The Butterfly Effect

His aunt's head whipped towards him so quickly her loose ponytail came undone. The man, meanwhile, brought his gaze on Alexei more slowly, seeming not at all surprised—wait, was that amusement, too?—by the statement.

"Alexei Collins, you explain yourself right now." His aunt had, honestly, always been scarier than his mother. She made her disappointment or anger quite clear; though shorter than him, she never failed to make him feel small. It was made worse that, unlike most other times, this was actually directed at him.

He hated how he couldn't meet her gaze. It was undoubtedly a good thing that his own parents were rather heavy sleepers and likely unaware of the situation. "I'd heard about it from Milo. I know I shouldn't have listened. I think it was something his friends wanted, mostly. But the fact still stands that I was the one to take it, no matter who had convinced me to do it. They probably wouldn't have it if I hadn't done it for them. So, I accept responsibility for taking it. Just please, leave the rest of my family out of this. They haven't done anything. They didn't even know what we were doing."

"We sure as hell didn't," Alexei's aunt grumbled. "I can't believe I trusted that kid to be doing anything harmless. Of course he had to go and get himself into more trouble. Seems like the only thing he does nowadays…" She did, thankfully, turn her sharp gaze away from Alexei and towards the man. "But that doesn't mean you can do anything to him. I want a fair and proper investigation. I'm not trusting a single priest one bit. I've heard enough rumors about what people like you—so quick to accuse anyone you don't like—have done to others."

The man shrugged. "But Milo himself isn't here, now is he? Even those who try to avoid their wrongdoings will eventually be caught. In cases like these, those who tend not to come and defend themselves… well, they often know that they aren't going to win anything."

"Only because you'll force a 'truth' out of them, regardless."

Alexei dared to walk closer to them. He took the opportunity to set the cup on the coffee table—not that anyone was really going to notice it—and forced himself to look the man in the eyes. "I'm at least partially to blame for this. Is there anything I can do to make it better? Something to prove Milo didn't mean to hurt anyone?"

There was a brief flash of a grin on the man's face. "I suppose there is something I could arrange…" He glanced at Alexei's aunt. "I'm going to need to 'borrow' Alexei here. You're his aunt, correct? Be a dear and tell his parents he's going to be gone for a little while."

"And why should I do that?" she snapped back.

"We're going to be sorting this little problem your son got all of you into," the man remarked. "And if you don't want to be facing the consequences of it, I suggest you let us go."

Alexei looked at his aunt and tried to muster the most reassuring look he had. "Just let me try, okay? This was something I partially caused, I don't want the rest of you to have to get involved."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she eventually sighed. "You better know what you're doing, and you sure as hell should be safe. Remember you're not supposed to fix everything on your own."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

…

Alexei's heart almost stopped when the man gestured him into his carriage, and remarked how they were going to go to the town they'd been to yesterday. Conversely, when the man—now no doubt a priest—led Alexei to the church they'd been in before and into the office the box had been in… well, he was surprised his heart hadn't beat out of his chest.

The man shut the door as soon as Alexei entered. Then, completely casual, he gestured to one of the seats while he walked over and sat on the other. He lit the lamp on the desk and gave Alexei a wide and disconcerting grin.

"So, that cousin of yours…" the man began. It was clear that everything he said was calculated, yet he seemed to take a certain amount of enjoyment out of it, too. "Quite the troublemaker, isn't he?"

Alexei couldn't bring himself to look at the man's piercing eyes. He focused on his own hands instead, which were folded on his lap in one of the few semblances of calm he could muster. "He doesn't mean to. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt, he just… always finds himself in the wrong crowds…"

"Isn't it tiring? Defending someone who has no desire to repent?"

He shook his head. He didn't want to give a proper answer. Instead, he simply repeated, "Milo wouldn't have wanted any of this to happen."

"Well, nothing can change the fact that it's done now. All those papers are gone and, despite what your aunt may have implied, I do care for the proper order of things. Though, I'm afraid that means that your cousin must be punished for what he did…"

"Can't I do anything? Please. I don't want him to get into trouble. For all I know, he didn't really want to do it, and someone else had forced him to. He did seem… a bit regretful of what he was doing before…"

The man leaned back in his chair. "I can't turn a blind eye to someone who would so blatantly ignore our rules, regardless of any other circumstances. Though… there is a possibility I may be able to put it aside for now, if something more important were to happen."

Alexei dared a glance up at the man. He didn't like what he saw. "And what's that?"

"You see, without the information that your cousin stole, many heretics may be able to go free. And we can't have that happen, now can we? It just so happens I need someone who can gather information about certain heretics, and enact judgment should the evidence be sufficient. I do believe it's the least you can do."

"I'll be condemning others to keep Milo safe. Is that what you're saying?"

"He isn't the only person to worry about, you know. You've committed crimes, too, and under a less generous judge, so would several members of your family. You're not just protecting one person. You're making sure your entire family can remain safe and happy, allowed to do whatever they want. All you have to do in return is a bit of pest control." The man shoved a piece of paper towards Alexei. "You want to protect them, don't you? It's a small price to pay. You won't even have to do it alone."

"I don't want to make a decision right now. I… I want to go back home, talk to my parents about it. They're going to want to know if I'm doing something like this."

"Oh, I'll be sure to let them know. But I'm afraid you won't be able to talk to them personally."

"What?"

"I need someone else to focus on if I'm not going after that thieving brat. We're on a bit of a tight schedule here, and you'll need to get to work immediately. I'll give you the time to make a list of things you want from your home. When someone goes to talk to your family about your new—and might I add, quite exemplary—job, they'll collect whatever you requested." The man leaned forward, tapping a finger on the paper. There was a place to sign. "Go on. You and your cousin have already drained me of all of my patience."

Alexei knew it was a bad idea. He knew it was full of red flags and questions left unanswered. But… he also couldn't get the thought out of his head, that this was something he had to do to protect his family. To protect Milo. He didn't want to end up being the reason something bad happened to them.

So, he swallowed the lump in his throat, and took a pen from the side of the desk.