Hideaway

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes descriptions of sexual violence, rape, mental illness, child abuse and child sexual abuse, suicidal ideation, self-harm, animal cruelty, addiction, sexual content, cursing, death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Hideaway explores the idea that love and friendship often require deep personal sacrifice, especially in the lives of people who are so heavily influenced by past trauma, secrecy, and morally dubious choices. For people like Kai, Damon, and Banks, love and friendship are complicated, dramatic, and often painful experiences, and love always comes at a price. Sacrifice for the sake of love is particularly evident in the relationship between Banks and Damon. Although their connection is complicated and often unhealthy, Banks’s habit of prioritizing Damon’s emotional well-being ahead of her own demonstrates her intense loyalty to her half-brother. One of the clearest examples of this dynamic occurs when Banks reflects on Damon’s emotional state and her role in helping him, musing, “So many kids who suffer abuse don’t like to be touched, but when Damon was spiraling out, he couldn’t get close enough to me. Like he just wanted to crawl inside my head, where he knew it was safe” (295). For years, Banks has been Damon’s refuge, but at a major cost to her own and emotional well-being.