Chapter 24 #2
His lips tightened. "What happened?"
"They argued about a lot of things, including Nate. Paige made some cruel statements about how Sloane was a pathetic loser who was in love with her boyfriend."
"Ouch."
I nodded. "Sloane tried to reason with her. Paige told Sloane to leave her alone and then shoved her away. That shove was so hard it knocked Sloane off her feet and sent Paige tumbling backward into the water, where she hit her head."
"Damn," he swore. "Are you serious? Why didn't Sloane say this before?"
"She was afraid she'd be blamed for it. She said she froze when it happened, and maybe if she'd acted, she could have saved her, but Paige disappeared under the water, and Sloane ran away."
"Are you sure that's the truth?"
"I believe her. I heard a longer version of that story, and it made sense. It was the perfect storm of emotions and bad choices."
He walked over to his couch and sat down, resting his arms on his thighs. I perched on the edge of the chair next to the sofa.
"If I'd answered her texts, she would have come over or come up the stairs," he murmured. "Nothing would have happened. She would still be alive."
"If I'd answered her call, maybe I could have changed that night, too.
If Sloane hadn't followed her, there never would have been an argument.
If Hale hadn't slept with her, maybe she wouldn't have felt so overwhelmed.
If her brother wasn't trying to blackmail her for money, maybe she would have gone to her family for help.
There are so many ifs, Liam…but we can't change what happened.
" I paused, then said, "I just wanted you to know the truth. "
"I have a feeling there's more to the story than you're saying."
"It will all come out eventually. But there's one more thing I want to say now."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," he said dryly.
"I've already apologized to you for my behavior. Like Paige, I made some bad choices, too. I pushed you away, so I wouldn't have to watch you walk away."
"I wasn't going to walk away until you made me, Tessa. You forced the breakup. You wanted me to do it, to make yourself look like the victim, and to make me look like the bad guy."
"That's probably true. I just want to wish you well, Liam. It's good to see you happy and thriving, doing what you always wanted to do." I blinked back a sudden rush of moisture. "Sorry, it's been an emotional week."
"It has been," he agreed. "Seeing you again was a shock to my system, too. I'd built you up in my mind to be someone I would hate forever."
"I don't want you to hate me, and I don't want to hate you. I know we can't be friends, but I hope we can also not be enemies."
"We're not enemies. And I want you to be happy, too."
"Look at us, being so mature and grown up."
"It's about time," he said, meeting my smile with one of his own.
I got to my feet and walked to the door. "Goodbye, Liam."
"Goodbye, Tessa," he said, walking me to the door. "I hope you get everything you want in life."
"I hope you will, too." I walked out the door, finally feeling like we'd had the right ending.
After leaving Liam's, I went by the theater and dropped off my aunt's car.
I gave her a brief recap of what had happened since she was in the middle of rehearsal and promised to follow up with a longer call at a later date.
Then I went back to the hotel to work with Morgan on putting together our final podcast from Chicago.
Colton picked Morgan and me up at eight o'clock Sunday night and drove us to the lakefront. The lengthening shadows set the perfect mood for our video. Colton gave us plenty of space to walk ahead of him, not wanting to get in the way of the podcast, but also not wanting us to do this alone.
As we neared the location where her body had been found, we paused to turn on the camera and the light.
We'd attached mics to our clothes, so we could be mobile.
At Morgan's go sign, I said, "Welcome to Mysteries Uncorked.
Tonight, we're going to retrace Paige MacIntyre's steps to the lake that would eventually steal her life.
Along the way, we're going to tell you the story of what happened to her.
We have all the answers now. They weren't what we were expecting.
But that's life, isn't it? It's never exactly what we plan. "
As Morgan used a long selfie stick to film our walk, we began to move. There were a few people around, but not many, which was exactly as I wanted it.
With each step, I told Paige's story: the pressures that had fallen upon her when her star began to rise, the choices she'd made that tarnished that star, the overwhelming feeling of not being good enough, taking her down an even darker path than the one we were on. A path toward self-destruction.
I talked about Sloane, the roommate who'd tried to bring Paige back to the light.
I talked about the boyfriend who couldn't seem to get through to her, who knew their relationship was slipping away, even if she wouldn't admit it; her rival's boyfriend, who Paige wanted to use to make herself feel good enough and hurt her rival in the process; the friends who supported her bad choices with alcohol and drugs; and the professor who used her vulnerability and persuaded her into an affair that would haunt her until the end of her life.
When we got to the spot, I waved my hand toward the water and told my listeners exactly what had happened, with the same passion I'd heard in Sloane's voice.
"It was Paige who had the last words," I said.
"It was Paige, who couldn't see through her pain, who couldn't be anything but cruel at that moment, because she couldn't handle the hole she'd dug for herself.
She told her roommate, Sloane, she just wanted her to leave her alone and then she shoved her so hard, Sloane fell to the ground, and Paige lost her balance and tumbled into the water.
" I paused for effect. "Paige got what she asked for—she got left alone. "