What Are You Hiding, Roman Hart?

Surprised

I glanced at Roman from the passenger seat of his car. He was fuming and I knew he wasn't going to stop for a while.

After he found me in the hallway and demanded I tell him what had happened, I, of course answered the best way possible. I lied. I told him that I fell down the stairs, but he obviously didn't believe me. So now he's giving me the silent treatment until I tell him what actually took place.

"Romannnnnnn", I whined. "Can you please believe me. I swear I fell."

"Oli I can tell by the bruises forming on your face that you didn't fall. It's clear that someone punched you.", he said angrily.

"How can you tell the difference?", I asked him.

Roman has always been able to figure out what happened to a person by looking at their injuries. I never could understand how he learned to do that, but that's not the only thing I found bizarre about him. He strangely knew a lot about different types of weapons and fighting techniques, but I always chalked it up to it being his hobby.

"It doesn't matter how I can tell the the difference. What matters is who the fuck touched you. Was it that asshole Blake again? I thought my last warning scared him off.", Roman said.

Blake was my last bully. He tortured me all throughout middle school and when Roman found out, let's just say he went cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

Roman sharply turned the car around and started heading towards the opposite direction. I immediately recognized where we were headed. Blake's house.

"Roman stop! It wasn't Blake I swear. Can we please just go home.", I said pleadingly.

"If you don't tell me who touched you, then I'm assuming that it was Blake. So now I'm going to beat the shit out of him."

"Fine I'll tell you what happened when we get home as long as you promise not to go beat anyone up."

Roman stared at me and then turned the car back around. He started driving back towards my house. I sighed with relief. I just saved Blake's life. He should be forever grateful towards me, but if I know the guy, he won't. And I definitely know him.

When we arrived back at my house, Roman practically dragged me to my room. Luckily my mom wasn't home or she would've given us weird looks. When we reached my room, he sat me on the bed and took place in my desk chair.

He looked at me with expecting eyes waiting for me to tell him what had happened. I hesitated for a bit trying to figure out how I was going to word this. I didn't want it to seem as bad as it was because I really didn't want murder on my hands.

"So..... do you remember that guy Ryan that's in my first period?"

"Who?", he said looking confused.

"You know, Ryan. He played on the football team with you freshman year. He also has gym with us."

"Oh, that lanky looking guy with blonde hair." I assume everyone looked that way to Roman because he's massive.

"Yes that's him. Well anyways I've been having some..... disagreements with him lately, and that lead to us getting into a fight.", I said hesitantly.

"What kind of disagreements?" I could see the fury radiating off of him. I knew I needed to tread carefully.

"Um well, he has a hard time...... understanding my stutter, so he wanted to let me know in his own way."

"Oli. Stop lying and tell me the truth. I already promised that I wouldn't beat him up today so just be truthful." Unfortunately, I did not catch the today part.

Roman has always been good at telling when I lie. He says it's really easy, but I don't believe him. Personally, I think I'm amazing at it.

I sighed. "Fine, but please don't get too mad."

I told Roman about how Ryan had been bullying me for a while and what he did to me in the stairwell. I was fully expecting him to burst out in anger, but surprisingly he remained seated. I looked at him waiting for him to say something.

I always get a little embarrassed about people knowing that I get bullied. I just don't want them to pity me. I know Roman would never do that, but I can't help that I'm still afraid of what he has to say.

Roman stood up and laid on the bed with his back resting on the headboard. He spread his legs and pulled me to sit in between them. His arms circled around my waist while his head laid on my shoulder. He buried his face into my neck and took a deep breath.

"You know you're my everything right?", he said soothingly. I hummed in response.

"I just hate that people treat you in a bad way because...... you deserve the world. You are the only thing that can fill the dark void. I need you. I love you."

I smiled and turned to face him. "I love you too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I'm tired of everyone worrying about me. I want to be someone you can rely on, not someone you always have to protect."

"Oli, you don't have to do anything. I'm constantly relying on you, more than you know. Honestly, I would struggle to get through the day if I didn't see you."

"I don't think I could survive without you either. You're my best friend.", I said.

I turned back around and sat in his embrace contently. However, I failed to notice the way he scrunched his face in distaste at the mention of me calling him my best friend.

Roman pulled away from the embrace and got up. He walked to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit. When he returned, he started treating my injuries, which were slowly starting to become more painful. I guess the adrenaline was wearing off.

After he cleaned me up, he helped me downstairs and stared fixing me a sandwich to eat. I looked at his back from behind and smiled to myself. 'I really am lucky', I thought to myself.

After I ate the sandwich, we moved to the couch and watched a movie. It was nice being able to relax, after the hectic day. I will never complain again about being bored. I would much rather have a calm day to myself then be roadkill.

I was comfortable and worry-free, so I began to drift off to sleep. My body definitely needed it after what it had been through. I relaxed further into Roman's side and forgot briefly about everything.

Unfortunately, Roman didn't. And he was going to make that abundantly clear tomorrow.