Pictures of You

Drew looks at the photo Evie took of him and warns himself not to get attached. Drew sees Oliver watching them, “a juggernaut about to mess with her world” (105). Oliver invites Evie to a café, pushing her and Drew apart.

At the café, Oliver tells Evie that the website with the photos of Bree is gone. He hints that taking the website down is how he got his black eye. When Oliver offers to help Evie with her English essay, Evie thinks this “is just about the most romantic thing that has ever happened in [her] time on this planet” (109). Oliver says he’s been waiting for Evie. He buys her forensics textbooks. Evie is fascinated and flattered by his attention, not quite believing she could have scored such a boyfriend.

The afternoon before her night of photography with Drew, Oliver gets a migraine. Evie goes to his expensive home and meets Oliver’s father, who is intimidating and abrupt. Evie sees that Oliver is insecure around his father. Oliver admits his father has set up a rivalry between Oliver and Drew. Oliver asks to see Evie again soon, and she agrees, despite the need to focus on her studies.

Drew checks in with his mother. Evie arrives and meets Annie, and they drive to the beach to shoot photos. Oliver sends Evie a text message and then calls. Evie asks Drew if Oliver has a girlfriend.

Evie is excited but terrified at the thought of being with Oliver; with Drew, she feels relaxed. She asks Drew about his romantic life, and his mother says he’s never had a serious girlfriend. They toast marshmallows, and Oliver continues to text.

Drew tells himself not to be drawn to Evie because it’s clear she likes Oliver. He takes a picture of her beside the fire and captures the compassion in her eyes as she asks about his mother. The next day, she comes to his house to edit photos. She is excited to see his darkroom. Drew warns himself to stay on his guard with her. At the photography club meeting, Evie suggests calling the exhibition Pictures of You after a song by The Cure. Oliver endorses the idea.

Evie reflects, “Being Oliver’s girlfriend is dazzling. I feel like we’re living in a rom-com. He’s the king of grand gestures” (131). Her mother thinks Evie likes Drew. Evie needs to study, and Oliver syncs their calendars so he can help her. He promises to always look after her. He tells Evie he loves her, and while they are kissing, he pins her to the bed until she says she loves him, too.

Evie reflects on her 16-year-old self’s plan for her future: a degree at Sydney University, a PhD., postdoctoral fellowships, working as a forensic linguist by day and writing bestselling thrillers by night. She thinks, “That was the plan. Not becoming a supporting character in my high school boyfriend’s story” (135).

She and Drew enter Book Cottage and are welcomed by Rose, who hugs Evie, then Drew. Evie is shocked. She remembers a time swimming in the ocean along the Shortland Esplanade, nearby, and getting out of her depth. She feels that way now. Rose assures Evie that her parents are alive. Rose feels as though she knows Drew because of how much Evie talked about him in high school.

Drew wonders how to help Evie understand their history. He recalls the message where Evie asks him to pretend they’d never met. He tells her they were once best friends but lost touch. He can see her wondering if she can trust him, but he wonders in turn, “Can I trust her? Is she going to hurt me again?” (142). When she asks what happened to their friendship, he tells her she chose Oliver.

Rose tells Evie that her parents have moved to Adelaide. She shares their address. Evie wonders how bad the truth she can’t remember will be, asking herself, “How far off track can a life possibly get in the decade or so since school?” (144). Drew, a deepening mystery, is also increasingly attractive to her. He finds them flights.

Drew recalls that it was painful to be cut off from Evie, but he knew it was better to let her go. He’s tried to rebuild, but he knows Evie, and “history has shown that she has the power to destroy me” (148). He turns to photography to calm and steady himself. Evie wonders if she can trust him. Drew takes a call from Chloe.

Evie overhears Drew’s discussion, in which he promises to take Harriet to the zoo. Drew tells Evie that Chloe is just a friend. Evie senses that part of her is telling her to believe in him: “The part buried deep beneath this unrelenting amnesia, violently trying to push its way out” (152).

They spend the time before their flight taking pictures at the beach. Drew takes one of Evie in the ocean and thinks of it as “[o]ne perfect moment in the middle of our extraordinary mess” (155).

