KATHERINE

THE TRUTH THEY HID

CHAPTER 6 Of 6: THE TRUTH THEY HID

The following morning, Katherine woke up before her alarm. For a few seconds, she lay still, staring at the ceiling while the pale morning light slipped through the curtains. She had slept better than she expected, but the moment she remembered the messages from the night before, the calm disappeared. Someone knew something about her disappearance. Someone wanted her to ask questions. And now, she could not stop wondering what she had forgotten.

Sophie was already awake, sitting on her bed while scrolling through her phone. She looked up when Katherine moved.

“You’re awake early.”

“I barely slept,” Katherine admitted, sitting up. “I kept thinking about everything.”

Sophie put her phone down. “About the messages?”

Katherine nodded.

She wanted to tell Sophie everything, but a strange feeling stopped her. The warning had sounded personal, almost as if the person sending the messages knew exactly what she had been through. Katherine did not know whether Sophie was in danger too, but she did know one thing: she could not keep pretending everything was normal.

They eventually got ready for their morning lecture and left the dorm together. The college was already busy. Students crossed the paths in groups, some rushing toward classes while others stood outside the lecture halls talking and laughing. Katherine tried to blend into the familiar routine, but everything felt different now. Every passing car caught her attention. Every unfamiliar face made her wonder whether someone was watching her.

Carla and Dawn joined them before the lecture began. Carla immediately noticed Katherine's distracted expression.

“You look like you have something on your mind.”

“I do,” Katherine said.

Dawn raised an eyebrow. “Is it serious?”

Katherine hesitated. “I got some strange messages.”

The three girls became quiet.

“What kind of messages?” Sophie asked.

Katherine showed them her phone. The messages were simple, but each one made her stomach tighten.

You should stop asking questions.

You were warned once.

Someone who knows what really happened that night.

The truth.

Ask your friends about the night before you disappeared.

Carla read the last message twice. “What does that even mean?”

“I don't know,” Katherine replied.

Dawn looked at Sophie. “Do you?”

Sophie quickly shook her head. “No.”

Katherine noticed the hesitation in her voice. It was tiny, almost invisible, but Katherine knew Sophie well enough to recognize it.

The lecture began before she could ask anything else.

For the next hour, Katherine tried to concentrate. She wrote notes, listened to the lecturer, and answered a question when she was called upon, but her mind kept returning to the same sentence.

Ask your friends about the night before you disappeared.

When the lecture ended, the four girls walked toward the cafeteria. Katherine remained unusually quiet until they found a table away from the crowd.

“I need to ask you something,” she said.

Carla and Dawn exchanged a look.

“What?” Carla asked.

Katherine looked at each of them. “What happened the night before I disappeared?”

Nobody answered immediately.

Sophie lowered her eyes.

That was enough to make Katherine's heart beat faster.

“You know something.”

Sophie sighed. “Katherine…”

“Please. Just tell me.”

“I didn't know if I should.”

“Why?”

Sophie looked at Carla and Dawn before finally speaking. “You called me that night.”

Katherine stared at her.

“What?”

“You called me late,” Sophie continued. “You sounded scared. You kept asking if I was awake.”

“Why don't I remember that?”

“Because you were already confused,” Sophie said quietly. “You told me someone was following you.”

Katherine's expression changed. “Who?”

Sophie swallowed.

“You said you thought it was Michael.”

Katherine immediately frowned.

“Michael?”

“Yes.”

“That doesn't make sense. Michael is my brother.”

“I know,” Sophie said. “That's why I didn't understand it either.”

Katherine leaned back in her chair. Michael was younger than her and still in high school. He had no reason to be following her, and she could not imagine him being involved in anything connected to her disappearance.

“Did I say anything else?”

Sophie shook her head. “You said you were going home. Then the call ended.”

“And you never told anyone?”

“I thought you were upset and that everything would be fine. Then we couldn't reach you.”

Katherine looked down at the table. For months, she had believed the story she had been given. Nate had taken her. She had survived. She had returned. That was supposed to be the end of it.

But maybe it wasn't.

Her phone suddenly felt heavy in her hand.

She opened Michael's contact and stared at his name for several seconds before calling him.

He answered after a few rings.

“Hey, Katherine.”

“Michael, I need to ask you something.”

There was a pause. “Okay.”

“Where were you the night before I disappeared?”

Another pause.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Just answer me.”

“I was coming home from school. Why?”

“Did you follow me?”

“What? No.”

