Seven days after my marriage day wrapped up with my sister passing away, a girl from her job rang me and mentioned Paige left a mobile device for me at her desk. I figured I was just heading over to grab one final memory of my sister. I did not realize I was fixing to hit play on a video that would break my entire world in half.
Cole leaned close that morning holding a pastry box in one hand and resting his fingers on my face.
“I will head back early,” he promised. “We will survive this, Jade.”
He had bought me roses nearly every single afternoon following the burial. He talked in a gentle voice, rubbed my back when I spaced out for too long, and constantly reminded me to grab food, get rest, and keep breathing.
From the outside, Cole seemed like the perfect guy any heartbroken partner would feel lucky to have. But sadness makes certain moments crystal clear while blurring the rest, and the clear ones constantly pointed me right back to Paige.
Paige and I were family by blood to begin with, and buddies only in short bursts. She was older by four years, noisier by habit, and bold in ways my mom and dad never quite understood.
She relocated to the big town the very first moment she could. I stuck around, played by the rules, and figured out how to keep everyone happy and quiet.
Paige referred to me as “the picture-perfect kid.” I told her she was totally impossible to handle.
Even so, she constantly paid attention to the little details. If I missed a meal, she would push a snack bar my way without saying a thing.
Even while talking trash about Cole, she would ask, “Did you swallow any real food besides frosting today?” as if irritation and love were tied tightly together in her heart.
That was Paige for you. She had a way of making you feel criticized and totally safe all at the exact same time.
A couple of months prior, I brought Cole over to see my folks for holiday food. He showed up holding a bottle for my dad, roses for my mom, and a relaxed grin that made folks believe in him before he even said his full name. My mom and dad adored him right off the bat.
Right then Paige stepped out of the cooking area, gave him a single stare, and froze completely.
Cole glanced over, and for a solid moment, they merely locked eyes. Not a single one of them said a word.
A weird quietness fell across the dining room. I recall feeling how super awkward that lack of noise was.
During the meal, Paige questioned where Cole stayed in the past, what kind of work he did, and if he constantly relocated this frequently. Later on, when I pulled her aside near the washing area, I talked quietly, “Could you kindly knock it off?”
“I am just asking stuff, Jade.”
“You are trying to pick a fight, Paige.”
She gazed over my shoulder at the eating area. “Perhaps you ought to wonder why he pushes me to do it.”
That stuck in my head. When I checked in with Cole about the tension during our drive, he just lifted his shoulders a bit.
“I guess your sister simply is not a fan of me.”
He spoke in a nice tone, acting as if I was turning it into a massive deal for no reason. Perhaps that was the initial time things felt off, even if I failed to put a label on it right away.
As the marriage date approached, the weirder Paige started to act.
One night, the group of us sat at my folks’ table having beef stew when Paige placed her silverware down and stared directly into my eyes.
“You need to think twice about the guy you are tying the knot with, Jade.”
My mom paused with her drink right in the middle of the air.
“Excuse me?” I chuckled, simply because I figured she was playing a prank.
Paige did not crack a smile at all. “I am totally serious.”
My cheeks flushed bright red. “What is your problem anyway?”
Mom scolded her, “Just since your little sister met a good guy does not give you the right to wreck things, Paige.”
Paige’s face shifted; displaying that familiar deep pain from being labeled the “troublemaker” so frequently that it basically became her identity.
“I am absolutely not trying to wreck a single thing,” she fired back loudly.
Dad pushed his seat away from the plates. “Then cut out this kind of talk.”
Paige got up on her feet, walked out, and slammed her bedroom door loudly at the end of the corridor. Nobody went after her. I stayed right there and allowed my folks to brush off her warning as pure spite, a bad case of envy, and just Paige acting like her usual self.
The following evening was my final party with the girls. Floating decorations, bubbly glasses, and way too many bright colors. I was making an effort to soak up my fun night when Paige stepped inside way past the start time, her head wet from a shower outside, still wearing her office outfit.
She tracked me down by the drink station. “Jade,” she stated, appearing as though the clock was ticking down to zero, “call off the big day.”
I glared right at her. “What did you just tell me?”
“I am begging. Just call the whole thing off.”
