When Lizzie returns to school, Hugh does his best to ignore her. He can tell that she is continuing to have sex with Pierce. He tells himself that her “hypersexuality” is a symptom of mental illness, but he is “too hurt” to forgive her (631).

Lizzie has sex with Pierce in the bathroom. She thinks of these encounters as a form of medicine that helps with her urges. In the mirror, she barely recognizes the person she sees—but she also doesn’t care.

At practice on Friday, Johnny invites Hugh to run with him. He asks if Hugh is alright. Hugh feels grateful that Johnny cares.

When Hugh gets home on Saturday, Lizzie and Claire are asleep on the couch in his living room with their heads on his mother’s lap. Catherine asks Hugh what happened. He tells her but makes her promise not to treat Lizzie any differently.

Lizzie struggles to focus on what Pierce is saying to her. She hears him ask if she wants to be his girlfriend. Instead of answering, she goes into the bathroom and vomits.

A few days later, Lizzie goes over to Hugh’s house. He initially refuses to talk to her, but then lets her inside. She wants to fix things between them. He asks if she has started taking her medication, and she admits that she hasn’t.

A week later, Hugh’s father tries to talk to him about Lizzie. However, Hugh angrily dismisses him—Peter has not been there for the family since Gibsie’s father died, so Hugh doesn’t need him now.

Not taking her pills makes Lizzie feel strangely liberated. She rarely sleeps, spending her time doing schoolwork, reading, and writing. She no longer fears feeling so unanchored, because she has already lost the only person that mattered.

Every day over the next week, Lizzie goes over to Hugh’s house to see Claire. Each night, she goes into Hugh’s bedroom to try to convince him to give her another chance. Even when she climbs into his bed, Hugh resists her.

One night, Lizzie comes into Hugh’s room. Without saying anything, she puts a CD into his stereo and plays “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac. She stares into Hugh’s eyes as the song plays.

In the middle of the night, Hugh goes into Claire’s room where Lizzie is sleeping. He plugs his stereo in by Lizzie’s side of the bed, waking her up. He plays “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac and turns it up to full volume. While the song plays, he stares at Lizzie, then leaves.

A few days later, Hugh goes to a party to celebrate his rugby team winning. Hugh thinks of how lucky he is to have his friends, especially Gibsie.

Upstairs at the party, Lizzie has sex with Pierce. Overwhelmed with shame, Lizzie goes into the bathroom, repeatedly bangs her head against the door to feel the pain, then breaks a toothbrush in half and uses it to harm herself.

When Lizzie goes back downstairs, she sees Hugh leaving. She follows him outside and tries to talk to him, but he ignores her.

A week later, Pierce comes to Hugh in the locker room. Lizzie has not been to school all week and Pierce is worried about her. Hugh dismisses him but can’t stop worrying about Lizzie.

After school, Hugh goes to Lizzie’s house. He finds her sitting outside in the rain in her school uniform. She invites Hugh inside. He hesitates, but she promises that she just wants to talk.

In the bedroom, Lizzie tries to seduce Hugh. He resists, insisting that he still loves her but can’t give in to her. However, when she takes off her clothes, they engage in parallel masturbation.

Afterwards, Lizzie feels regret upon seeing how ashamed Hugh looks. Hugh tells her that what they did was a mistake, but Lizzie struggles to comprehend why—he’s never touched her without her consent, unlike “the monster” who “fucks [her] in [her] dreams” (677). Confused, Hugh tries to get her to explain, but she storms past him into the yard.

Hugh catches up to Lizzie at the gate. He tells her that she can come back to his house since her parents aren’t home. He desperately wants to help her. Lizzie softens, agreeing to go with him and holding his hand as they walk.

For two weeks, Lizzie stays over at Hugh’s house, sleeping in Claire’s bed. Hugh resists the urge to see her each night, usually showering in the middle of the night to take his mind off her.

One night, Lizzie comes into the bathroom while Hugh showers. She apologizes for being in his home, but he assures her that he just wants to protect her. She then steps into the shower and hugs him. She begs Hugh to forgive her, insisting that she will do everything she can to treat herself. Hugh hesitates. He wants to forgive her but can never trust her again. He promises that he will always love her and that someday they will be friends.