Evie, watching Drew photograph her, has a sudden memory of peace and safety, “[a] feeling of being more [herself] than [she’s] felt with any other person” (156). She says they’ve done this before. Drew confirms they went to the beach on a holiday weekend at school. He took a picture of her and entered it in the exhibition they put on together.

Drew decides he will help Evie regain her memory, but carefully, realizing that “this glitch in her mind is preventing her from accessing a whole period of her life for her own emotional safety” (161). He wonders if she knows how she broke him. He always had a distant dream that he would get another start with her.

They arrive in Adelaide, and Drew remarks that it is the blue hour, a time of soft light. They drive to her parents’ address. Her dad appears shocked to see Evie. Her mum looks older and cautious. Her dad suggests Evie should not come in.

Drew joins Evie as she sits outside, stunned. Her father says they tried to come for the funeral but were harassed by the media. Evie asks what she’s done. Drew doesn’t want her to remember and cause her parents to lose this version of her again. He convinces her parents to let Evie inside. Her father tells him, “Probably should have been you all along” (169).

Evie, seeing Oliver off with his parents to begin their summer holidays, notices how often they criticize him. Evie is feeling the intensity of first love but is also anxious about doing well in Year 12. Drew is unsympathetic when she goes to his house. Evie admits Oliver is pressuring her to have sex. She realizes, with Oliver, “I try to portray a version of myself […] that is his ideal girl” (175).

Drew doesn’t want Evie to realize he’s attracted to her. He notes, “Everything about the way she reacts to Oliver seems extreme” (176). He references When Harry Met Sally…, thinking it’s a movie about platonic friends.

Evie and Drew drive to Jervis Bay and are awed by the bioluminescence. They wade into the water, and again Evie thinks how unselfconscious she is around Drew. She is grateful that he, like her, has a sense of wonder at the world. She feels completely herself and allows him to take pictures. Evie reflects that this is “the most precious experience of [her] life” (182).

Drew also thinks this is a standout night, because of Evie. He loves her energy; “It’s this gusto for life and this freedom that I covet because my own life feels so constrained” (183). He gets a call about his mother.

Drew’s mother is ill and in the hospital, so Evie and Bree visit often. Bree likes Drew more than she likes Oliver. Oliver returns with gifts and says he wants Evie to go to Europe with him on their gap year. Evie reflects on the plans she already made to travel with Bree. Oliver wants to have sex, and Evie feels bad for asking him to wait, vowing to be a less uptight girlfriend.

Evie and Drew discuss their attire for the formal, and Evie admits that she is a member of the Regency Literature Reenactment Society. Drew offers to dress up in period costume to make her happy.

Evie goes to Drew’s to watch Pride and Prejudice with Annie, and Drew joins them. Oliver sends Evie messages about her studies. Evie is upset when Drew is critical of Oliver. She claims that Oliver is attentive and generous and that no one else will love her as he does. Oliver suggests that Evie step back from her friendship with Drew. Oliver and Bree are going to the formal as a friend date.

At a preview of the Pictures of You exhibition, Oliver steps in and takes Drew’s place in the interviews, even though Drew and Evie set the exhibit up together. Drew contributed a photo he took of Evie at the beach, and he notices that Oliver bought it. Meanwhile, his mother’s health is worsening, and Drew feels “[they’re] sliding down a cliff face and [he’s] furiously pulling on tree roots and grasping unstable rocks to break [their] fall” (201). He goes through an old trunk looking for a belt and finds a photograph of his mother with a man he assumes is his father. All Drew knows is that he was a specialist doctor at the hospital where his mother was training as a nurse. Drew adjusts the picture and sees that the man his mother is smiling at looks just like Oliver.

Drew confirms that he is on his way to pick Evie up for the formal, but then he doesn’t show. Oliver leaves with Bree. Drew phones to say he can’t come. Oliver says he’ll pick up Evie, calling Drew unreliable. She changes out of her Regency dress, sensing that Oliver didn’t like it.

Drew’s mother has a panic attack and is taken to the hospital. Drew feels guilty because he showed her the photo he found and asked about his father. He wants to explain to Evie, but he fears she’ll show up at the hospital and he’ll ruin her night. Feeling the need to apologize, Drew goes to the formal and sees Evie dancing with Oliver.