“For what reason?”
“I cannot give you the details right at this second.”
I sensed every single person in the space staring our way. “So you showed up just to trash my special evening for a laugh?”
Paige grabbed my arm. “I need you to hear me out…”
I yanked my hand back. “You are just green with envy. You absolutely hate that I found something wonderful.”
That hit her hard. I watched the words hit her hard.
Paige’s eyes welled up with water. “I am putting in effort to stop you from messing up your life, Jade.”
“Then spit out whatever is actually on your mind.”
She moved her head side to side. “I am unable to. Not at this moment.”
I stuck my finger out toward the exit. “Then get out of here.”
She actually left. And those were the final words I ever directed at my sibling while she was still breathing to reply to me.
My big marriage day kicked off super sunny in the morning.
The chapel was filled with the scent of fresh flowers and burning candles. Cole stood up front ready for me, totally relaxed and solid. Following that, all the guests drove into the city center to a nice food spot for the big party.
I constantly checked the front doors, yet Paige never showed up. I dialed her number, but the call jumped right to the message box.
My dad claimed she was just feeling salty and would eventually get over it. My mom warned me not to let her ruin my mood. So I flashed a grin at relatives, gave thanks for the presents, and faked that my gut was not twisting into knots.
A full sixty minutes went by. Following that, my mom’s cell started ringing.
Mom stayed quiet on the line, suddenly lost all color in her face, and slapped a hand over her lips. “There was a terrible wreck,” she said softly.
For a brief moment, nobody inside the place seemed capable of stepping forward. Then seats dragged loudly, key rings were snatched up, and we all sprinted toward the parking lot before the chat even wrapped up totally.
A downpour kicked off while we drove. Thick, blowing water that made the street lamps look like total blurs.
The emergency team was actively looking by the time we pulled up. Bright beams moved all over the edge of the water. The bottom of my gown got completely drenched with dirty water.
Paige had driven down an alternate path, a quicker route next to the stream. Her vehicle slipped off the edge and splashed right into the deep part.
The following morning they pulled her out, and we suddenly had a burial service rather than a romantic trip. Dark outfits. Baked dishes covering the kitchen tables. Guests repeating, “She was aware you cared for her,” using that terrible gentle tone folks put on when they lack any helpful advice.
And throughout the whole nightmare, a single idea stayed stuck deep inside my head.
Paige had genuinely attempted to pass along a message.
Seven days after, Cole headed out to his job. A quick twenty minutes after he rolled down the street, my cell buzzed.
“Lexi?” I asked, totally caught off guard.
Lexi happened to be Paige’s best buddy at the workplace, the lady I hung out with two times and adored right away since she spoke with Paige without acting scared.
Her tone sounded totally stressed. “Jade, I really need you to drive over to the building this very second.”
“For what?”
“She dropped off a cell for you. Plus a letter. They were sitting on my workspace. I only just returned today from seeing my ill grandfather and spotted them. Hurry over right now!”
I never dialed Cole. I snatched my car keys and sped 45 miles toward the downtown area with my chest beating so heavily it caused my hands to tremble on the steering rim.
Lexi stood by the front desk, looking white as a sheet and squeezing her fingers together. She walked me straight to her chair without making casual chatter.
A sealed paper with my title in Paige’s writing sat there. Right by it was her mobile device. I assumed it vanished along with her vehicle. I had imagined it resting down in the mud of the water holding onto all the phrases she missed the chance to speak.
Lexi spoke softly, “The building watchman mentioned she was in a huge hurry that afternoon and probably dropped these items off.”
My digits hardly functioned as I tore open the paper seal.
“Jade, if you end up looking at this, it means the facts need to spill out. Do not believe Cole at all. Hit play on the very last clip saved in the photos app on this device.”
I totally held my breath.
I grabbed the cell. My finger shook so violently I was forced to press the screen twice. Following that, I tapped the photo app and started the recording.
The glass lit up with Cole. Not the Cole I stood next to up front. A fresher Cole, identical tone, identical look, and the exact same grin.
Paige waited right by him while he slid a shiny band down her finger. Following that, he locked lips with her.
A cracked gasp escaped my mouth.
