TOO MANY QUESTIONS
824 Words
I stared at the message.
You're asking too many questions.
My hand went cold around my phone.
I looked at Cameron.
He was watching me.
"What?" he asked.
I turned my phone toward him.
He read the message.
His expression changed.
"Don't reply."
"Why?"
"Just don't."
I frowned.
"How do they even know I'm here?"
Cameron didn't answer.
"Cameron."
He looked around the diner.
"Keep your voice down."
That annoyed me.
"Why? You keep telling me to trust you, but you won't actually tell me anything."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
I put my phone on the table.
"I want answers."
"I know."
"Then give me some."
He sighed.
"Okay."
He leaned closer.
"After Evan died, I went to his house."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because I couldn't stop thinking about what he'd told me."
"What did he tell you?"
"That if anything happened to him, I should look for something he'd hidden."
I remembered the flash drive.
"Was that the flash drive?"
"No."
I frowned.
"Then what?"
"The note."
I looked at the folded paper.
"You found it at his house?"
Cameron nodded.
"Where?"
"In his room."
"Where exactly?"
He hesitated.
"Inside an old book."
"What book?"
"I don't remember the title."
I stared at him.
"You don't remember?"
"It was just some old book on his shelf."
I wasn't convinced.
"Why didn't you give it to me before?"
"I didn't know if I should."
"Why?"
"Because your name was on it."
I looked down at the paper.
He was right.
My name was written across the front.
RILEY.
"Did you open it?"
"No."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I didn't."
He looked straight at me.
"I read it after I saw your name."
I swallowed.
"What else did it say?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"That was all."
I looked at the note again.
If they tell you I died alone, they're lying.
I couldn't stop thinking about that sentence.
"Why would Evan write this?"
"I don't know."
"Then who was he talking about?"
Cameron shook his head.
"I don't know."
I sighed.
There it was again.
I looked out the window.
Cars passed on the street.
People walked along the sidewalk.
Everything outside looked completely normal.
But my life didn't feel normal anymore.
I looked back at Cameron.
"Did you see the person who was with him?"
"No."
"The night he died?"
"No."
"But you saw someone leaving his house."
"Yes."
"Could it have been the same person?"
Cameron went quiet.
"I don't know."
I rubbed my forehead.
"This is insane."
"I know."
"No, seriously. Evan is dead. His number called me last night. Someone is texting me. He left me videos. Now you're telling me he wasn't alone when he died."
Cameron looked at me.
"I know."
"And somehow I'm supposed to just go home after this?"
He didn't answer.
My phone buzzed.
Both of us looked at it.
Unknown number.
My heart started pounding.
I picked it up.
One message.
You need to stop digging.
I stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
Or you'll end up like Evan.
I couldn't breathe.
I looked at Cameron.
He had read the message too.
For the first time since I'd met him at the diner, he looked genuinely scared.
"Riley," he said quietly.
"What?"
"We need to leave."
I looked around the diner.
"Why?"
He stood up.
"Because I think they know where we are."
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