Chapter 24 Summary, Analysis, and Key Takeaways

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

Chapter 24 Summary and Analysis

Summary

After returning home from the grocery store, the narrator sends her younger brother Jojo to bed and unloads the groceries. She tidies the kitchen, collecting pens, napkins, and sauce packets into the junk drawer, which is overstuffed with papers and old bills. The beginning of the month makes her wonder whether her mother has paid everything before her recent spiral. The narrator recalls that her mother was a nurse before starting at the Wilhem five years ago, and that her sudden career change never seemed important compared to Tessa's disappearance.

Determined to check the family's finances without insulting her mother, the narrator sneaks her mother's work bag from the coat closet and tiptoes down the hall. Jojo is streaming an Atlanta United match instead of sleeping, which works to her advantage—if their mother wakes, she'll scold Jojo first, giving the narrator time to hide her snooping. The laptop is heavy and slow, and the narrator knows her mother's password: her first initial and birthday, followed by Jojo's and an exclamation point. She types S518j1002! and gains access. She tells herself this isn't personal, that she just wants to make sure the bills are paid.

Opening the browser, she finds her mother's online banking bookmarked. Her last direct deposit was over a week ago, so another should come soon, but even so, there's only enough money to get them through two months tops, and only if they stick to necessities. The narrator considers continuing to hustle needs, but after tonight at the grocery store, she's terrified. She recalls her father's saying that desperation can melt fear, so she holds the fright in her mouth like a throat lozenge, soothed by the presence of fear because it means things aren't dire yet. She wishes she didn't have to be responsible, and longs to rewind to last summer when she, Josiah, and Malcolm spent carefree days in Chefly. But she can't rewind; she has to sit in the present. She thinks that if she can resolve the problem of Deja, almost all other problems might dissipate.

The narrator retrieves her tenth-grade yearbook from a box under her bed, along with other high school memorabilia. She chooses tenth grade because that was when she peaked on the social ladder, the last year she made homecoming court. She runs her fingers across the sash and crown, feeling like an entirely different person wore them. Her fall from social favor was quiet and uneventful—no fight, no bad breakup, no betrayal. It was more like she got distracted at a rest stop during a road trip and everyone else left without her, though she doesn't feel left behind.

She sits on the bed and compares the hundreds of autographs in the back of the yearbook to the handwriting in the photos of the Valentine's Day card. A few make her do a double take, but none match. She then goes through names starting with J, but finds no success.

Turning to Instagram, she goes back to Jed's page and stares at the “followed by DejaDej” under his bio. She scrolls through his posts, scanning the likes for Deja's name. She finds what she's looking for on a post from February: a photo of Jed and Ella, with Ella sitting on his lap and kissing him, captioned “My ride or die.” She taps to view comments. Ella writes “I love you, Jedidiah Jones. Forever.” A friend comments “vomits.” And DejaDej comments “adorable.” The comment was left only three weeks ago. The narrator's phone slips from her hand. She wonders if Deja has a habit of commenting on random people's photos, then takes a screenshot and goes to Deja's page. Deja has 411 followers and 409 following. The narrator scrolls through all 409 accounts, mostly celebrities or people she recognizes from school. She can't find a single connection between Deja and Jed other than herself, but she and Jed weren't even connected on social media until yesterday, and she never mentioned him.

She gets ready for bed, still trying to find logic. She wonders if part of her is desperate to rule out Rincon, a grown man, which would be a much darker path. But even if Jed is J. and had a fling with Deja, it's obviously over—she wouldn't leave a comment about how adorable Jed and his girlfriend are if it weren't. The comment doesn't make sense either way. Jed should be a stranger to her, and he said he never spoke to her. If he was lying, she's afraid to know why.

Her anxious thoughts trigger another lucid dream, closer together than ever before. In the dream, Tessa sits on the floor painting her toenails electric blue—the last color the narrator ever saw them. The narrator asks, “Tessa, who was that man you were talking to?” The scene rearranges itself, and the narrator knows her answers come from her memories. She hates reliving this, but she has to if there's a chance to help Deja. The dream replays the memory of being on the school bus, seeing Tessa waiting at her stop with a man. The narrator waves but can't get her attention. The bus stops half a block away, and when she gets off, the man is gone. The scene replays, and Tessa says, “That guy? He's just someone I know.” Twelve-year-old her accepted that answer and never told anyone. Fifteen-year-old her did, but it was too late. If that man at the bus stop was the same man in the security footage outside the convenience store, she could have saved Tessa. No one was angry with her when she shared it years later, because almost everyone had ignored something that could have made a difference. But what she never shared with anyone is that she heard that man's need—a rock. Her insides curdle when she thinks about why he might have needed it and how he might have used it. She prefers to imagine herself throwing a rock at him from the bus window, watching it hit his temple, and then waking up cuddled next to her best friend in her eighteen-year-old form.