The next night, on New Year’s Eve, Hugh goes out to a dance with his friends. He dreads the idea of it turning midnight without Lizzie. However, at midnight, a red-headed girl named Katie grabs him and kisses him. Hugh realizes that she looks as though she has been crying.

Outside, Hugh sits with Katie. He feels guilty, then realizes he has no obligations to Lizzie anymore.

That same night, Lizzie has sex with Pierce at her house. Her father walks in on them, kicks Pierce out, and turns his anger on Lizzie. However, all she can think is that her father never protected her from the monster who hurt her for years. She goads her father, and he hits her. She can see he is crying but she feels nothing.

As Hugh eats breakfast the next morning, Claire rushes into the kitchen to tell him that Lizzie’s mother had a heart attack.

Sitting by her mother’s bedside, Lizzie blames herself for what happened. She tells her father that she wants to be admitted into treatment. Relieved, he contacts a psychiatric facility, and they agree to admit Lizzie that afternoon.

Hugh shows up at the hospital. He helps Lizzie eat. She repeatedly apologizes for everything she did, but Hugh assures her that she only needs to focus on her own health.

Before Lizzie leaves, she says goodbye to her mother, who is recovering from her heart attack. Hugh realizes how much he still loves Lizzie—he didn’t even hesitate to come be with her.

Before Lizzie leaves, she apologizes again to Hugh. He assures her that she will begin to heal and that he will be waiting for her when she comes home. However, he admits to himself that he is lying.

A week later, Hugh returns to school. Claire expresses her frustration that she hasn’t heard from Lizzie. Hugh protectively lies that Lizzie is in Spain with her mother because they both needed time away.

Lizzie’s father expresses his frustration with the doctors at the treatment facility. The doctor explains that it may take over two months of in-facility treatment for Lizzie to begin to recover and even after that it’s a difficult path. However, Lizzie assures her father that she will do whatever they recommend.

On January 25, Lizzie has been in treatment for 40 days. Hugh has not spoken to her the entire time, yet he still thinks about her every day.

Katie interrupts his thoughts. She apologizes for kissing him on New Year’s Eve. She is still getting over with a recent breakup. They decide to be friends.

As Lizzie lies in the hospital, a nurse attaches pads to her head. They have been treating her with electroconvulsive therapy.

A couple weeks later, Hugh goes to the movies with Katie. He is nervous the entire time, wondering if she wants to be more than friends. However, he relaxes as the movie goes on. Afterwards, they agree to continue to meet on Friday nights as friends.

As Lizzie continues treatment, she thinks about Hugh. She begins to understand how her manic and depressive episodes affect her decision-making and how her actions impacted Hugh.

One Friday night, Hugh and Katie go out to dinner. She asks him questions about Lizzie. Initially, he resists answering, but then opens up. He realizes that he feels better talking about it.

After dinner, Katie asks if Hugh wants to be more than friends in the future. She isn’t ready to move on, but she likes being with him and would be interested in more eventually. With Hugh’s mind and heart in conflict, he kisses her, feeling a mix of “uncertainty, guilt, and excitement” (721).

After three and a half months of treatment, Lizzie returns home more confident and in control of her ability to stabilize her mood. She returns to school in mid-April.

In the afternoon, Lizzie waits where she knows she will see Hugh. Lizzie thanks Hugh for not telling anyone where she was, and he assures her that all he wants for her is to get better.

When Hugh first sees Lizzie, his heart immediately tells him to forgive her and to let her back into his life. As he wrestles with his feelings, Lizzie insists that she wants to tell him how she feels.

Lizzie thanks Hugh for everything that he did for her. She can now see how selfish she was by stopping her medication and how her actions ruined their relationship. She is still in love with Hugh but knows that he won’t be able to forgive her. Hugh tries to interrupt, as he grapples with his mixed feelings. However, Lizzie insists that they can’t even be friends, as it would be too difficult while they’re still in love. Instead, she wants him to be with Katie and to be happy. As Lizzie walks away, Hugh wants to tell her not to go, but knows that “it wouldn’t […] help either one of [them]” (730).