Chapter 13 Summary 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

After the violent confrontation at the semester-opening party, Andrew spends three days in self-imposed isolation. He avoids Sam, Halse, and Riley, instead burying himself in coursework at a suburban café. His academic focus is a deliberate distraction—a way to pretend he's making progress while he remains stuck in the memory of the revenant's death. He texts Halse only to say he's working, and he ignores Sam's increasingly frantic messages.

While driving to class in the Supra, Andrew decides to act on his investigation. He adds Ethan Jung on Snapchat, hoping the law student—who was present at the party and who Andrew suspects might share a similar outsider status—can offer insight into Eddie's hidden life. Ethan responds enthusiastically, and they arrange to meet.

The two meet in a gas station parking lot, where Ethan offers Andrew an iced coffee and a proposition: a street race followed by a party. Andrew agrees, asking Ethan what he and Eddie would have done together. They race on the interstate, weaving through traffic at high speed, before exiting into a quiet suburban neighborhood. Ethan then reveals the evening's plan: a party at Leah's house, where she's selling MDMA.

At the party, Andrew buys and takes the drug, washing it down with beer. He and Ethan dance in the basement, surrounded by bodies and pulsing EDM. When the high hits, Andrew is overwhelmed by sensation, and Ethan's proximity becomes intensely physical. Andrew pulls away, and they retreat to a couch upstairs.

There, under the influence of the drug, Andrew questions Ethan about Eddie. Ethan reveals that Eddie kept his distance from the pack, had a volatile temper, and made drug runs with Sam. He also mentions that Eddie was obsessed with collecting oral histories and ghost stories, and that Sam's grandmother was a reformed hill witch. Ethan jokes about the closeness between Eddie and Sam, suggesting they were a