What Are You Hiding, Roman Hart?

Spying

'I have to act normal. Act like nothing is wrong.', I thought to myself as I walked next door.

It was the next day, and I decided I wasn't going to tell Roman that I saw him. I was tired of the back and forth thing we had going on where I would ask for answers and he wouldn't give me any. So my solution was to spy on him.

I entered his house and walked straight to his room. I didn't bother to knock on the front door because I haven't done that in years. When I opened his door, he was laying on his bed asleep. What time did he get back for him to still be passed out? It was 4 p.m, and that's late for Roman. He usually is up by at least 10 a.m.

I shook him to try and wake him up. I figured it wouldn't work, but surprisingly he woke up pretty easy.

"Hey, why are you still asleep? It's almost time for dinner you know?", I asked him with a smile.

"Shit, is it really? I was just really tired so I slept in?", he replied.

"What we're doing last night that made you so tired?", I asked.

I figured the best approach to asking him about his whereabouts last night was to beat around the bush. I wasn't going to let him know that I knew. Just make it seem like I was curious about him.

"Ah..... I was just playing video games and I lost track of the time.", he said.

"Really? You haven't played video games in like 2 years. What game did you play?"

"Oh you know, one of the fun ones."

"Which one, Roman? I'm curious. I wonder what game was so exciting that it kept you up all night."

"...... Cooking Mama."

"Are you serious? Cooking Mama?", I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's really fun you should play it.", he said with a straight face.

"Well are you playing again tonight? Maybe I can stay over.", I asked.

"Um...... I'm actually still pretty tired Oli. I think I might just eat something then go back to sleep."

"Can I still spend the night? I won't bother you, I'll just sleep."

"I think it's best that you go home.", he said looking nervous.

"Why?"

"Oli, please just drop it this once. I'm really tired.", Roman said pleadingly.

"Alright. But you owe me.", I said grinning.

"Okay.", he said matching my smile.

I turned to leave when he suddenly caught my arm and pulled me around. He engulfed me in a hug and buried his face in my neck. He squeezed me really tight. It was one of those hugs you would give someone if you didn't know when you would see them again.

I broke the hug and brought my hands to cup his cheeks. I stared into his dark eyes for a long time. They seemed troubled, like he was struggling internally.

"What's wrong?", I asked with concern lacing my voice.

"...... nothing. I've just missed you. Promise me that you'll come over tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay.", I said while hugging him once more.

After we hugged for a long time, I left to go back home. I thought coming to his house would give me some answers and bring me some peace of mind, but I feel worse. Something was wrong, I could tell by the look in his eyes. And I don't like it.

'I'm sick of this. He's definitely going out again tonight. This time, I'm going to follow him.', I thought to myself.

So I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And...... oh come on! What's taking him so long?

It was already two in the morning, and he still hasn't left his house yet. Maybe I got it wrong. He could've been telling the truth, and just wanted to catch up on sleep.

No.

I know I'm right. I have a feeling. Something isn't right, and I need to follow him.

Luckily, this time I was right. Not soon after, I saw his familiar figure climbing out of the window. I raced downstairs, and went out through the back door. I had to be extremely quiet as to not wake my mom, or alert Roman.

I saw him land on the ground after jumping from his window. He didn't see me because I was hiding behind a bush in the shadows.

He started to make his way down the road on foot. I didn't know why he was traveling by foot since he has a car, but I followed him anyways. He was hiding in the shadows while he made his way to his destination. It was obvious that he was trying to go unnoticed.

I on the other hand was having a rather difficult time staying hidden. For about the five minutes we had been walking, I almost stepped on a cat, tripped over a crack in the pavement, and almost knocked over a trash can. Honestly, it's amazing that he hasn't noticed me yet.

I kept following him for awhile. I had no clue where he was headed. Every time I thought I knew, he would suddenly start heading in a different direction. Non the less, I kept following.

Eventually, Roman stopped at the docks near the harbor. He was hiding in the shadows once again completely blending in.

For some reason, I decided to wear a light blue sweater with jeans, so I couldn't blend in as well. I chose to hide behind some shipping containers. It gave me a pretty good view of Roman and what he was doing.

At first, he just stood there. For a long time. Honestly, I was getting pretty tired of just standing there. I was considering that maybe my best friend had just gone mental and was seeing things. Why else would he just be staring at the same boat for about 40 minutes?

I was about to fall asleep, when I heard some men talking. I looked over to the boat that Roman had been staring at, and saw a group of men leaving. They were discussing something, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. But that's when I saw it. A group of armed men following closely behind the other men.

I felt goosebumps run over my entire body. They had so many weapons. Guns, knives, and...... explosives. Shit. What did I just get myself into?

I turned to look at Roman, and he was pulling out his own guns and knives. He was staring at the men looking like he would kill them at any second.

Surely he wouldn't be as stupid as to attack them, right?

Right?

Wrong.

Before I knew it, he was running straight at them.