Chapter 3

Aron looks pleased with himself but his mind is always ticking. As such, Zach should have expected Aron to say, “You still haven’t told me how you got to work for the Family.”

But Zach didn’t see it coming so it’s more of a defensive reaction than actual thought when he says, “Why don’t we get more comfortable for that talk?” His tone suggests that there will be no further discussion involved, but it at least promises sex.

Aron smirks. “Sure, I can let it go for now.”

Zach averts his eyes, embarrassed by the obviousness of his reaction. He doesn’t have doubts about his decision, but the process he went through to come to it was sobering. The idea of talking to somebody else about it, somebody who wasn’t there and couldn’t understand what he felt, was humiliating. He can see how the eye-opening event can be read as a failure. Even he sometimes thinks that he actually failed and has been unable to accept it ever since. Maybe he has been lying to himself all this time.