Katherine closed her eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I'm sure. Why would I follow you?”

She glanced at Sophie, Carla, and Dawn.

“Did you see anything that night?”

Michael became quiet.

“Michael?”

“I saw someone.”

Katherine sat straighter. “Who?”

“I don't know.”

“Then what did you see?”

“I was coming home when I noticed someone near your street. I thought it was strange because they kept looking around.”

“Did they see you?”

“I don't know. I kept walking.”

Katherine's fingers tightened around her phone.

“What did they look like?”

“I couldn't see their face.”

“Anything else?”

“There was a car.”

“What kind?”

“Dark. Maybe black or dark blue. I couldn't tell exactly.”

Katherine felt a chill run through her.

“Michael, did you see that car again?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“The next day.”

Katherine looked at Sophie.

“Near our house?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I tried, but you were already gone.”

Katherine's throat tightened.

“Michael, is there something else you're not telling me?”

Silence.

“Michael?”

“I found something.”

Katherine's heart raced.

“What did you find?”

“I can't tell you over the phone.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't know who might be listening.”

Katherine looked around the cafeteria. Suddenly, the noise seemed too loud.

“Michael, please. Tell me.”

“I'll come to you when I can.”

“When?”

“I don't know. Just don't trust everyone.”

The call ended.

Katherine slowly lowered the phone.

“What did he say?” Dawn asked.

Katherine told them.

Sophie looked worried. “This is getting serious.”

“It already was,” Carla said.

Katherine stared at the screen. Before she could say anything, another message appeared.

You finally remembered.

Her breath caught.

A second message followed.

Now ask Michael what he was hiding.

Katherine stared at the words until the screen blurred.

Someone had been listening.

Or someone simply knew exactly what she would ask next.

Either possibility frightened her.

She locked her phone and stood.

“I need to find Michael.”

Sophie stood too. “You're not going alone.”

Katherine looked at her.

“I don't know who I can trust anymore.”

Sophie reached for her hand, then stopped before touching her. “You can trust me.”

Katherine wanted to believe her. She really did. But the message had told her to ask her friends about the night before she disappeared, and Sophie had already admitted that she knew something.

Katherine looked toward the cafeteria entrance. Students continued moving in and out as if nothing had changed. Nobody looked suspicious. Nobody appeared to be watching her.

Yet she could not shake the feeling that the truth was somewhere close.

For the first time, Katherine understood that her disappearance might have been only one part of a much larger secret.

Nate might have been responsible for what happened to her, but perhaps he had not been the only person involved.

And if Michael had found something, then the answers she had been searching for might be closer than she ever imagined.

Katherine picked up her bag.

“We're going back to the dorm.”

“Why?” Carla asked.

“Because I need to think.”

They left the cafeteria together.

As they walked across campus, Katherine glanced over her shoulder.

A dark car was parked across the road.

She stopped.

The car did not move.

Neither did she.

For several seconds, she simply stared at it.

Then it slowly drove away.

Katherine watched until it disappeared around the corner.

Sophie noticed her expression.

“What is it?”

Katherine shook her head.

“Nothing.”

But deep down, she knew it wasn't nothing.

Someone was watching.

And this time, she was determined to find out why.

That evening, Katherine sat on the edge of her bed with her phone beside her. She had tried to study, but the words in her textbook refused to stay in her mind. Instead, she kept replaying Michael's voice. He had sounded nervous, and that frightened her more than the anonymous messages.

Sophie was at her desk, working on an assignment. Neither of them had spoken since returning from the cafeteria.

Sophie turned around.

“You're thinking about what Michael said.”

Katherine nodded. “I keep wondering what he found.”

“Maybe you should wait until he can tell you in person.”

“I know.”

“And Katherine…”

“What?”

Sophie hesitated. “About that phone call that night, I should have told you sooner.”

Katherine looked at her. “Why didn't you?”

“I was scared.”

“Of what?”

“That something bad had happened and that I would somehow make it worse by talking about it.”

Katherine looked away. She understood fear, but she also understood that silence could hide things.

“I don't blame you,” she said eventually. “But from now on, I need everyone to be honest with me.”

Sophie nodded.

Outside, campus had grown quiet. Katherine walked to the window and looked through the curtains. The road was empty now, and the dark car was nowhere in sight.

Still, she could not forget it.

She knew sleep would be difficult tonight, but she also knew she could not run from the questions forever.

Between the memories she had lost and the secrets everyone seemed afraid to tell her was the truth.

And Katherine was ready to face it.