begged better.”
Elliot lunged. Three officers reacted. Ronan wrapped both arms around him.
“ELLIOT.”
“LET ME GO.”
“No.”
“He fucking watched.”
“I KNOW.”
Nathan disappeared downstairs laughing. Elliot fought Ronan for several seconds. Then stopped. Not because the anger disappeared. Because Ronan’s blood touched his hand. He looked down. Red across his fingers. Ronan followed his gaze.
“It’s mine.”
Elliot’s breathing changed.
“I know.”
“Shallow.”
“I know.”
“Stop looking like you’re about to kill twelve people.”
“I’m considering it.”
Ronan almost laughed. Then winced. Elliot immediately reached for his arm.
“Sit.”
“I’m fine.”
“Sit.”
Ronan stared. Elliot stared back.
“Please.”
That worked. Ronan sat on the edge of the bed.
Elliot grabbed a clean towel from the bathroom and pressed it against the cut.
Ronan watched him. The hallway remained full of police.
Voices downstairs. Rebecca shouting. Thomas asking what happened.
Vance somewhere among them. Everything was exploding.
Elliot cared about the blood beneath his hands.
“You’re shaking,” Ronan said.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Elliot looked down. He was. Fuck. Ronan covered Elliot’s hand with his.
“Hey.”
Elliot looked at him.
“I’m okay.”
“You could’ve been killed.”
“So could you.”
“That’s different.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re you.”
Ronan stared. Elliot realized. Possession again. Always. He lowered his voice.
“I can’t lose you.”
Ronan’s expression softened.
“You almost killed him.”
“Yes.”
“In front of cops.”
“Yes.”
“That would've been incredibly inconvenient.”
Elliot laughed once. Small. Ronan smiled. Then Vance appeared in the doorway. Her expression destroyed the moment. She looked at Ronan’s arm. Then Elliot’s bloody hands. Then the knife on the floor.
“Everyone alive?”
Ronan said, “Unfortunately.” Elliot stared. Vance almost smiled.
“Paramedics are coming up.”
“I don’t need—”
“Yes, you do,” Elliot and Vance said simultaneously.
Ronan looked between them.
“Great.”
Vance stepped inside.
“Nathan Reed.”
Elliot nodded.
“You know him.”
“Classmate.”
“Only?”
“Yes.”
Nathan’s voice echoed downstairs. Laughing. Vance watched Elliot.
“Did he ever contact you?”
“No.”
“Follow you?”
“Apparently.”
“Before tonight.”
“I don’t know.”
Wrong word. Vance ignored it.
“His vehicle was found two streets over.”
Ronan looked up.
“The watcher.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
Vance’s expression tightened.
“He had surveillance equipment.”
Elliot’s stomach dropped.
“Photos?”
“Yes.”
“Of us?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Ronan laughed bitterly.
“Everybody fucking loves that answer.”
Vance continued.
“There’s something else.”
Of course there was.
“What?” Elliot asked.
“We found a porcelain fragment in his jacket.”
Silence. Elliot stared.
“The real mask?”
“Possibly.”
“No.”
Vance frowned.
“What?”
“The mask is here.”
Ronan’s entire body went still. Elliot realized. Fuck. Vance looked at him. Then Ronan. Ronan’s face emptied. There it was. The choice. Again. Elliot could almost see his mind racing. The storage room. The lie. The mask. Police everywhere. Too late. Vance’s voice changed.
“Here.”
Elliot said nothing. Ronan looked at him. One second. Two. Then Ronan spoke.
“He means the replica.”
Elliot stared. Vance looked toward him.
“What replica?”
Ronan didn’t hesitate.
“The one somebody mailed here.”
Elliot felt cold. There was no replica mailed here. The black box had been empty when police removed it. Ronan continued.
“We didn’t tell you because we panicked.”
Vance’s eyes narrowed.
“When?”
“Before the box on the porch.”
Elliot watched him. One little lie. Except it wasn’t little. Ronan was building one. For him. Again. Vance looked toward Elliot.
“Is that true?”
Elliot stared at Ronan. Ronan gave nothing away. Trust me. Maybe. Elliot turned back to Vance.
“Yes.”
The lie came easily. That frightened him more than it should have.
Vance stared at both of them. Long enough that Elliot knew she didn’t believe it.
Not completely. Then a paramedic entered.
The conversation broke. Ronan’s arm was examined.
Cleaned. Bandaged. Three stitches recommended.
Ronan complained. Elliot told him to shut up.
For several minutes, nobody asked about masks.
Elliot almost believed they had survived the moment. Then Nathan shouted from downstairs:
“CHECK UNDER THE STAIRS.”
Everything stopped. Elliot’s blood went cold. Ronan looked toward the hallway. Vance did too. Nathan shouted again.
“ASK THE GOOD BOY WHAT’S IN THE BLACK BOX.”
Silence. The entire house seemed to collapse around them. Vance slowly turned toward Elliot. Ronan stood despite the paramedic telling him not to. Elliot looked at him. No more room. No more little lies. Vance stepped into the hallway.
“Where is the storage room?”
Ronan said nothing. Elliot could hear Nathan laughing downstairs.
The same laughter. The entire fucking time.
He knew. He had always known. Elliot looked at Ronan.
Ronan looked back. Then Ronan did something Elliot did not expect.
He reached into his pocket. Pulled out his phone.
And dropped it. Hard. The screen shattered against the floor. Vance froze.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Ronan stared at the broken phone. Then at Elliot.
“One little lie.”
Elliot’s heart slammed.
“What?”
Ronan looked at Vance. His expression changed. Cold. Calm. Almost like Elliot.
“The storage room’s empty.” Elliot stared. Vance stared too. Ronan stepped beside him. Not in front. Beside.
And Elliot understood. Nathan had been right. He’ll choose the monster he knows. Ronan just had. Again.