Chapter 32: Wales — Summary, Themes, 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

In 2022, after the police leave the hospital to search for Arden in earnest, the narrator declines their offer of a chaperone, knowing that running away would be impossible with a cop at her side. She agrees to visit the station the next morning for a formal conversation, but her real plan is to flee before her eighteenth birthday—which is now less than eleven hours away. Dehghani drives her and her mother back to the farmhouse around 8 PM. The house has already been searched for any trace of Arden, yet the narrator's blood still fizzes with the sensation that he might jump out at any moment. She briefly regrets declining police protection, but she knows her only chance at survival is to get as far from here as possible before turning eighteen.

At home, her mother is distraught and self-blaming. She asks when the abuse began, and the narrator lies, claiming it started only in the last few days—sparing her mother the guilt of having missed earlier signs. The mother is horrified at herself for not spotting warning signs, despite there being none, and for letting a near-stranger so willingly into their lives. The narrator comforts her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and reflects on the strange feeling of being technically her child while being so much older than she could ever comprehend.

The mother offers to sleep in the narrator's room, but the narrator refuses, citing police surveillance. They share an emotional goodbye. The mother promises coffee cake from Francine's Bakery for her birthday, and the narrator tries to sound hopeful about a cake she knows she will never eat. As she climbs the stairs, she wonders whether that was the last thing her mother will ever say to her.

Alone in her room, the narrator is overwhelmed by the reminders of a life she loves: three stuffed animals from her mum, dad, and sister; a pink feather boa; star-shaped glitter sunglasses; school textbooks; Polaroids; and posters of Taylor Swift, The Jam, and ABBA—each band connected to someone she loves. She reflects on her father's death, her sister's illness, and how her immortality keeps her loved ones immortal in memory, even as they inevitably fade. She thinks of Arden's poem about grief as wet clay, and sadness threatens to consume her. She admits the ridiculous truth: she wants to take Arden by the hand and run with him, forgetting that he is the very thing she is running from.

She checks a bus timetable and finds a 10:30 PM bus from Abergavenny to Cardiff. Her escape plan is hastily formed, relying on the police watching the main entrance to the country road rather than the overgrown farm track beyond the stables. She thinks of Ceri the horse and hopes he wasn't too traumatised. After her mother checks on her, the narrator feigns sleep. Once her mother has padded back downstairs, she grabs her backpack and shoes, climbs out the window onto a ledge, drops to the conservatory roof, and then to the gravel below. She crouches, praying her mother hasn't heard, and then runs.

Key Events

The narrator declines police protection, prioritising her escape plan over her safety.
Dehghani drops the narrator and her mother at the farmhouse around 8 PM.
The narrator lies to her mother about when the abuse began, claiming it started only days earlier.
The mother offers to sleep in the narrator's room; the narrator refuses, citing police surveillance.
The mother promises coffee cake from Francine's Bakery for the narrator's birthday.
The narrator reflects on her belongings, her father's death, and her sister's illness.
She discovers a 10:30 PM bus from Abergavenny to Cardiff.
After her mother checks on her, the narrator feigns sleep, then escapes through the window, drops from the conservatory roof, and runs.

Character Development

Bran — This chapter reveals the depth of Bran's internal conflict. She is simultaneously a centuries-old immortal and a teenage girl who loves her mother, her stuffed animals, and the songs that remind her of her family. Her decision to lie about the abuse timeline shows her protective instinct, even as she prepares to abandon her mother. Her reflection on the Singer sewing machine reveals her dreams of a normal life—a vintage clothing store, a fashion line, or simply the peace of tailoring—dreams she knows she must sacrifice. Most strikingly, she admits she wants to run with Arden, not just from him, exposing her profound ambivalence toward the enemy she has loved across lifetimes.

Mum — The mother's grief and self-blame are laid bare. She chastises herself for not spotting warning signs, for not catching Gracie's illness sooner, and for letting her husband go out drinking on Christmas Eve. Her offer to sleep in Bran's room and her promise of coffee cake reveal a fierce maternal love that Bran must deliberately push away to survive. Her final words to Bran—that her heart beats for her children—carry an extra weight because Bran knows this may be their last conversation.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Escape and flight — The chapter is structured around Bran's escape: the bus timetable, the window ledge, the conservatory roof, the gravel below. Her flight is both physical and emotional, as she must flee not only Arden but also the life she loves.

Immortality and memory — Bran reflects on how her immortality keeps her loved ones immortal in memory, even as they fade. The posters and vinyl covers—Taylor Swift for Gracie, The Jam for her dad, ABBA for her mum—are touchstones that might, in a future life, briefly return her to this moment.

Grief and loss — The chapter is saturated with grief: for her father, for the life she is leaving, and for the inevitable loss of Arden from her life. Arden's poem about grief as wet clay recurs, and Bran feels its weight.

Maternal love and family bonds — The mother's self-blame, her offer to sleep in Bran's room, and her promise of coffee cake all underscore the depth of her love. Bran's lie about the abuse timeline is an act of love, protecting her mother from guilt.

Moral relativity — Bran's joke about Hitler being a vegetarian is darkly humorous but also serious: living through history has taught her that everyone has their own moral code, no matter how monstrous. Yet she immediately clarifies that she does not believe Arden is monstrous.

Attachment to objects — Bran reflects on her