No one moved.
No one spoke.
The silence wasn't just heavy.
It was suffocating.
"They never found him."
Ryan's words echoed in my head.
Over and over.
Not found.
Not dead.
Missing.
My chest tightened as I looked at them.
Emily—crying.
Noah—frozen.
And Sarah…
Still standing.
Still controlled.
But even she—
Even she looked shaken.
"You're lying," I said.
But my voice…
Didn't sound convincing.
Ryan tilted his head slightly.
"You think I'd make something like that up?"
"Yes."
A pause.
Then—
"No," he said calmly.
"You just don't want it to be true."
Silence.
Because he was right.
"What happened after we left?" I asked.
No answer.
"After we moved him."
Emily shook her head.
"We didn't stay," she whispered.
"We couldn't."
"You just left him again?" I snapped.
"We thought he was dead!" Noah shot back.
"You THOUGHT—"
"STOP!"
Emily's voice cut through everything.
Sharp.
Broken.
"We didn't know what to do!" she cried.
"We were scared, Lucas! All of us!"
Her voice cracked.
And for the first time—
It wasn't just guilt.
It was fear.
Real fear.
I ran a hand through my hair.
"This doesn't make sense…"
"It doesn't have to," Sarah said quietly.
I looked at her.
"You knew."
Not a question.
A statement.
Her eyes met mine.
"Not at first."
"Then when?"
A pause.
"…a week later."
The air changed.
"What do you mean?" Noah asked.
Sarah didn't look at him.
She looked at me.
"I got a message."
My heart skipped.
"What kind of message?"
Silence.
Then—
"A text."
Ryan frowned.
"That's not funny."
"I'm not joking."
Emily stepped closer.
"From who?"
Sarah didn't answer.
Instead—
She pulled out her phone.
Slow.
Deliberate.
"I never deleted it."
Everything inside me tightened.
"Show me."
She stepped forward.
Turned the screen.
And just like that—
Everything changed.
Unknown Number
You should have made sure I was dead.
Silence.
Pure.
Absolute.
"No…" Emily whispered.
"That's not possible," Noah said.
Ryan didn't speak.
But his face—
For the first time—
Cracked.
"When did you get that?" I asked.
"Three days after," Sarah said.
My chest felt tight.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"I thought it was a joke."
A pause.
"…at first."
That didn't sound right.
"What do you mean 'at first'?"
Her grip tightened on the phone.
"Because then…"
A pause.
"I started noticing things."
A chill ran down my spine.
"What things?" Emily asked.
Sarah's voice dropped.
"Footsteps behind me."
"When no one was there."
"Lights turning on in rooms I hadn't entered."
"My window…"
Another pause.
"…open."
Emily shook her head.
"No… that's not—"
"It's real," Sarah said.
And the way she said it—
No one argued.
Because deep down…
We all felt it.
Something wasn't right.
"And you're only telling us now?" Ryan asked.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Sarah looked at him.
"I tried to forget."
A pause.
"Like all of you."
"That's not the same."
"No," she said quietly.
"It's worse."
Silence.
Because she was right.
I stepped forward.
"If he's alive…"
My voice felt wrong.
"…why hasn't he come back?"
No one answered.
Or maybe—
They all thought the same thing.
"He's waiting," Noah said.
That word hit differently.
"Waiting for what?" Emily whispered.
Silence.
And then—
"For us."
Everything froze.
Because now—
It made sense.
The silence.
The fear.
The lies.
We weren't hiding from the past.
We were hiding from him.
And then—
A sound.
Sharp.
Close.
A branch snapping.
Everyone froze.
"Did you hear that?" Emily whispered.
No one answered.
Because we all did.
Another sound.
Closer.
Movement.
From the trees.
My heart started racing.
"Ryan…" Noah muttered.
"I see it."
A shadow.
Fast.
Gone.
"What the hell was that?" Emily whispered.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
And then—
A vibration.
Loud.
Too loud.
My phone.
Slowly…
I pulled it out.
Unknown number.
Again.
"No way…" Noah whispered.
"Answer it," Ryan said.
I hesitated.
Then—
I answered.
Silence.
No voice.
Just—
Breathing.
Slow.
Close.
Too close.
And then—
A whisper.
So quiet…
I almost missed it.
"Lucas…"
My blood ran cold.
"Who is this?"
Silence.
Then—
"You remember now?"
My grip tightened.
"What do you want?"
A pause.
And then—
"You left me."
Everything stopped.
"No…"
"You all did."
The line went dead.
Silence.
Pure terror.
I lowered the phone slowly.
My hands shaking.
Because now—
Everything had changed.
I wasn't chasing the truth anymore.
The truth—
Was chasing me.
🖤 Poem — Lucas
we buried the night
beneath silence and fear
but some voices don't fade
they stay… they stay near
and the past we abandoned…
is finally here