If Noah Lies
October 2
Dear Diary,
I didn’t sleep.
Not because of the unknown messages.
Not because of the photograph.
Not even because of the envelope sitting on my desk.
It was because of one sentence.
“Open this only if Noah lies.”
And Noah has already lied to me.
I know it.
I just don’t know what the lie is.
I carried the envelope to school.
I didn’t open it.
I wanted to.
Believe me, I wanted to.
But something stopped me.
Maybe it was fear.
Maybe it was trust.
Or maybe it was the fact that Noah was standing at my locker when I arrived.
He looked exhausted.
“Hey.”
I stared at him.
“Hey.”
Neither of us smiled.
He looked at the envelope sticking out of my notebook.
His expression changed.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
“You found another one.”
I froze.
“How did you know?”
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“How did you know, Noah?”
He looked around the hallway.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
“After school.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to tell you something.”
My heart started pounding.
“About Elena?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I felt terrified.
The entire school day felt wrong.
Jayden tried talking to me between classes.
I barely heard him.
Maya asked if I was okay.
I lied.
I told her I was tired.
But every time I looked toward Noah, he was watching me.
Not like he usually did.
Like he was waiting for something.
At lunch, Jayden sat beside me.
“You’ve been avoiding me.”
“I haven’t.”
“You have.”
I looked down.
“I’m sorry.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“Did I do something?”
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
I almost told him.
Then I remembered the photograph.
The messages.
The envelope.
And Noah’s warning.
“I just have some family stuff.”
It was another lie.
Jayden nodded.
“Okay.”
He didn’t push.
That somehow made me feel worse.
After school, I waited for Noah.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Twenty.
He didn’t come.
I called.
No answer.
I texted.
Nothing.
My stomach tightened.
Then I remembered something.
“If Noah lies.”
What if he already had?
I pulled the envelope from my bag.
I stared at it.
Then I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Only one sentence.
“Ask Noah who was with Elena on October 14.”
I read it three times.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Noah.
Noah: I’m sorry.
That’s it.
Two words.
I called him.
Nothing.
I called again.
Still nothing.
Then another message arrived.
Not from Noah.
Unknown: Now you know what to ask.
I stared at the screen.
Then another message.
Unknown: But don’t ask him alone.
I looked around the empty hallway.
And suddenly...
I wasn’t sure who I could trust.
Not Jayden.
Not Noah.
Maybe not even myself.
Because there was one thing I hadn’t told anyone.
Something I discovered last night.
Something I still don’t understand.
On the first page of this diary, underneath the sentence I didn’t remember writing...
There was another line.
I had missed it before.
It said:
“If Noah tells you he loves you, don’t believe him.”
My heart stopped.
I don’t know why those words frightened me so much.
But they did.
Because suddenly...
This isn’t just about Elena anymore.
It’s about Noah.
And whatever happened eight years ago...
He might be the only person who knows the whole truth.
— Amara
