The Edge of Everything

Marcus stood at the edge of the infinity pool, the water catching the last amber light of day. Three years ago, this place had been Carlos's sanctuary—the place where they'd sealed their partnership with cigars and expensive scotch. Now the property belonged to the bank, and Marcus was here to watch it auctioned off in the morning.

He kicked off his shoes and stepped into the pool, fully clothed. The water was shockingly cold against his skin, a sharp contrast to the humid Texas evening. He'd spent months swimming in debt after Carlos had convinced him to invest everything in that cryptocurrency scheme. The pitch had been so convincing—Carlos had always made bullshit sound like poetry.

'Marcus?' A woman's voice cut through the twilight.

He turned sharply. Elena stood on the patio, her silhouette backlit by the house's floodlights. Carlos's ex-wife. The last person he wanted to see, and the only person who might understand what he was feeling.

'I just needed to say goodbye,' Marcus said, water dripping from his sleeves.

Elena walked to the pool's edge. 'He told me you were his best friend. That you'd take a bullet for each other.' She paused. 'Then he took everything you had and disappeared to Costa Rica.'

Marcus treaded deeper water. 'I thought we were building something real.'

'We all did.' Elena sat on the edge, her feet skimming the surface. 'You know what's funny? Carlos bought this house because he said it reminded him of you. Solid. Permanent.' She laughed bitterly. 'Turns out the only thing permanent about him was his talent for making people feel special while he picked their pockets.'

A bull frog croaked from the landscaped gardens beyond the pool, incongruously domestic. Everything here had been manufactured to look natural, just like Carlos's friendship.

'Are you going to be okay?' Elena asked.

Marcus swam to the edge and pulled himself up, water streaming off him like he was washing away the last three years. 'I have to be.' He looked at the house that contained ghosts of laughter and betrayal. 'Some lessons cost more than others.'

Elena extended a hand. 'Let's go get a drink. Not Carlos's expensive shit. Just beer.'

Marcus took it, pulling himself from the pool. 'That sounds perfect.'