Fighting Fate (Granton University #1)(89)

“Oh, right.” She still had to tell them everything. Blowing out a breath, Paige collapsed backward, landing with a plop on the mattress. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she hugged them hard and swallowed her apprehensions.

“There’s a lot I haven’t told you guys,” she confessed. “About me. About my family. About before I came to Granton. And it started three years ago. With my brother.”





Almost two hours later, Paige had changed into some day clothes and told her friends the entire history of her and Logan. Feeling drained, she slid off the bed and approached the sink to wash her hands. She had no idea why the urge came over her, maybe she needed to physically rinse away her anxieties.

On her bed, Bailey and Tess remained mute, much as they had been through most of her story. Feeling their gazes, she studied her reflection in the mirror. Other than her tousled hair full of bedhead—yeesh, no wonder Logan had appeared so amused when he’d touched her hair—she looked exactly like herself.

It was strange how the world around her seemed to be falling apart and her features hadn’t altered even a tad—well, except for the pair of nifty bruises on each cheek.

Needing something to do as she received her friends’ inevitable reactions, she snatched up her brush and pulled the bristles through the dark strands as she turned to face Bailey and Tess.

“So what do you think?”

Bailey’s mouth moved, but nothing came out.

“Which, uh, which part are you asking about specifically?” Tess pressed her hand against her forehead. “There’s kind of a lot to digest here, and…and respond to.”

“I guess, right now, I just want to know if I’m still your friend.” Paige dropped her brush to her side, her eyes imploring them to forgive her. “I should’ve been up front with you and told you about my mom…and Logan a long time ago. But I was just so…” She winced. “It was just so hard to talk about. I was so mad at both of them, blaming them for things they didn’t need to be blamed for, needing to put my miseries on someone’s shoulders. I couldn’t even talk about it at my grief group, but—”

“Shh, shh.” Tess swept off the bed to hug her. Pulling Paige close, she said, “We aren’t mad, I swear. You just needed a little time before you could talk about it, is all. We still love you, don’t worry about that.”

“Speak for yourself,” Bailey muttered. “These are exactly the kind of exciting details I want to know as soon as I meet a person.”

When Tess scowled at her, she grinned. “Just kidding. I love you too.” Opening her arms, she joined the group hug.

So very glad she’d found these two women, Paige sighed and rested her cheek on Tess’s shoulder. “And what about Logan?” she asked. “Do…do you think I’m awful for…for falling for him?”

Bailey wrinkled her brow with the confused frown. “Why?”

“I…” Paige blinked, wondering about that herself. “I don’t know. I guess I just hated him for so long without even knowing him. I actually spit in his face when he came to Trace’s funeral, and he was probably there to apologize.” Groaning, she covered her eyes with both hands. “Oh, Lord. I just remembered that. I’m surprised he didn’t hate me right back all these years. I blamed him and thought everyone else did too. I thought everyone would be scandalized if we ever got together.”

“Well, what do you think your brother would say if he were here right now?” Tess asked.

“I’m not sure. He wasn’t the vindictive type. I couldn’t see him blaming Logan for causing his death.” She winced. “Maybe for kissing Kayla. But she was there and didn’t blame Logan afterward. It was clear to her he never wanted to permanently harm Trace. But I just…” She blew out a tired breath. “Thinking about it gives me a headache.”

“Me too.” Bailey rubbed her own temple. “I’m telling you, if I had to deal with as much as you have, I’d have a prescription for Xanax by now.”

“No, you’d be in a loony bin by now,” Tess corrected.

As the two roommates scowled at each other, squabbling over which one of them could take on more stress without breaking, Paige grinned. No matter what, she knew she could always count on these two for a smile.

Before she could tell them how much she loved them both, her phone dinged, telling her she had a text. Thinking it might be Logan, she instantly forgot about Bailey and Tess. She hurried to her desk and heard two dings from Bailey and Tess’s room before she could check the message.

“That’s weird,” Tess said, disappearing into the bathroom. “Hey, I wonder if it’s A.”

“Oh, Lord.” Bailey groaned as she followed Tess into their room to fetch her own cell phone. “I’m officially cutting you off from Pretty Little Liars, starting now.”

Paige opened her phone to find a text alert from the University.

“It must be about Dorian,” Bailey mused aloud when she and Tess returned with both their phones.

All three of them checked their shared message simultaneously, Tess reading hers aloud. “Police are pursuing an armed gunman on the west end of the campus. Oh my God.” She gulped before reading the rest. “School officials advise everyone remain inside with locked doors, and stay away from the west side of the university completely.”