Breathe and Count Back from Ten

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses the novel’s treatment of sexual assault.

Protagonist Verónica Renteria’s story opens as she compares the empty “nothingness” (1) of being under anesthesia, an experience she has had many times, and the full, total awareness of being underwater. Verónica’s passion is swimming, and in particular, she aspires to be a mermaid. She swims laps in the pool at her apartment complex every day, staying underwater as much as possible. On one such occasion, Verónica notices a moving truck on the other side of the courtyard and a boy about her age standing behind it. When she finishes her laps, the boy is sitting in a chair on the edge of the pool. He has his shoes off and is leaning on Verónica’s towel. He seems startled when she speaks to him, and he assures her he isn’t there to watch her. They try to have a conversation, but it dwindles quickly. Moments later, the apartment security guard, Bob, arrives. Verónica, embarrassed by her surgery scars, takes the opportunity to get out of the pool without the boy seeing her. Bob asks Verónica to give