Breaking Stars - J. Sterling Page 0,85

matter. I would have never done that to him. I could have never treated him that way.” I sat up a little straighter, my inner decisiveness shocking even me as the words spilled from my lips.

“What you did,” she repeated. “Paige Nightingale Lockwood, did you sleep with him?” Quinn’s voice rose an octave as her jaw dropped open again.

I shut my eyes for a moment and willed the burning feeling that swirled in my stomach to subside. Nodding was the only answer I could give her.

“Well, I’m proud of you. I sort of love that Colin isn’t the last guy you’ve been with.”

“Me too,” I said with a weak smile.

“But I am sorry that Tatum treated you that way,” she added, the pain in her eyes reflecting my own. “That had to be really hurtful.”

“It was. Even though I know he didn’t mean it, doesn’t mean I have to accept it or put up with it. I’m mad at him. I deserve better than that.”

I let the anger fill me; it was easier to deal with than the pain of his loss. The sadness made me feel less alive, but the anger burned with a fire that reminded me how alive I still was.

Quinn stared at me in silence, and I wondered what exactly she was thinking before she spoke up. “You’re right. You do. You absolutely do.” She reached across the couch and squeezed my hand before letting it go. “So, no more red?”

“No more red. At least, not right now.”

“That sucks. I liked the whole color thing.”

I giggled. “We can still use it for you. Quinn, what color has Ryson made you feel today?”

“I haven’t seen him since this morning, so…green,” she said, drawing out the word.

“And with that answer, we’re done playing this game.” I rolled my eyes and looked away from my best friend’s grinning face.

“All right then, let’s talk about the press. Instead of you wading through that shit online, why don’t you ask me any questions you have? I’ll fill you in on what’s been said about you in your absence.”

I sucked in a quick breath. That I could handle. “That sounds good. Okay.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” she said, then took a long gulp of her water. “But are you really over Tatum? I mean, just like that?”

I huffed out a small laugh. “God, no. But I can’t focus on him right now. I’ve got to do damage control on my life and my career. Help me do that first. Please?”

“I get it,” Quinn said before she filled me in on the fact that the rehab rumors had only recently started to take life. The length of time I’d been out of the public eye just happened to correspond with a normal rehab stint by someone who was serious about kicking an addiction or getting mentally healthy. There really wasn’t much that I didn’t already know, except that Colin kept aligning his name with mine.

“He says you’re fine,” Quinn said, her lips curling as if she’d tasted something bad. “He speaks on your behalf any chance he gets, and tells the world that he’s in constant contact with you.”

“What did I ever see in him?” I narrowed my eyes and groaned at the idea of him being so conniving and gross.

“You never saw this side of him. We’ve been through this already. But, Paige, you need to put Colin and everyone else in their place. You need to stand up for yourself and address where you’ve been.”

“But they’ll want to know where exactly I was.” I pushed the memories of the field party, the swimming hole, and our last night together from my mind. “And I can’t do that to that town. They were so great to me, keeping my secret for as long as they did. I can’t have the press overrun the place and ruin it. It would take them all of two seconds to find out about Tatum and his mother, and harass them both half to death.”

Quinn tapped a finger against her lips. “You’re right. Maybe you can just allude to where you were. Just say you were in a town they’ve never heard of. Something. You have to do something.”

“I’ll see what Corryn and Jayson think I should do,” I said, so used to depending on them for every little detail of my professional life.

“Oh, screw both of them! They don’t care about you. And if you don’t know that by now, then maybe you should check into an institution.”

I