Chapter 20: Summary, Key Events, and Analysis
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Summary
The chapter opens with Clio and Austin getting high and having sex in the back seat of his car, an impulsive act that feels like a throwback to teenage rebellion. Afterward, they go to a local diner and order breakfast at nine in the evening, a deliberately absurd choice that underscores Clio's desire to avoid going home. Austin tries to steer the conversation toward what's really bothering her, but Clio deflects with jokes and vague statements. She considers telling him about her suspicion that the house is haunted, but she holds back, fearing that if he doesn't believe her, their relationship will end, and if he does, she's not sure what that would mean.
They return to the house, and Clio pushes two twin beds together in her sisters' room so Austin can sleep over. The house feels different with him there—smellier, louder, warmer—but she's grateful for the company. During the night, Clio wakes to an unsettling presence: the blanket is pulled away, the room turns cold, and she feels breath on her face. She recalls a memory of her mother standing in her doorway, watching her, panting. When she opens her eyes, she sees two large pale eyes staring back at her. She falls out of bed, and Austin wakes, helping her up. She claims it was a bad dream, but out of the corner of her eye, she sees a serpent-like shadow moving behind the wall, gliding toward the door and vanishing into the hall.
Unsettled, they relocate to Austin's basement room, where they sleep on his queen bed. In the morning, Clio wakes to her phone buzzing with group chat messages from her friends and sisters. She checks in with them but feels disconnected. She walks back to the house alone, dreading what she might find. The air is stagnant, and her dread builds with each step. When she reaches the top of the stairs, she discovers pages ripped from her sketchpad scattered everywhere, each bearing the word