Page 34 of What They'll Say About Us

"I have to ask, though, how did it feel being back in the theater?"

"It made me miss it," I admitted. "I always loved the stage."

"Ever since you were a little girl. As soon as I got you into the theater, all your stress went away."

"Because I could escape into another world, where anything could happen. But I'm not a little girl anymore, and rent is real, and money is important. I'm thrilled that the podcast is allowing me to be creative and to be my own boss. Plus, I get to work with my two best friends."

"Tessa is the big driver of our success," Morgan said. "She's the one who has always had the big dreams, the vision of where we could go. Sometimes, she's had to drag us kicking and screaming, but we're lucky that she's helped us make all this happen."

"Relationships are the most important thing in life," Vivienne said. "And I'm glad you found two good friends, Tessa. Shall we go?"

"I'm ready."

"Will you be coming to the theater tomorrow?"

"Since it's right next door, probably at some point."

"Good. I want to keep up with what's going on."

"Of course." Despite my answer, I had no intention of getting her further involved if I could help it. She didn't like scary things, and my life was filled with nothing but that.

When we got back to the building, we waved goodbye, then headed down the breezeway. Before we went inside, I paused. "Morgan."

She gave me a wary look. "I don't like the sound of that."

"I just said your name."

"There's more coming, and I'm not going to like it, am I?"

"Probably not. It's a little past eight o'clock. The sun has set. It's shadowy enough for us to go to the lakefront and shoot a short video from the location where Paige's body was found."

"I knew I wasn't going to like it."

"We have to do it sometime, and there have to be enough shadows to give us the atmosphere we want. Why don't I get the car out of the garage, you grab our camera and lights and whatever else we need, and I'll pull the car around front and pick you up?"

"Okay," she said, clearly not happy about it. "I wish you weren't right, but you are."

I smiled. "It's going to be fine."

"I hope so."

While she went upstairs, I walked around back to the garage, feeling a little uneasy with the deserted area. There were three parking spots for the yoga studio as well as a back door to the building and a large green dumpster. But there were no cars, no people in sight. That was a good thing, I told myself. I didn't need anyone to be lurking around in back.

The car was a little dusty, but the engine started, and I backed out of the garage, happy that I was able to close the door with a remote, rather than having to get out and unlock it again. I drove down a back alley behind the theater and around the corner to the front of the building where Morgan was waiting.

She hopped into the car, and we were both silent as I drove to the lake. Neither one of us really wanted to go there, but it had to be done. As I drove the familiar streets of my youth, I also had to deal with more memories. I had spent so much time walking around this area, and most of that time had been happy. Things had really only gone bad the last half of my senior year, which should have been the best time, but it had turned out to be the worst.

As I stopped at a light, I looked down another familiar street, seeing the lit sign for McGee's, the bar where Liam had worked, where I had spent so many hours. Now that I was back here, the time in between didn't seem as long. It almost felt like yesterday. But it wasn't yesterday. Liam didn't work there anymore. He had his own bar, and I had a life in New York. Our lives had probably worked out the way they were supposed to, but I still felt a momentary wistful pang for a relationship that had started out so fun and exciting. We'd fallen fast and hard, and I wished those early days could have lasted forever. And maybe they would have if I hadn't gotten so obsessed with becoming a lead actress, taking center stage, and feeling like I was somebody.

"It's green," Morgan said, waving a hand toward the light.

"Sorry."

"You're having a lot of thoughts, aren't you?"

"Too many," I admitted.

"I'd tell you to stop thinking about the past and focus on the present, but that's actually not what tonight is about."