Chapter summaries The Night We Met Abby Jimenez

Chapter 21: Chris – Anxiety and Realization

⚠️ 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

Chris wakes from a nightmare about Larissa suffering a fatal allergic reaction — her throat closes and he cannot find an EpiPen. The dream echoes the helplessness he felt during his mother's final illness, which left him with PTSD and survivor's guilt. Although therapy and a support group had helped him sleep again, his anxiety has now transferred entirely to Larissa. He notices that the weekend at the lake intensified his constant impulse to check on her, to make sure she is safe and happy, even though he knows it is not his job. He cannot turn off these thoughts, and now they invade his dreams. Sitting with his dog Woofarine, he reflects on how much he wants to look at Larissa, talk to her, and simply be near her. He wonders if Woofarine is only truly happy when both Chris and Larissa are in the same place — and suspects the same is true for himself.

Key Events

  • Chris has a nightmare about Larissa having a nut allergy attack and dying because he cannot find an EpiPen.
  • He recalls how his mother's death (yellow eyes, distended stomach) caused his PTSD and previous nightmares.
  • Chris acknowledges that he used therapy and a support group to manage his grief and that the nightmares had faded, but now his anxiety has shifted to Larissa.
  • He gets up at 4:30 a.m. and tries to ground himself by holding Woofarine, hoping to smell Larissa's perfume on the dog's fur.
  • He admits that the lake weekend made him hypervigilant about Larissa and that he constantly wants to check on her.
  • Chris recognizes he wants to be with Larissa — to look at her, talk to her, and sit with her — and that Woofarine seems happiest when both of them are together.
  • He concludes that he might feel the same as the dog does.

Character Development

  • Chris reveals deep emotional vulnerability: he is still processing his mother's death through therapy and support groups. His anxiety about Larissa shows that his care for her goes beyond friendship. He is beginning to acknowledge romantic feelings, though he does not name them yet. His habit of worrying about her becomes an instinct he cannot fight, marking a shift from caregiver to someone emotionally attached.
  • The dream and its aftermath demonstrate that trauma can resurface and reattach to new fears, especially when love is involved.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Transfer of anxiety: Chris’s grief and PTSD from his mother’s death shift to Larissa after the lake weekend, showing how unresolved trauma can latch onto new relationships.
  • Helplessness and control: The nightmare of not being able to find the EpiPen mirrors his earlier helplessness by his mother’s bedside. Chris’s hypervigilance is a coping mechanism to regain control.
  • The dog as emotional barometer: Woofarine’s happiness when Chris and Larissa are together symbolizes the natural, unforced connection between them. Chris uses the dog’s behavior to validate his own feelings.
  • Unspoken love: Chris’s desire to simply look at and be near Larissa suggests that love is growing quietly beneath his protective instincts.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point for Chris’s internal arc. It transitions his anxiety from the past (his mother) to the present (Larissa) and shows that his emotional investment in her is becoming romantic. By the end, he no longer frames his attention as mere concern; he admits he wants to be with her. This sets up the romantic tension and foreshadows conflict if Larissa’s allergy becomes a real threat. It also deepens the theme that trauma can resurface in new forms, and that love can be both a comfort and a source of new fears.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Chris’s nightmare about Larissa mirror his earlier dreams about his mother?
    The nightmare features the same helpless feeling — he cannot stop a loved one from dying. This shows that his PTSD from his mother’s death has not fully healed; his anxiety has simply found a new object. His brain reuses the same imagery of failing to save someone.

  2. What does Woofarine’s behavior reveal about Chris’s feelings?
    Woofarine is happiest when both Chris and Larissa are together. Chris recognizes this and wonders if he feels the same way, which is his first open acknowledgment that his feelings for Larissa are deeper than friendship.

  3. How does the chapter illustrate the concept of hypervigilance?
    Chris describes a constant, involuntary impulse to check on Larissa, even when he knows it is not his responsibility. He cannot turn off the thoughts, and they now invade his sleep. This hypervigilance is a symptom of his unresolved trauma transferring to a new relationship.

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