Key Events

The narrator checks the family's finances by accessing her mother's laptop and finds only enough money for about two months of necessities.
She compares yearbook autographs to the handwriting on a Valentine's Day card but finds no match, and no J names lead anywhere.
On Instagram, she discovers that Deja follows Jed and left a comment on a February post of Jed and Ella, saying “adorable.”
She screenshots the comment and reviews Deja's 409 followed accounts but finds no connection between Deja and Jed.
She has a lucid dream about Tessa, asking about the man Tessa was talking to at the bus stop.
The dream replays the memory, and she recalls hearing the man's need—a rock—which she never reported.

Character Development

The narrator's actions in this chapter reveal her deep sense of responsibility and her willingness to invade privacy out of desperation. She justifies snooping through her mother's laptop by telling herself it's not personal, but she's clearly driven by fear and a need to protect her family. Her internal monologue shows her struggle with parentification—she's taking on adult burdens like bill-paying and worrying about her mother's mental health. She longs for a simpler past, but she's forced to confront the present.

Her sleuthing about Deja and Jed shows her determination to find answers, even when logic fails. She's methodical, comparing handwriting and scrolling through hundreds of accounts, but she's also emotionally vulnerable, as seen when her phone slips from her hand upon seeing Deja's comment. Her fear of Rincon as a darker path suggests she's aware of the potential danger in her investigation.

The lucid dream sequence deepens her guilt and regret. She reveals that she heard the man's need—a rock—but never reported it. This confession, even in a dream, highlights her buried guilt and her wish that she could have acted differently. Her grief for Tessa remains raw, and she's now haunted by the possibility that her silence contributed to Tessa's fate.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Financial Insecurity and Parentification: The narrator's concern about bills and her mother's job loss underscores the family's precarious situation. She takes on the role of caretaker, checking finances and planning for necessities, which is a heavy burden for a teenager.
Privacy Invasion and Desperation: The narrator invades her mother's privacy by using her password to access banking. She justifies it as necessary, but it reflects her desperation and the erosion of boundaries under stress.
Nostalgia and Social Decline: The yearbook and homecoming crown symbolize her past social status, which she lost quietly. This nostalgia contrasts with her current isolation and the weight of her responsibilities.
Sleuthing and Buried Secrets: The narrator's investigation—comparing handwriting, scanning social media—mirrors her earlier attempts to find Tessa. The discovery of Deja's comment and the unresolved connection to Jed suggest hidden links that she's determined to uncover.
Lucid Dreams and Guilt: The recurring lucid dreams serve as a motif for her subconscious processing of trauma. The dream replays her memory and forces her to confront the fact that she heard the man's need and said nothing. This guilt is a central emotional driver.
Grief and Maternal Mental Health: The narrator's worry about her mother's spiral and her ongoing grief for Tessa are intertwined. Her mother's career change and current state are never fully explained, but they add to the narrator's sense of instability.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is pivotal because it connects the present mystery of Deja's disappearance to the unresolved past of Tessa's case. The narrator's discovery that Deja commented on Jed's post creates a potential link between the two, even though she can't find a direct connection. More importantly, the lucid dream reveals a crucial piece of information she has kept hidden: she heard the man's need—a rock—and never reported it. This confession deepens her guilt and suggests that her silence may have had consequences. The chapter also highlights her financial and emotional burdens, showing how the pressure of her family's situation and her unresolved grief are pushing her to take risks. It sets up the possibility that the narrator's past inaction might be corrected in her current investigation, making this chapter a turning point in her character arc.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does the narrator decide to check her mother's online banking, and what does she find?

The narrator checks her mother's banking because she's worried about unpaid bills at the beginning of the month, especially after her mother was fired from her job. She uses her mother's password to access the account and finds only enough money to cover about two months of necessities, which heightens her anxiety and sense of responsibility.

2. What evidence does the narrator find on Instagram that connects Deja to Jed, and why is it confusing?

She finds that Deja follows Jed and left a comment saying “adorable” on a February post of Jed and Ella. This is confusing because Jed claimed he never spoke to Deja, and the narrator can't find any other connection between them. The comment suggests a possible prior relationship, but it's unclear why Deja would comment on his post if it were over.

3. What does the narrator reveal about the man at the bus stop in her lucid dream, and why does it cause her guilt?

In the dream, she recalls that she heard the man's need—a rock—but she never reported it to anyone. She feels guilty because if that man was the same one from the security footage outside the convenience store, she could have saved Tessa by telling someone. Her silence, even if unintentional, haunts her.