Summary

Chapter 31 follows Louisa immediately after she leaves the train. As she descends a dark, empty staircase, she notices two men smoking near a car below—drunk, laughing harshly, and radiating danger. Her instincts from years in foster care sharpen, telling her she is trapped between the men and the departing train. She manages to slip away silently, helped by shadows and adrenaline, while her stressed mind flits to absurd memories as a coping mechanism. Once she escapes into the darkness beyond the station lights, she thinks of Ted with regret and fear of disappointing him. But, her solitude is short-lived: she hears men shouting behind her and runs.

Chapter 32 unfolds within one of Ted’s dreams, returning him to a summer when he and his three friends were fourteen. The chapter recounts how the artist wanted to create the painting but could not...