The following recording began before I had a chance to catch my balance. Cole sitting in an eatery seat, getting way too intimate with a different lady. Followed by someone else. Followed by yet another. Paige’s filming was super bumpy, rushed, and filled with pure anger.
Lexi slapped a hand over her lips and breathed out, “Holy crap.”
For a quick second, the only thing I managed to do was glare at the moving pictures while Paige’s final alert kept ringing inside my brain. Right after, I snatched up the cell, bent the paper, and marched right out prior to totally breaking down in the presence of Lexi.
I wept the entire car ride back, parking on the shoulder one time since my blurry eyes made it impossible to spot the pavement.
As night fell, Cole stepped inside our front entrance carrying sunny flowers and a container of sweet treats from my top pastry shop.
“Hi,” he spoke gently. “I figured perhaps we might…”
He froze.
The parents from both sides were gathered in the family space. My folks rested totally tense and white-faced on the sofa. His mom waited over by the fireplace shelf. Plus I was waiting next to the center table gripping Paige’s mobile device in my palm.
“Take a seat,” I commanded.
Cole’s gaze shifted down to the device right as I hit the start button.
The area remained totally quiet aside from Paige’s bumpy footage and Cole’s actual words blaring from the small audio slot. By the time the initial video finished, his cheeks had lost all color. The moment the second one kicked off, his mom collapsed downward without even checking if a seat was under her.
Once the third one wrapped up, my dad muttered softly, “Good grief.”
Cole spoke up at last. “I have a reason for this.”
“Go right ahead.”
He pulled his fingers through his hair. “I was aware of Paige prior to running into you. We went out. Things blew up.”
“Did you actually care for her?”
He stared at the carpet. “Back then, I assumed I did.”
“So the moment you ran into me and realized I was her sibling, you kept your mouth shut.”
“I worried she would wreck the whole deal, Jade. When Paige got in my face down the road, I warned her that if she spilled the beans, folks would simply assume she was aiming to trash your good time out of pure envy.”
That was exactly the way he blocked my sibling from exposing reality.
Cole claimed I brought peace to his life. Claimed his history with Paige was chaotic and toxic. Claimed his feelings for me were genuine. And how folks are capable of growing up.
I merely glared in his direction. “My sister attempted to give me a heads-up.”
He had zero comeback.
“She stepped right up to my face and pleaded with me to drop you. And I labeled her a hater.”
Cole’s lack of words spoke loud and clear.
Over on the other side of the rug, I noticed the facts slamming into my folks as well. The awful reality of Paige’s final days. She hauled that burden by herself since the whole family had practiced ignoring her side of the story anytime it was delivered with a bad attitude.
My sibling was never acting out of spite. She was totally panicked. And she still put in all that effort to keep me safe.
That lightbulb moment stung basically worse than Cole’s dirty lies.
He moved a shoe closer to me. “Jade, I am begging you. My love for you is totally real…”
I stared back at him and pictured my older sibling speeding in the awful weather, fighting to crash my big day prior to the clock running out.
I grabbed the travel bag I stuffed full before he walked in the door.
His mom broke down into tears. My mom called out my title. Cole extended a hand for my sleeve, then decided to drop it.
“I am pleading with you, do not walk out this way,” he cried.
I spun back around, not since I felt doubtful, but simply because certain goodbyes require looking the person dead in the face.
“You shattered my sibling’s trust. Following that, you waited right next to me as we put her in the dirt and allowed me to believe she was the bad guy.”
He stared at his feet. That was the only confirmation I required.
I walked out.
Three whole weeks have passed. I am crashing in a tiny leased place using used plates and a bed that makes noise anytime I roll around. I submitted the legal papers to split up. Certain days I still open my eyes trying to grab hold of a routine that is completely gone, but then my brain reminds me exactly why I packed my bags.
I constantly think about my sibling, too.
The manner in which she would question, “Did you grab a bite?” as if it was a type of deep care she had no clue how to express properly.
Paige wasted her final moments fighting to shield the little sister she never gave up caring for.
I really wish I caught on a lot faster. Yet I finally get the picture today. And now and then, real love shows up way too late to fix a single afternoon, but exactly on time to rescue the remainder of your years.