I don't see it. I thought we were heading that way at first but the author massively and positively demolished that line of plot.
Also forgot: the expression is the "get the short END of the stick" which is why i gave you shit about it.
Its descended of a old saying with origins in the "worse end of the staff"- that is, getting the worst of the situation or worse treatment from the same person.The phrase got a revival because in early America a common "deciding activity" was taking a forked stick and having each party pull to see who came away with the bigger chunk. Like Wishbone breaking. Thus, short end of the stick.
The one that describes what you were going for is "pull the short STRAW" which refers to drawing the losing lot.
I guess we'll see come next chapter (can't imagine it'll detour again with the last page being what it is, anyway - and it's been a minute since we last visited the youngest sister).
Also yes, the word "end" was originally missing. But I also have spent long enough on the Internet to see idioms/adages/metaphors mixed, edited, parsed and pared down, and outright bastardized, so it still read as the original phrase to me, regardless.
But, humor & sarcasm don't always translate through text, so I apologize if for my initial comment being that aggressive-sounding.