The Minutes We Have

chapter eighteen

The moon was wakeless. 

As it was, I was sleepless. I couldn't really imagine being able to sleep easily after everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. I wanted to believe that Ezra and I hadn't witnessed the sheriff burying someone, and I had just been having a nightmare, but my subconscious knew that something wasn't right. 

I also knew that Roman knew something. His behavior was off at dinner. I wanted to approach and demand answers but I wasn't sure how he would respond. When I had done the same thing in the city, he had become so defensive and left. Perhaps he would be different now, especially when all of us just wanted to lead a peaceful life now. 

We didn't want to deal with bad cops. 

I had rolled from one side to the other on my bed. My comforter was hanging lopsided and one leg was stuck out. I stared at my ceiling for a moment longer before I shoved the blankets aside and stood. 

I was going to try for some answers.

I tiptoed out into the dark hallway, and only the slight glow of light from beneath the doors of my brothers' bedrooms illuminated my toes. I made sure to avoid the one creaky board right in front of Ezra's door, and continued to sneak to the last door in the hallway. It was Roman's room and I knew he was awake because he liked to game into the late hours. 

Still, I gently knocked once and then opened the door. 

Roman was seated at the end of his bed, dressed in basketball shorts and a t-shirt that seemed wrinkled enough that he must've slept on it. He was playing Call of Duty with the zombie world, it was one of the favorites among the four of them. He had been wearing headphones but he slipped one side behind his ear, and acknowledged me by asking, "What?" 

"I couldn't sleep." 

His eyes flickered between the smaller television and me. He didn't say anything. After another second, he simply scooted to the side of his bed a little bit. I took the silent invitation and plopped down next to him. I had come for answers but I also subconsciously knew that he wasn't going to offer judgment. 

In a way, since we had moved away from the city, Roman had become more understandable and he understood more. His temper wasn't quick, his secrets weren't dangerous, and he had become more relaxed in the manner that Ezra had. They didn't seem as stressed out. I didn't dare tell them that they were the most alike. 

Their growth was different, though. 

I watched Roman successfully pass another level on zombies before he paused the game. He sighed, slipped off his headphones and dropped the controller in his lap, and then laid back on the bed. "Alright, what's up?" He asked, folding his arms beneath his head. 

I sighed, glancing at him. "I'm bothered about this whole thing recently." 

"I can't believe you guys saw him burying a body," Roman's voice was in borderline awe. 

"Roman, it's not interesting or cool," I took the moment to vent, "He could have killed someone, or had, and he was trying to erase the evidence. I mean, we dealt with that cop overlooking crime in the city but this is different. What if we end up on the bad side? What are we going to do? We can't seek help, and we just moved here." 

"Okay," He said, slightly exasperated at the end, "I didn't mean it like that. I know it's serious, Jordyn." 

"What do you know?" 

He paused. "Ever since that party, and what you told me, I started investigating a little at school and in town. There's a rumor that he's laundering money for the cartel, and it's possible now that he's drug trafficking for a cut of his own."