MY BOYFRIEND LEFT HIS DUFFEL BAG AND A STRANGER’S PHONE WAS INSIDE IT
I picked up his gym bag to finally put it away when I felt something heavy hidden deep in the side pocket. It wasn’t his keys or his wallet. I pulled out a second phone – not his work phone, this was clearly a burner, cheap and anonymous. The screen was dark, but the cold metal felt alien and wrong in my hand.
He walked in the front door right then, saw me holding it, and his face just dropped completely. His eyes went wide, darting between the phone and my face. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice tight and completely different than usual. I held it up, my hand shaking slightly, demanding answers immediately.
He lunged for it, but I pulled back quickly, clutching the device tightly to my chest. “Just tell me what this is about! Who does this phone belong to?” I pleaded, my voice shaking now, fear gripping my chest tightly. He stopped, his eyes fixed on the device in my hand, and finally just muttered, “It’s for the job.”
The silence stretched out, thick and suffocating in the living room air between us. “What job are you possibly talking about?” I whispered, the dread filling me from my toes upwards through my stomach. He wouldn’t meet my eyes at all, just stared intensely at the phone in my hand, his jaw tight, completely avoiding my question entirely.
Then the dark screen suddenly flashed on showing a detailed map location I didn’t recognize.
👇 *Full story continued in the comments…*”That’s… that’s in another state,” I whispered, pointing at the flashing screen. “What ‘job’ involves a burner phone and a map to… where is that, even?”
He finally looked up, and the fear in his eyes was palpable. “Look, I can explain,” he started, his voice low and urgent. “But you have to promise me you won’t freak out.”
“Freak out? You have a secret phone hidden in your gym bag, showing a location hundreds of miles away. How am I supposed to react?” I retorted, my voice rising in disbelief.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s… security work. High-risk transport. I can’t tell you the details, it’s all confidential. The phone is just a communication line, pre-loaded with secure apps, nothing personal.”
I stared at him, trying to decipher the truth in his eyes. Security work? He worked in IT. “Since when are you doing ‘high-risk transport’? You fix computers, not… escort valuable cargo!”
He flinched. “I know, I know. It’s a side gig. Extra money. They needed someone with my… skillset. The phone stays in the bag, it never leaves the house otherwise. I swear.”
The map flashed again, highlighting a building in a remote industrial park. It looked ominous and secretive. “So, you’re lying to me, taking dangerous jobs, and using secret phones. That’s… that’s great,” I said, the sarcasm dripping from my voice.
“Please, just hear me out,” he pleaded, taking a step towards me. “I didn’t want to worry you. I know it sounds crazy, but the money is too good to pass up. We could finally afford that down payment on the house we’ve been talking about.”
He saw the conflict warring on my face. The fear, the betrayal, the glimmer of possibility. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust him.
“Show me,” I finally said, my voice barely a whisper. “Show me everything. The contracts, the details, the communication logs. I need to see it all.”
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay, I’ll show you everything. But you have to understand, this is incredibly sensitive information. You can’t tell anyone.”
He led me to his computer, unlocking it with nervous fingers. He pulled up encrypted files, contracts with redacted names, and communication logs filled with code words and locations. It was a rabbit hole of secrecy and danger.
As I scrolled through the documents, I saw the truth in his words, mixed with a layer of deception he couldn’t quite hide. He was doing security work, but not just “transport.” He was protecting something, or someone, and the risks were far higher than he let on.
“There’s more to this, isn’t there?” I asked, my voice flat. “More than just extra money.”
He avoided my gaze again. “Look, just promise me you won’t get involved. Promise me you’ll let me handle this.”
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t stand by while he risked his life for some shady operation. We were a team, or at least, that’s what I thought we were.
“I can’t promise that,” I said, my voice firm. “I’m not going to just sit here and pretend this isn’t happening. Tell me everything. Or I’m walking out that door.”
He stared at me, his face a mask of anguish and resignation. He knew I meant it. Slowly, reluctantly, he began to tell me the whole truth. The real reason he took the job, the people he was protecting, and the dangers that lurked around every corner.
And as the night wore on, and the secrets spilled out, I knew that our lives were about to change forever. Whether for better or worse, we were in this together now, and there was no turning back.