Winner Takes All

Part Three

I spent the next few days doing a whole lot of nothing. I caught up on homework, tried out some new recipes, and danced in my living room. I even switched my in-person class to online. I couldn't bear the thought of being in public without anyone watching over me. Plus, Lola was here.

Roman was outside my apartment, every single day. I took Lola on daily walks and he was there every time. He never said anything, beyond a greeting and a goodbye.

Did he really need to be there every day? I wasn't so sure. Plus, didn't he have like, work to do? There was a mad man after me, after all.

I would never admit it to Roman, but I felt a lot better knowing he was there, watching the place. I know he wouldn't let Jarvis hurt me, for the sake of his job.

I noticed a lot more police in the area as well, especially at night, which helped me sleep a bit more. I still wasn't getting my usual nine hours though.

It was finally the weekend, and Ainsley had texted me about going out to a club. It had been too long since I had seen her, and I felt horrible. I wasn't too crazy about clubs though, especially now that someone was after me.

I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. I really did want to see Ainsley though, and I knew I needed to get out of the house.

I decided to ask Roman. He was the detective on my case, he would know if it was a good idea.

I put on my bright yellow hoodie, blue bell-bottom jeans, and my Air Forces. I decided to leave Lola this time because this was only a short trip and she was snoring on my bed.

As usual, Roman was right outside the building door, this time in a beanie and sunglasses. He was typing away on his phone.

I walked up and stood beside him awkwardly.

"Hi."

He glanced up from his phone and slid it into his pocket when he saw me. "Hello, Lennon."

I involuntarily shivered at his deep voice. "I have a question, actually. Since you are working on my case, I thought you would know..." I trailed off.

"Know what?" Came his short reply.

"Well, my friend is asking me to go out tonight, to a club. I think it's called LAVO, or something like that. I just wondered if that would be, um, safe?"

"I'll accompany you," He responded.

My cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. "Oh, no. You don't have to do that, I'm sure you're very busy with work."

He looked at me and I could feel his eyes burning holes into my sweater. "This is work."

I slowly nodded, a bit confused. Attending a club with two women was work? A small, okay, large, part of me was hoping he just said that because he wanted to hang out with me. A girl could dream.

"Sure, okay. I think we are meeting there at ten." I said.

"I'll be waiting at nine-thirty," Roman told me, and then walked away.

That was weird. But I couldn't deny it, I was thrilled.

Then, my heart dropped. How on earth would I explain this to Ainsley?

I quickly ran after Roman and tapped him on the shoulder. He stopped and turned around, giving me a look as if to say, what do you want?

"Sorry, but there's a bit of an issue. My friend doesn't, uh, or anyone actually, know about the case. Or the break-in, or anything. Could you please not mention it?" I pleaded.

He stared at me for so long I wasn't sure if he had even heard what I said.

Then he sighed, "We are friends, we met at the grocery." And he walked away.

That man really wasn't good at goodbyes.

"See you soon!" I yelled after him and walked back to my apartment with a smile on my face.

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Hi! Sorry, this is so short. I'm working on it as fast as I can, whenever I have a break from college!