Page 108 of What They'll Say About Us

"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."

"For nine years, her death was labeled an accident. In the end, that's exactly what it was. But when our podcast generated public interest in her case, the police reopened the files. And that triggered a cascade of actions designed to cover up what happened the night of her death. The lead detective was killed. Morgan and I survived multiple attempts on our lives. There will be more to come about the arrests made in conjunction with this case, and we'll bring you the updates as they come. But for tonight, I want to remember Paige as a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a damn good actress. She had a life, not just a death, and it's a tragedy that will haunt me forever. I want to sign off with an image of Paige and myself. She was the star, and I was the understudy. I was supposed to mirror her in the rehearsal. But as I look at this image…"

I paused as Morgan put the image on the screen, the one that showed so clearly how desperate we both were.

"I thought Paige and I were enemies," I said. "But we were more alike than either of us realized. We both shared the same fear that we weren't good enough. We both wanted the spotlight, but we were also afraid of how much that light would reveal. We had holes inside of us that needed to be filled, and we were obsessed with what people said about us. We needed the public praise. We thought that would make everything better. But our main concern shouldn't have been what they'd say about us, but what we'd think about ourselves. Thank you for listening and for watching. Signing off for now from Chicago. This is Mysteries Uncorked."

I let out a breath as Morgan turned everything off and dimmed the light we'd used for recording so that it wasn't so bright. "That was great, Tessa."

"I hope we did her story justice."

"We did."

Colton walked up to us, a gleam of admiration in his gaze. "That was good. I had your live stream going on my phone. That image was hard to look away from. It was very raw."

"That's why I wanted to show it. It told everyone where Paige had ended without having to use any words."

"You revealed a lot about yourself, too," he commented.

"It only seemed fair. I hope Paige's family will be okay with how I handled her story. But I'm okay if they're not. I told the truth."

"That's all that matters," he said. "How about, I buy you two a drink?"

"I think I'm going to head back to the hotel," Morgan said.

"Are you sure?" Colton asked. "I'd love for you to join us."

"I need to pack up some things before we leave tomorrow. Maybe you can drop me off."

"That's a good idea," I said. "We can go to the bar in the lobby of the hotel."

"Perfect."

It was a quiet drive to the hotel. I felt a little drained after the podcast, and I thought Morgan did, too. When we got into the lobby, Morgan said goodbye to Colton and moved toward the elevator, while he and I went into the bar.

I ordered a prosecco, and Colton got a beer. While we waited for our drinks, I felt a little nervous and awkward. "I wasn't sure this would be a good idea," I said.

"Why not?" he asked.

I thought for a moment. "Because this drink feels like a beginning, but it also has to be an ending. I'm going home tomorrow, and you're staying here."

He nodded, his blue eyes serious. "The geography isn't good. The timing sucks. But I still want to have a drink with you."