Chapter 22 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.
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Summary
The chapter opens in the aftermath of the book burning. Clio has just screamed at her father and declared she will never forgive him. Leda follows her upstairs, furious that Clio broke her promise by reading their mother's book. Clio retaliates by accusing Leda of jealousy because their mother left a copy to Clio and not to her. Tommy, trying to defuse the tension, offers to drive Clio to the train station. She accepts, but once they're in the car, she changes her mind and asks to go to Edgewood instead. Tommy is reluctant, insisting on taking her to the train, but Clio manipulates him with tears and a guilt trip, accusing him of always siding with Leda and never taking her seriously. Eventually, he gives in and drives her to the house.
At Edgewood, Clio finds everything exactly as she left it. She tries to communicate with the entity, calling out a greeting. She hears low, thunderous laughter from behind her. The house shakes, and the ceiling fan spins on its own. Clio plants her feet and warns the entity that she can leave anytime, so if it wants to play with her, it must play nice. Then she hears four long, distinct scrapes. She looks over her shoulder and sees four deep scratches on the wall beside the fireplace, forming a large circular shape—a response from the entity.
Clio leaves Edgewood and goes to Austin's house, where she spends the night. In the morning, Austin's alarm wakes them. Clio tries to keep him in bed, kissing him and asking him to call out of work, but he insists he has to go. As she gets up, a flashback hits her: a memory of her parents fighting in the kitchen of their first house, with her and her sisters wedged together on the couch, listening to the screaming and the sound of a plate smashing. The memory leaves her breathless. Austin notices she's upset, but she brushes him off, claiming she's perfect. She then asks him to drive her to the train station. He agrees, even offering to buy her coffee first, which will make him late. Clio whispers something in his ear that makes his knees buckle, and she asks how that is for dirty talk.
Key Events
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Clio and Leda argue over Clio reading their mother's book, with Clio accusing Leda of jealousy.
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Tommy offers to drive Clio to the train station, but she redirects him to Edgewood.
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Clio uses tears and emotional manipulation to get Tommy to comply.
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At Edgewood, Clio attempts to contact the entity and receives a response: laughter, shaking, and spinning fan.
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Clio warns the entity to play nice, and it responds by scratching four deep marks into the wall, forming a large circle.
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Clio spends the night at Austin's house.
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In the morning, Clio tries to keep Austin from leaving for work, but he insists.
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Clio experiences a traumatic flashback of her parents fighting.
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Clio asks Austin to drive her to the train station, and he agrees, offering coffee.
Character Development
Clio is at her most manipulative in this chapter. She openly admits to turning on the tears as a tactic, and she reflects that she wields her tears like a weapon, never allowing them to be sincere. This is a key insight into her character: she uses emotional performance to control others, but it also isolates her from genuine connection. Her fear of being seen as insane is palpable—she thinks about calling Roy but refuses because she can't trust him to keep her belief in the paranormal quiet. Her entire identity is built around her image, and she's terrified of making a joke of herself. This fear drives her to confront the entity alone, and her warning to it—that she can leave anytime—shows her need to maintain control even in a supernatural encounter. The flashback to her parents' fight reveals the source of her trauma: she witnessed domestic conflict as a child, and now she's testing Austin to see if he'll ever speak to her the way her father spoke to her mother. This is a dark, self-destructive curiosity that shows how deeply the generational trauma runs.
Tommy is caught between Clio and Leda. He tries to be a peacemaker, but Clio accuses him of always taking Leda's side. He eventually gives in to Clio's manipulation, driving her to Edgewood despite his reservations. He won't even get out of the car because he knows Leda will see it as a violation. His loyalty to Clio is genuine, but it's also compromised by his fear of Leda's reaction. He leaves Clio with a promise to be there if she needs anything, but Clio's response—crossing her heart—feels performative rather than sincere.
Austin is patient and kind, but Clio pushes him. She tries to keep him from work, and when he insists on leaving, she respects him more for not just putting up with her. Her curiosity about how far she can push him is troubling; she wonders if he'll ever speak to her the way her father spoke to her mother, and how broken she'd have to be to allow it. Austin's offer to buy her coffee, even though it will make him late, shows his willingness to go out of his way for her, but Clio's response is to whisper something seductive in his ear, deflecting from her vulnerability.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
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Destruction of maternal legacy: The book burning is the catalyst for this chapter. Clio's father destroyed the only copy of her mother's book, and Clio is grieving the loss of those words. The scratches on the wall at Edgewood are a new kind of mark—a response from the entity that may be connected to her mother's legacy.
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Emotional manipulation and tears as weapons: Clio explicitly uses tears to get what she wants from Tommy, and she reflects that her tears are never sincere. This motif recurs throughout the chapter, highlighting her inability to be vulnerable in a genuine way.
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Trust and betrayal: Clio doesn't trust Tommy to keep her secrets from Leda, and she doesn't trust Roy to handle the paranormal situation quietly. Her isolation is self-imposed because she can't trust anyone with the truth.
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Identity and image preservation: Clio's fear of being seen as insane is tied to her public image. She can't risk being ridiculed, so she keeps her belief in the entity a secret. This theme is central to her character.
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Memory and trauma: The flashback to her parents' fight is a powerful symbol of generational domestic conflict. Clio is haunted by this memory, and it influences her interactions with Austin.
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Negotiating with the supernatural: Clio's warning to the entity—that it must play nice—is a negotiation. She's trying to establish boundaries with a force she doesn't understand, which mirrors her attempts to control the people in her life.
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Sincerity versus performance: Clio's entire life is a performance. She performs tears, she performs desire, and she performs strength. The only moment of sincerity is her flashback, which she immediately suppresses.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is pivotal for both the supernatural plot and Clio's character arc. It confirms that the entity at Edgewood is real and responsive—it scratches a large circular shape into the wall, a direct answer to Clio's challenge. This is the first concrete evidence Clio has, but she can't share it with anyone because she's too afraid of being ridiculed. The chapter also deepens her emotional isolation: she's alienated from Leda, she manipulates Tommy, and she uses Austin as a distraction rather than a confidant. The flashback to her parents' fight reveals the root of her trauma and sets up a troubling pattern in her relationship with Austin. This chapter sets the stage for Clio to either confront the entity on her own or risk losing her grip on reality.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Clio refuse to call Roy for help with the entity?
Clio is too proud to call Roy, and she suspects he would gather a group of psychics and monster hunters, turning her situation into a spectacle. She can't trust him to keep her belief in the paranormal quiet, and her entire life is built around her image. She'd rather face the entity alone than risk being seen as insane.
2. What does the flashback reveal about Clio's relationship with Austin?
The flashback shows Clio as a child, wedged between her sisters, listening to her parents scream and break plates. This memory resurfaces when Austin is leaving for work, and it triggers a dark curiosity in Clio: she wonders if Austin will ever speak to her the way her father spoke to her mother, and how broken she'd have to be to allow it. This reveals that Clio is unconsciously repeating patterns from her childhood, testing Austin to see if he'll become like her father.
3. How does Clio's use of tears as a weapon affect her relationships?
Clio uses tears to manipulate Tommy into taking her to Edgewood, and she reflects that her tears are never sincere. This weaponized emotion prevents her from forming genuine connections. She can't be vulnerable with Austin, even when she's clearly upset, because she's so used to performing. Her tears are a tool for control, but they also isolate her, because no one can truly comfort her when she's not being honest.
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