Page 107 of What They'll Say About Us

He stared back at me in surprise. "It was? How do you know that?"

"Because I found the person who was with her that night."

"I thought she was alone."

"She was alone for some of the night, wandering around town, trying to find someone to talk to, someone like you. She stood outside your apartment for a while, looking down at her phone, then up at your open window. She was probably wondering why you weren't answering her texts when she could see you were home alone."

"She was watching my window?" he asked, genuine shock running through his eyes. "How do you know that?"

"Sloane went to your apartment building, looking for Paige. She saw her standing in the shadows looking up at your window. Before she could talk to her, Paige took off running. Sloane ran after her. She was worried about her. She caught up to her on the lake path."

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."