Jay's POV
Nobody knew how to react after reading the message.
Even David looked stunned.
Felix kept staring at the screen as if another message might appear at any second, while the rest of us stood there trying to make sense of what was happening.
"If David won't tell the truth, I will."
The words echoed in my head.
Whoever was sending these messages clearly knew something about him.
Something big enough to make him nervous.
Something big enough to make him stay quiet.
"Okay," Ci-n finally said, breaking the silence. "I'm officially done pretending this isn't weird."
"No one's pretending," Calix replied.
"Then somebody explain what's going on."
Nobody could.
I looked at David.
He still hadn't said a word.
"David," I said carefully, "if there's something you know, just tell us."
His jaw tightened.
"I already told you. Nothing happened."
"Then why are you acting like this?" Eman asked.
"Acting like what?"
"Like you're scared."
David immediately laughed.
The problem was that nobody laughed with him.
The atmosphere had changed.
A few hours ago, we were all joking around at the beach house.
Now it felt like an invisible wall had appeared between David and the rest of us.
Felix's phone buzzed again.
This time nobody even flinched.
We were expecting it.
Felix unlocked the screen and read the message.
His eyes widened.
"Bro..."
"What now?" Ci-n asked.
Felix slowly read it aloud.
Check the storage room.
The entire group looked at one another.
"The storage room?" Calix repeated.
"Why the storage room?" Eman asked.
Nobody knew.
The beach house had a small storage room downstairs where we kept extra chairs, old boxes, and random things nobody used.
"Maybe it's another prank," David said quickly.
Keifer folded his arms.
"Funny how you're suddenly against finding answers."
David glared at him.
Keifer glared right back.
I stepped between them before things got worse.
"Can both of you stop?"
Neither looked happy, but at least they stayed quiet.
"Let's just check," Felix suggested.
Five minutes later, the entire group was standing outside the storage room.
The hallway felt colder than before.
Maybe it was because it was almost dawn.
Or maybe it was because none of us knew what we were about to find.
Ci-n reached for the doorknob.
"Why am I always the brave one?"
"You're not brave," Calix replied. "You're just curious."
"Same thing."
"No, it isn't."
Despite everything, a few of us laughed.
It felt good.
Normal.
For a second, it reminded me of how things used to be.
Before the messages.
Before the secrets.
Before David started acting strange.
Ci-n opened the door.
The storage room looked ordinary at first.
Old boxes.
Beach equipment.
Folded chairs.
Nothing unusual.
Then Felix pointed toward the corner.
"What's that?"
Everyone followed his gaze.
A cardboard box sat against the wall.
On top of it was a white envelope.
And written across the front in black marker were two words.
SECTION E
Nobody moved.
I don't know why, but seeing that envelope made my stomach twist.
It felt personal.
Like whoever was behind all of this knew us better than we knew ourselves.
Felix slowly picked it up.
"Should I open it?"
"Obviously," Calix said.
Felix took a deep breath and pulled out the contents.
A stack of old photographs.
The first few looked normal.
School events.
Class pictures.
Beach outings.
Then he reached the last photo.
The second he saw it, his expression changed.
"What?" Eman asked.
Felix didn't answer.
He just handed the photo to me.
I looked down.
My heart nearly stopped.
The picture showed all of us together during first year.
Me.
Keifer.
David.
Ci-n.
Felix.
Calix.
Eman.
Everyone.
What shocked me wasn't who was in the photo.
It was what was written on the back.
In red ink.
In handwriting I didn't recognize.
David lied to all of you.
I slowly lifted my head.
Every eye in the room turned toward David.
And for the first time since the messages started...
He looked like he had run out of excuses.