Pamela blushed and said, “At first I wanted to make sure Abby was okay with it. Then she just trusted me.”
“How sweet,” Paulina said, her voice emotionless.
“Do you know a girl named Samantha Isringhausen?”
Abigail squinted, trying to figure her mother out.
“You’re talking to me like a reporter,” Abigail said. “Asking me all these questions like you’re going after a story. ‘Do you know this person? Have you heard of such and such?’
Be an adult, Mom, and tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Fine,” Paulina said, “but if I’m going to talk to you like an adult, you’re going to have to act like one when
I’m done.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
“Your words,” Paulina said. Then she nodded at Pam.
“Your girlfriend there sold you out.”
“What?” came the confused cry from both girls.
“You heard me,” she said.
“Mom, I swear to God, you and me have never really gotten along, but if you ever want to talk to me again you’d better have a damn good explanation for this.”
“I do,” she said, “and take a second to look at your
‘girlfriend.’ She doesn’t seem that angry.”
They both turned to Pamela. The girl’s mouth was wide open, but it was more out of protest than surprise. “I don’t know what the heck she’s talking about,” Pam said.
“Samantha Isringhausen,” Paulina said, “took those photos at the beach. You then posted the album online.
All except for one photo. The photo that man showed me the night he threatened your life and burned me to drive his point home.”
“Burned you?” Abigail said. “What are you talking about?”
Paulina lifted her shirt to reveal a deep red burn mark, several inches long. Abigail and Pam both sucked in their breath.
“Mom…” she said.
“That doesn’t matter now,” Paulina said. “You told me you didn’t post that photo, it doesn’t go public, and yet somehow Pam ends up with a copy.”
“What the hell is she talking about?” Abigail said to
Pam.
Pamela stuttered. “Okay, I wanted a copy for myself.
So what? You looked gorgeous, Abby. I thought it was kind of romantic.”
“And then Sam deleted the memory card, right?”
Paulina said.
“I saw her do it,” Abigail said. “She had a set of her ex-boyfriend on there and erased the entire memory card.”
“So if you two are the only ones who had a copy of the photo,” Paulina said, “can you explain to me why a man who threatened my daughter’s life had one, too?”
Abby stared at Pamela, the girl’s mouth flopping open and closed.
“I…” Pamela said.
“Pam,” Abigail said, her voice trembling. “Pam, did you do something?”
Tears began to flow down Abigail Cole’s cheeks, and
Paulina felt her heart ache at the sight of this. She knew exactly how this was going to play out, but there was nothing that could steel her for the sight of her daughter crying.
“How much did he give you?” Paulina said.
“What?” Pam said. Not that she didn’t hear, but that she wasn’t expecting the question.
“Or did he threaten you, too?”
“Pam?” Abigail said. “Pam, please tell me…”
Pamela looked at Abigail, then back at Paulina. She composed herself, uncrossed her legs and set them on the floor.
“He came up to me one day, after econ,” Pam said, her eyes on Abigail. “At first he was really nice and kind, saying he was a friend of your mom’s. Then he told me he wanted a picture of you. A picture nobody else had.
Something private so that when Abby saw it, she’d know it was special. He told me with a private photo, you’d both know how serious he was. I still don’t know how he knew we were together…”
“Your blog,” Paulina said. “He knew he could get to me through Abigail, and he could get to Abigail through you. You made it all public for him. You made it easy.”
“He offered me ten thousand dollars!” Pamela screamed. “I’m on financial aid. I’m going to have six figures in debt by the time I leave this stupid place. He told me he was going to give it to you as a present. I thought,
I don’t know, that he was your boyfriend or something.”
“Are you stupid,” Abigail said, wiping at her nose, “or just ignorant?”
Pam stared daggers at her, then softened. “I never thought it would hurt you.”
“You didn’t think about her,” Paulina said. “Only you and that money. So don’t give us the ‘I never thought it would hurt you’ bull. You just pocketed the dough and crossed your fingers.”
“Pam?” Abigail said. Her face was a wreck, tears flowing down in rivulets, eyes red and devastated. Paulina closed her eyes for a moment, and hated herself for what she’d done.
“What, Abby?”
“Pam, did you…did you give him that picture?”
“Abby, please, I-”
Abigail screamed, “Did you give him that picture or not?”
Pam looked at her girlfriend, nodded once, and that was all she had to do.
“I want you to leave,” Abigail said, looking at Pam.
“Abby, I-”
“Right now. Or I call the cops.”
Pam began to sob, too, but surprisingly Abigail’s tears had stopped running.
“I love you,” Pam said.
“No, you don’t,” came Abigail’s reply. “Just leave.”
Pam stood up. Before leaving, she stared down Paulina, who returned the gaze.
“Don’t you even think about staring me down, you little bitch. You do this to my family and you want to hate me? Get the hell away from here and don’t ever speak to
Abigail again.”
Pam looked like she’d been slapped. Before she left, she took out her cell phone and turned back to Paulina.
“What’s your phone number?” she said.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I need your cell phone number.”
“I’m not giving you any…”
“I took a picture of him. With my phone camera. When he was walking away, I took a picture of him. I don’t know why I did it, maybe I wanted to remember what he looked like. I just wanted to send it to you. Maybe it’ll help you find him.”
Paulina’s anger multiplied, and every part of her wanted to curse this girl out and tell her to leave. But that photo could come in handy. So she gave Pamela the number.
The girl plugged it in to her cell phone, and a moment later Paulina’s phone chirped. She opened the message, and found a grainy photo on the screen.
It was him. No doubt about it. Paulina shivered, remembering the man’s face as he tore the picture of Abby to shreds, threatening to end her daughter’s life as easily as he defaced her image.
The picture was a profile of the man, from his left side.
She recognized the wavy blond hair, the eyes. She had to give Pam a little credit for being smart enough to take it, but it was far too little and way too late.
“Now go,” Abigail said. So Pam turned and left.
“Baby, I’m so sorry,” Paulina said. “I know this must have been hard for you, but I’m going to get this guy.”
“I want you to leave, too.”
Paulina stood there for a moment, stunned.
“What did you say?”
“You heard me, Mom. I want you to leave, too. And I don’t want to speak to you again. Not for a long time.”
“Abby, baby, I came here to help you. You needed to know the truth.”
“And now I do. So you can leave.”
Abigail went to the small fridge/microwave combination and pulled a beer out. She twisted the cap, grimacing as the top dug into her palm.
“This was for your own good. I’m just trying to help.
Abby, please, let me stay.”
“You did what you came here to do. I bet when all this is over you’ll have a hell of a story, and I can tell all my friends what a great reporter my mom is. But I don’t
want to see you right now. So please, please leave. Don’t make me ask again. I don’t want to cry anymore.”
Paulina felt her face grow hot, her eyes beginning to water as she stared at her daughter, hating every word she’d said but deep down, in some way, understanding it, too. She knew the night would come to this, that these revelations would destroy her daughter’s relationship. It had to be done, Paulina knew, and she’d have to deal with being the messenger.