Hidden Truths

Chapter 14

It's been a week. Sam is nowhere to be seen. The police questioned all of us because we were the last to see her. We all gave the same answers. No, I don't know where's gone. Yes, she had pizza with us Friday night and left Saturday morning. I haven't seen her since. I swear if they ask me those questions one more time, I'll go crazy.

I had to move into Jacob's house so they could search. I packed Sam's dairy, the letter and the other paper along with my stuff so they never found them. I still haven't told anyone about the letter. Sam wanted me to burn it, which means she doesn't want anyone else to know. Plus it's not my secret to tell.

I did tell Jacob about that Saturday though. He just nodded and said, "So that's why you looked sick. Makes sense I guess." I hadn't mentioned the diary, just said I phoned her and she told me to get lost and blah blah blah.

I'm currently sitting on Jacob's bed staring at the other paper that turned out to be a list. It's a list of events since Sam's fifteenth birthday and none of it makes any sense.

Who the hell is John? And how did he drug her? What does her nightmare have to do with any of this? I mean she has so many nightmares so why is this particular one important? And how does a dairy get stolen for less than a day?

This is so confusing. I have never been more discombobulated in my life. But I know who can help me. I go to Catherine's room and knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I can hear music playing, she's probably dancing or working out.

"It's Alex."

"Okay come in."

I walk in just as she spins and loses her footing, falling off her bed and landing on her butt. It looks so comical I can't help but burst into laughter.

"Shut up! It's not funny." But she's laughing too.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, there's nothing I enjoy more than falling off my bed every ten minutes. I swear that's the third time in god knows how long."

"Why do you dance on your bed anyway?"

"I don't know to be honest. I guess it's fun. Anyway, what do you want?"

"It's about Sam."

Her amused expression turns softer and there's sympathy I her eyes. She tries to hide it but I can also see the pain. Her and Sam have been together since they were babies. Her voice is softer when she speaks.

"What about her?"

She gestures for me to come closer so I do. I show her the list. "Who's John?"                                                            
"Someone you should be grateful you don't know." Her tone is suddenly harsher and the anger is evident in her face. "He's a bad person, a very bad person."

"You know him personally?"

"Yeah, he goes to the same college as me and Sam and he came to the same high school as well."

Catherine is trying very hard to contain her anger but she looks like she'll explode any second. "Let's just say none of us got on with each other, especially him and Sam. Did you know she spent a whole year avoiding him? And still he wouldn't leave her alone. He probably still bugs her now."

"And he drugged her?"

"At prom. He just left her by herself and it was only when Kian found her did anyone notice she was missing at all."

My face must be screaming confusion because she asks, "Sam never told you?"

"No, I didn't even know who John was remember?"

"That's true, but she never told you anything? Anything at all?"

"No." Wow, I'm such a lost plot.

"Okay I'll start from the beginning. Basically she was going to the toilets and he walked into her from behind and she fell. She got up and tried to walk away but he grabbed her and wouldn't let go. She asked him to release her but he wouldn't listen. Then he said she had to show him her scars and-"

"Her scars? How did he know?" That was one of her secrets and she'd only told Catherine.

"I have no idea. In fact I only found out after this incident so for him to know..." she trails off.

I don't want to think about it. "Anyway what happened next?"

"Well Sam refused, obviously, and she told me that he never told her how he knew and she never bothered to ask again. So then he dragged her into the closet and stabbed her with a needle. No one knows what he did to her, but when Kian found Sam her hair was a mess and her blouse was off. He found her blouse in the corner and put it back on her and then called the teachers. Everyone who knows never talks about it but no one knows about her scars. Kian didn't tell anyone what he saw but me. He said it wasn't his place to tell so I respect him for that. And yeah that's what happened."

I look at the list again. Sam didn't know whether this was relevant or irrelevant. I know it's relevant but can't explain why. I feel like something similar has happened somewhere else recently. Then it clicks. "Oh crap."

"What."

"Sam's been drugged twice."

"And?"

"Both times were in a similar fashion."

"Oh my gosh are you saying that..." Catherine follows my train of thought. "First John, then CRMG. You think they're the same person?"

I nod. "If John is as stalkerish as you say he is and both know a lot about Sam, the odds that they're the same person or at least working together are high."

And that means they both know Sam's secret, which is risky because they can report her.

I remember the argument Sam and I had several weeks ago. I found her sitting on the stairs crying and tried to comfort her by telling her that everything would be okay. She moved away from me and lashed out saying, "No everything will not be okay. Do you have any idea what it's like to live day in and day out knowing that anyone could come and attack you any second, or that anyone and everyone could be frowning at you as you walk past? Do you, Alex? Because if you do then maybe, just maybe, everything will be okay. Go on, keep giving me false hope. Keep telling me that everything will be fine. Because you know it won't. Deep inside you know it. You know this nightmare won't end. It won't end until I end it myself. Just be grateful you're watching it and not living it."

Then, before I could reply, she stormed up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her. I realised then exactly how much danger she was in.

And if John is CRMG and a psycho, the danger she is in just escalated by a million. I just hope and pray they find her soon.