Cassie, 2017: Chapter 21 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens on the Saturday after the earthquake, with Duke convincing Cassie to take a break from her book research for brunch at La Condesa. Duke is excited about wedding planning, proposing hors d'oeuvres and custom cocktails instead of a sit-down dinner. Cassie is only half-listening, her mind still consumed by Lore's story and the images of toppled buildings and running figures.

When Cassie's phone rings, it's Andrew—a call she normally wouldn't take around Duke, but it's been so long since they talked. Andrew delivers alarming news: the internet has been cut off because their father didn't pay the bill. Cassie steps outside onto Second Street to take the call properly.

Andrew then reveals the truth: their father is drinking again. He explains that the previous night, their father forgot him at karate. His sensei drove him home, only to find the father passed out on the porch, locked out of the house, requiring a locksmith. Andrew describes the experience as embarrassing and reveals that their father has become mean.

Cassie is shaken. She asks if Andrew feels safe; he responds with a hesitant guess. She instructs him to go to a neighbor's house and call her if he ever doesn't feel safe, and promises to call their father that night. The conversation triggers a flashback: Cassie remembers handing infant Andrew to her father in the driveway years ago, after months of caring for him herself. She reflects on the baby's breath flower and finally understands why it's called that—the fragility of the life she handed over.

Back inside the restaurant, Cassie orders a cocktail called La Bruja, thinking make it hurt. Duke, unaware of the real situation, suggests they visit her family for Thanksgiving so her father can meet the man she's marrying. Cassie snaps at him, and Duke is visibly unsettled. In that moment, Cassie recognizes that she can't keep her secrets much longer—and she understands for the first time the blinders Lore forced herself to wear.

Key Events

Andrew calls to reveal their father's drinking has resumed and the internet was cut off
Andrew describes being forgotten at karate and finding his father passed out on the porch
Cassie promises to call their father and gives Andrew a safety plan
Cassie lies to Duke about the nature of the call
Duke suggests a Thanksgiving visit to meet Cassie's family
Cassie snaps at Duke, revealing the strain of her secret
Cassie recognizes the parallel between her situation and Lore's

Character Development

Cassie is forced to confront the consequences of the choice she made years ago. Her internal conflict between responsibility and ambition becomes concrete: if Andrew needed to live with her, what would happen to the book, her career, and Duke's discovery of the truth? Her lie to Duke and her outburst reveal a woman stretched to her breaking point. The chapter also shows her capacity for care—she gives Andrew a safety plan and promises to intervene—even as she fails to fully commit.

Andrew emerges as a child who has been quietly managing his father's alcoholism in secret. His matter-of-fact delivery of the news and his exhaustion suggest a boy who has been carrying too much alone. His willingness to ask for help stands in contrast to Cassie's avoidance.

Duke remains in the dark, described as wholesome and untarnished. His innocent suggestion to meet Cassie's family is well-intentioned but lands as a threat to the life Cassie has built on concealment.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Alcoholism relapse and its ripple effects: The chapter shows how addiction doesn't just affect the person drinking—it destabilizes the entire family, cutting off utilities, leaving children stranded, and creating an atmosphere of fear.

Family secrets and the cost of hiding: Cassie's lie to Duke about the call mirrors the larger secret she's been keeping. The chapter makes clear that secrets have a shelf life.

Responsibility vs. ambition: Cassie's internal calculation—what would happen to the book, her career, her relationship if she took Andrew in—reveals the tension between self-preservation and obligation.

Baby's breath as innocence: The flower that appears in Cassie's memory becomes a symbol of the fragile life she handed over, and her new understanding of why it's called baby's breath.

The earthquake as disruption: The chapter opens with the aftermath of the earthquake, which serves as a metaphor for the seismic disruption about to hit Cassie's own life.

The cocktail as escape: Cassie's order of La Bruja—make it hurt—reflects her desire to numb or punish herself.

Quicksand: The feeling of slow sinking that Cassie experiences on the phone captures her sense of being trapped by circumstances she can't control.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point for Cassie's narrative. It's the moment when the past she's been running from catches up with her, and the carefully constructed life she's built with Duke begins to crack. The phone call from Andrew forces her to confront the human cost of her decision to leave him with their father—a decision she made to reclaim her own life.

The chapter also deepens the parallel between Cassie and Lore. Cassie explicitly recognizes that she now understands the blinders Lore wore as her secrets marched toward exposure. Both women are caught between self-preservation and the people who depend on them.

Finally, the chapter sets up the inevitable confrontation with Duke. His suggestion to meet her family for Thanksgiving is a reasonable request from a fiancé, but it's impossible for Cassie to fulfill without revealing everything. The chapter ends with Cassie knowing she can't keep her secrets much longer, creating tension that will carry into the next chapters.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the phone call from Andrew force Cassie to confront the consequences of her past decision?

The call reveals that the choice Cassie made years ago—handing Andrew to their father so she could build her own life—has had ongoing consequences. Andrew has been quietly managing their father's alcoholism alone, and the neglect he's experienced (being forgotten at karate, finding his father passed out) is a direct result of the situation Cassie left him in. Her flashback to the driveway handoff and her reflection on the baby's breath flower show her grappling with the weight of that choice. The chapter makes clear that Cassie's freedom came at a cost paid by her brother.

2. What does Cassie's lie to Duke reveal about her character and her parallel with Lore?

Cassie's lie—reducing the call to a forgotten internet bill—shows her instinct for self-preservation over honesty. She's willing to mislead the man she's about to marry to protect the life she's built. The chapter explicitly draws the parallel when Cassie understands the blinders Lore had forced herself to wear. Both women are keeping secrets that threaten to destroy their relationships, and both choose concealment over confession, even as they recognize the inevitable reckoning.

3. How does the baby's breath symbol function in this chapter?

The baby's breath appears in Cassie's flashback to handing Andrew to her father. She reflects that she finally understands why the flower is called that—it evokes the fragility of an infant's breath, the delicate life she entrusted to someone who would fail to protect it. The symbol connects Cassie's past choice to its present consequences, and it underscores the theme of innocence lost or endangered.