Page 89 of Within These County Lines

Dara tucks her long black hair behind her ear.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Xander asks before I can. “Before boys stopped being able to see you.”

“I was at that damn pool,” she says.

Xander and I exchange a glance.

“I was a lifeguard at Pinehurst in the summer of—”

“We met your brother, Robbie,” I interrupt. “He told us that you worked at Pinehurst. That’s what led us here.”

She sniffs. “I’m sorry to hear that. He wasn’t the brother I always dreamed of, that’s for sure.” She laughs. “What else did he say about me?”

“That you ran away. And your mom lost her mind.”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course he did. And did you believe him?”

“No way. That’s why we’re here.”

“Good.” She takes a deep breath, then leans back against the frame. “My stepdad just used the whole thing as an excuse to leave my mom. She was the only one who tried to help me.”

“Where is your mom now?” Xander asks.

She shrugs. “No clue. We lost touch. My stepdad and Robbie eventually convinced her that I wasn’t real . . . visible . . . alive . . . whatever you want to call it. She had a nun come by the house to ‘rid my spirit.’” Dara puts her words in air quotes. “The old woman nearly drowned me with holy water. That’s when I ran away for real. I never saw my mom again.”

“I’m so sorry,” Xander says.

“Why? You didn’t do anything.”

“It’s still sad. I know what it’s like to lose your mom.”

“Yeah, I guess both your parents can’t see you.” Dara flicks a hair from her shirt to the floor.

“My dad died before I was born,” Xander says. “So my mom has had to deal with my disappearance alone, which makes it all worse.”

Dara sighs. “Well, now I’m sorry.”

He plays with the chains around his neck. “What happened to you at the pool?”

Her fingers tighten around the windowsill. “There was this kid . . . I remember him so clearly. Blond bowl cut. Race-car bathing suit. Blue goggles. I saw him flailing in the water all by himself, like he was drowning.” I lean forward. She squints as she recalls the story. “So I dove in to save him.” She sighs.

The desk phone rings. My heart skips a beat. Dara doesn’t flinch. She stays fixed on the story. The screeching sound and flashing red light on the phone’s keypad tighten my neck muscles. I force a dry swallow that tastes like ash.

“But as soon as I went in for the rescue, everything hurt. That’s where my memory gets fuzzy. The kid went wild, scratching and kicking me. His hands felt like a metal rake across my skin. No one ever did that before. It was almost like he didn’t want to be helped.”

Silence thickens between us.

“Did you save him?” Xander asks.

She nods. “He was the last boy to ever see me. We made eye contact underwater. I remember him staring at me through the blue goggles. Then things went black for a little, but when I broke the surface, everything changed.” She runs her fingers along the window screen, making a melodic scratch. “Where were you boys when it happened? The change?”

“I was at Pinehurst too,” Xander says. “Swimming. Then black. Then change.”

“But I was in the woods by the Ardor Tree when it all went black,” I say.

“So, who cursed us, then?” Dara asks.

We tell her about the witches.