“And…” I asked, no longer trying to conceal my impatience.

“Since he was going to be hanging around, I thought I should attempt to get along with him. I drove over to his house, but I knew immediately that things didn’t add up. Hardly any furniture, the fact he doesn’t have a cell, transferring to our school when the year’s practically over, and absolutely no evidence of any parents.

“At first, he denied everything. He said his parents were at work; the moving van hadn’t brought their furniture yet; he’d lost his cell in the move; he’d been enrolled in school because his parents wanted him to meet some of the kids before the summer came.

“I almost believed him… until I noticed his key ring hanging from a peg beside the door.” Victor paused, lifting the pendants from around my neck. “Imagine my surprise when I saw that Knox has a J just like this one.”

Knox’s wedding token, I thought. All the Judaculla tokens were identical in shape and very close in color.

“It all came back to me, including your infatuation with James. I remembered kicking his butt that night, the accident, and seeing you in that hospital room. I remembered that in the end, you chose him over me. By the way, I still can’t stand that guy.”

“If Knox told you everything, then you know about the fading,” I said, trying to shift the focus off James.

Victor nodded. “After Knox told me the whole story, he used the fading on me. But he realized it didn’t take when I showed up on his doorstep the next morning, demanding answers for my foggy memory.”

“The fading should have worked,” I said.

“Knox thinks it failed because he didn’t leave Woodvine.”

“Which might be the reason it didn’t work on me,” I said. “But James used the fading on everyone when he left. So even when Knox told you about Judaculla, you shouldn’t have remembered James.”

“Knox has a couple of theories. He thinks very strong emotions block the fading. He thinks you remembered James because—”

The words seemed to stick in Victor’s throat. “Because I love him,” I said, hating the hurt my words caused him.

“Yeah,” he said.

“That doesn’t explain why you remember him,” I said.

“Knox thinks I remember James because you remember him. Because I love you.”

I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say, so I rested my head on his shoulder, trying to shut out the sadness in his voice.

“But I think I remember everything because I despised James.”

“Hated him,” I said. The answer to my question came to me when I looked into Victor’s eyes. “Because love and hate are equally intense.”

Victor nodded in agreement.

“And now that you know everything, what are you going to do?” I asked.