Chapter 7 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

The chapter opens on the morning before Sloane's birthday, with Naomi bursting into the cottage and climbing into Sloane's bed, announcing it's birthday eve. Sloane groans at being woken before eleven. The two women exchange a look and silently agree to avoid revisiting the previous night's conversation, choosing denial over confrontation.

Sloane decides not to mention what she saw on the doorbell camera—evidence of Joel's infidelity—telling herself she shouldn't have looked in the first place. As she dresses, she notices a smear on the cottage window, exactly where the figure appeared in her nightmare. It looks like a handprint, but she dismisses it as muck, refusing to entertain the possibility that her dream and reality are bleeding together. Hungover and nursing a headache, she contemplates her wedding rings and briefly wishes she could sleep forever.

The two women walk to the main mansion for brunch, arriving wind-blown and out of place in the formal dining room with its decorative molding and heavy drapes. The menu is limited—yogurt with whipped honey and berries, or eggs Benedict. Naomi complains about the lack of cheeseburgers but is appeased by a butterscotch latte with a heart in the foam. Both order eggs Benedict, and Naomi creates a mess with the ketchup bottle, spanking it until a red mass bursts onto her plate.

Over brunch, Naomi reveals she has made surprise plans for Sloane's birthday that night but refuses to disclose them, arguing that telling Sloane would give her time to talk herself out of it. Sloane, guilted into agreement, says she'll go along for the ride. Naomi pushes back, insisting she wants Sloane in the driver's seat, revving the engine—not a passenger. Sloane admits she's never been the engine-revving type.

To escape the present, Sloane dives into nostalgia, recalling the time she earned detention for confronting their honors English teacher, Dr. Hopkins, about his misogynistic treatment of books by women. Naomi argues she wasn't even there that day, but Sloane remembers that Naomi was the one who validated her frustrations, telling her that guy hates women. At fourteen, having the coolest person she'd ever met in her corner made Sloane feel invincible. Naomi is trouble, Sloane reflects, but often the kind of trouble she needs.

The chapter ends with Naomi flirting with the waiter, batting her lashes and calling him hoss. Sloane observes that Naomi flirts with everyone—it's not about desire but about power. The waiter, initially expressionless, comes alive under her attention.

Key Events

Naomi wakes Sloane on the morning before her birthday, and the two silently agree to avoid the previous night's conversation.
Sloane decides to keep the doorbell camera discovery—evidence of Joel's infidelity—to herself.
Sloane notices a handprint-like smear on the cottage window where the nightmare figure appeared, and dismisses it as muck.
The women walk to the main mansion for brunch, where Naomi complains about the lack of cheeseburgers but is appeased by a butterscotch latte.
Naomi reveals surprise birthday plans for that night but refuses to share details.
Sloane reluctantly agrees to go along, and Naomi insists she wants Sloane in the driver's seat, not along for the ride.
The two reminisce about Sloane's detention for confronting Dr. Hopkins about misogyny.
Naomi flirts with the waiter and calls him hoss.

Character Development

Sloane is defined in this chapter by avoidance. She actively chooses not to revisit the previous night's conversation, decides not to mention the doorbell camera footage, and dismisses the handprint on the window as muck. Her hangover and headache ground her in physical discomfort, mirroring her emotional unease. She's aware of her own passivity—admitting she's not the engine-revving type—and her growing awareness of aging surfaces when she notices the waiter is younger than her. Her nostalgia for the Dr. Hopkins incident reveals a younger version of herself who was braver, or at least more willing to act on her convictions.

Naomi emerges as the chapter's engine. She's the one who wakes Sloane, makes the plans, and pushes Sloane toward risk-taking. Her refusal to reveal the surprise plans is framed as a gift—caution to the wind—but it also demonstrates her control over the situation. Her flirting with the waiter is explicitly characterized by Sloane as an exercise in power rather than desire. Yet the Dr. Hopkins memory complicates her: she was the one who validated Sloane's frustrations and gave her the confidence to confront authority.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Denial and avoidance. The chapter's central action is a series of refusals to confront truth. Sloane and Naomi silently vote to sweep the previous night's conversation under the rug. Sloane decides not to mention the doorbell camera. She dismisses the handprint as muck. Each choice compounds the distance between her and the reality she's avoiding.

Blurring of dream and reality. The handprint on the window, exactly where the nightmare figure appeared, suggests the boundary between Sloane's dreams and her waking life is dissolving. She dismisses it, but the detail lingers, hinting that something supernatural may be encroaching on her ordinary problems.

Friendship as catalyst for courage. The Dr. Hopkins memory establishes a pattern: Naomi validates Sloane's instincts and gives her the confidence to act. This history makes Naomi's current push for Sloane to take the driver's seat more meaningful—she's trying to reawaken a version of Sloane who was braver.

Agency and control. Naomi's driver's seat metaphor frames the chapter's tension around who controls Sloane's choices. Sloane agrees to go along for the ride, but Naomi explicitly rejects that framing, demanding Sloane take the wheel.

Power dynamics in flirting. Sloane's observation that Naomi flirts for power, not desire, adds a layer of commentary on how Naomi navigates the world—through performance and control.

Escape through sleep. Sloane's wish to sleep forever, and her earlier groaning at being woken, positions sleep as an escape from her problems, a motif that will likely deepen as the supernatural elements intensify.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter establishes the emotional and narrative stakes for the birthday celebration that will follow. Sloane's denial—of the doorbell camera evidence, of the previous night's conversation, of the handprint on the window—sets up a character who is actively refusing to confront the truth about her marriage and her surroundings. Naomi's surprise plans create anticipation and tension, while her insistence that Sloane take the driver's seat frames the chapter's central question: will Sloane reclaim agency, or continue to drift? The handprint detail also plants the first concrete suggestion that the supernatural elements of the story are intruding into Sloane's waking life, not just her nightmares.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Sloane dismiss the handprint on the window, and what does this reveal about her state of mind?

Sloane notices the smear is exactly where the figure appeared in her nightmare, and it looks like a handprint. She dismisses it as muck because it can't be a handprint. This reveals her active denial—she's unwilling to accept that her dream might have bled into reality. Combined with her decision to ignore the doorbell camera evidence, it shows a character who is systematically avoiding uncomfortable truths, both supernatural and marital.

2. How does the Dr. Hopkins memory illustrate Naomi's role in Sloane's life?

The memory shows that Naomi has historically been the catalyst for Sloane's courage. Sloane's frustrations with Dr. Hopkins predated their friendship, but Naomi's validation—telling her that guy hates women—gave Sloane the confidence to confront him. This history explains why Sloane is willing to trust Naomi's surprise plans despite her reluctance, and it frames Naomi's current push for Sloane to take the driver's seat as an attempt to reawaken that earlier bravery.

3. What does Naomi mean when she says she wants Sloane in the driver's seat, revving the engine?

Naomi is rejecting the passive role Sloane offers—going along for the ride. She wants Sloane to actively choose to participate in the surprise plans, to embrace risk-taking rather than merely acquiescing. The metaphor extends beyond the birthday plans: Naomi is pushing Sloane to reclaim agency in her life, to stop drifting and start making choices. Sloane's response—that she's never been the engine-revving type—suggests this is a long-standing dynamic Naomi is trying to change.