Page 9 of Within These County Lines

“Did he cheat?” She leans in. “Because if he did, I will march over to his house and give him a piece of my mind.”

“No . . . no.” I sit up and rest my back against the wall. “He didn’t cheat.”

But he did something bad. Maybe worse than cheating. I’m still trying to figure out what can be forgiven and what can’t. This was my first and only relationship. And like learning to swim, I didn’t notice when I drifted too deep.

Whitley stares at me, hearing my unspoken words. “Okay. Do you want to talk about it?”

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

Her frown deepens. “Well, he does.”

I blink. “Huh?”

“I got a ton of texts from Murray this morning. He wants to meet. He said you weren’t answering him.”

I jerk my head back, grabbing my phone. There are no new messages from him. Just the last text from yesterday before I went to his house.

“I haven’t gotten anything,” I say.

“Well, he wants to meet at the Bean sometime this week.”

“What doesn’t he get?” I mutter. “I told him we’re done. I guess the seventh time isn’t the charm.”

“Maybe that’s why he’s using me as a mediator now. Clearly, something ain’t right.”

“Don’t group me with him,” I snap. “It’s his reading comprehension skills that are the problem, not mine.”

She raises an eyebrow. “I thought you were the math genius and he was the English literature star?”

I roll my eyes. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Nothing.” She shrugs. “But if you want to be a heartbreaker, you need to break the heart.” She catches the air in front of my face and forms a tight fist.

If only she knew that I already broke the heart, multiple hearts—Murray’s and the Ardor Tree’s.

It’s just that, somewhere in between, I broke too.

6

The next morning, I storm into the health department, marching straight for Victor’s office as Queen’s “We Will Rock You (Live)” blasts in my ears like I’m stomping into a wrestling match.

I need answers.

One hallucination is easy to dismiss. But two? That’s harder to chalk up to coincidence.

Victor wasn’t lying when he said this pool was like the Ardor Tree. Unlucky for me, because most adults in Penango are usually full of it.

I knock on his door, but more so as a warning, and enter before he gives me permission. He’s reclined in his chair, watching a video of a man filleting a fish. His broad back muscles press into the chair’s armrests.

“Oh, good morning, Stetson,” he says, pausing the video.

“Morning,” I say, crossing my arms. “So, I went to Rainbow Valley yesterday.” I scratch my head.

“Oh, yeah?” he asks, stretching. “How’d it look?”

“Not great. That’s why I’m here. The water was dark green. And there were snakes. I’m pretty sure someone would get really sick if they swam in it. What do we do when a pool looks that bad?”

He laughs.