Woman Down

After Saint left, Petra was able to write several chapters of her book. She even edited her notes from the last 18 months to make Cam even more like Saint. However, two days later, she is struggling to write.

That afternoon, Petra decides to text Saint and ask for more help. He agrees, sending her a winking face, then asks what she needs. Petra explains that she isn’t sure how Reya would feel about having a relationship with a married man. He responds by asking if they’re in love, and Petra says that they are. He promises to be there in an hour to help her figure it out.

When Saint arrives, he is in his uniform but holding a change of clothes. He immediately starts kissing Petra, then goes to the fridge, pulls out a bottle of wine, and pours two glasses. When he calls Petra “Reya,” she realizes that he is doing his best to play the character of Cam. He goes to the bathroom and changes his clothes, putting his uniform and gun on the counter.

When Saint comes back from the bathroom, he kisses Petra again for several more moments. As he looks at her, she thinks of how “his eyes make [her] feel like [she’s] the only thing that matters” (97). He asks her several questions about her book, specifically about what happens to Reya and if anyone ever harms her. She explains that because Reya is a lawyer, several people try to. In the part where she stopped writing, Reya had been kidnapped and had her arm broken.

Saint changes the subject, noting how Petra writes exciting stories but is hesitant to talk about herself. When he brings up the controversy over her movie, Petra becomes uncomfortable with how much he knows. However, he asks her how she is handling everything that happened, and his genuine empathy nearly makes Petra cry. She admits that things are difficult, which is why it has taken her so long to publish a new book.

Petra thanks him for caring, thinking about how “liberating” the conversation was. Saint begins kissing Petra again, but his phone interrupts them. She pulls away and tells him to answer it, so he goes outside to take the call. When he returns, he says nothing, instead kissing Petra “almost possessively,” grabbing his things, and leaving. Petra is shocked by his actions, wondering if he is playing the part of Cam by leaving or if he is being himself. She assumes that guilt played a role in his quiet exit.

That night, Petra sits and writes until she falls asleep.

The next day, Saint messages Petra and asks if her characters ever go out in public. She tells him that the characters go to a restaurant, but they eat in the car out of fear of being recognized. Saint invites her to the Blue Lantern in the next town over for dinner.

That night, Petra leaves the cabin. However, she becomes nervous about meeting a relative stranger. She stops and tells Mari where she is going, and Mari jokingly warns her about staying out too late.

Petra finds Saint sitting at the restaurant’s bar. He asks about her court case, signaling that they are in character. Petra jokes about how much courage it took for her to come. She asks if he feels guilty, and he admits that he does but rationalizes it by telling himself that he is helping her. He calls his marriage “complicated” but insists that it’s not Petra’s problem. After they talk for a while longer, Saint tells her that he is nervous about eating in the restaurant and suggests they go to her car. Petra is pleased that he is replicating the scene from her book.

In the car, Petra and Saint eat and continue to talk. The conversation varies between talking as the characters and talking as themselves. She jokes about the difficulty of being someone else, and Saint insists that she makes it hard because he wants to be himself around her.

Saint takes their trash and throws it in a nearby garbage can. When he returns, he goes to her door, opens it, and helps her from the car. He pushes her against the door, kissing her. He then pauses, pulls away, and looks around. He tells Petra that he needs to leave, suddenly uncomfortable with kissing someone in public. He calls her “Reya,” looking regretful, and leaves.

When Petra gets home, she calls Nora, who read one of the chapters of her book. Nora is excited by her work, demanding to read the rest of it, so Petra sends it to her.

Because Petra’s phone was silenced, she receives her message notifications when she opens her laptop. She has several messages from Mari, demanding to know if she is alive and home. Petra writes an apology for not answering, then gets into bed and begins writing.

Petra wakes in the middle of the night with her laptop still open. She realizes that it is too dark and quiet. She sees a shadow in the doorway, and the person lunges at her. He tries to pull her from the bed as Petra struggles. He restrains her and pulls her from the bedroom, with Petra repeatedly saying Saint’s name. She desperately hopes it’s him, while also realizing that she is in danger even if it is.

The man takes Petra to the living room and tells her not to move. At first, she is sure it’s not Saint’s voice; however, as the moments pass, she becomes more uncertain. He roughly tapes her mouth and ties her legs and arms to the chair. He goes to the kitchen, and Petra can hear him opening and closing drawers, looking for something. After a moment, he leaves, leaving the front door open.

Petra waits for a few moments, then decides to try to free herself. She manages to get her arms free and starts to call 911, but then she hears footsteps. Saint calls her name and appears, cutting her legs free. He tries to comfort her, but Petra recoils from him. She is convinced that he is the one who did this, for the novel. She refuses to talk with him, demanding that he get away from her. She shuts herself in the bedroom, then goes into the bathroom. She turns the water to scalding hot and sobs in the shower.

The light comes back on in the bathroom. Petra is now certain that Saint did this, as he knew how to turn the power back on immediately. She hears him come into the bathroom and angrily tells him to leave. He starts to apologize, but she stops him, insisting that she doesn’t want to talk to him. 

At the same time, however, she begins to question whether she caused him to do this by telling him about the scene from her book and asking him to help her experience what Reya experiences. When Saint gets into the shower with her, fully clothed, and wraps his arms around her, she doesn’t stop him. She realizes that she needs him to comfort her, even if she’s still mad at him.

A few moments later, Saint apologizes. Petra acknowledges that what they have been doing is “confusing,” and she is still unsure whether she invited him to do what he did. Saint asks if he should leave, but Petra insists that she wants him to stay. She realizes that even if she isn’t ready to forgive him, she at least understands why he did it. She makes him promise that they will be themselves tonight with no more pretending.

Saint gives Petra a towel, then takes off his shirt and gets a towel for himself. He offers hot tea to Petra and goes into the kitchen to make it. His gentleness through it all makes Petra feel even better.

In the kitchen, Petra and Saint drink tea in silence. He approaches her and takes her arm, kissing the marks left on her from the rope. He again asks if he should leave, but Petra asks him to stay. She begins to wonder if, subconsciously, she was asking Saint to tie her up, as it gave her a new perspective on Reya.

Looking at him, Petra knows that Saint wants to kiss her. However, he is waiting for her permission. The thought gives her a sense of power for the first time with him, as she is in complete control. She kisses him. After a moment, Saint asks if he can undo her robe, then begins to touch her body. He lifts her from the kitchen and carries her to the sofa.

Saint asks if he needs to wear a condom. Petra hesitates, knowing she is on birth control but also acutely aware that she doesn’t know Saint all that well. Sensing her hesitation, Saint gets one and returns. As the two begin to have sex, Petra thinks about how she will describe it in her book. She also feels guilty over it. However, after a moment, she stops thinking about everything and enjoys it.

The next morning, Petra wakes up when she hears the front door closing. She hesitates a moment, then gets her own keys and follows Saint’s car, wanting to know more about him.

After Petra follows Saint for several miles, he pulls over and stops. He motions for her to pull over, then comes to her car. He demands to know what she is doing, and she tries to say that she was trying to learn more about him for her character. Saint is firm but not aggressive when he tells Petra that she is crossing a line by following. He is adamant that she stay away from his private life. 

As he talks, Saint pushes Petra against the side of the car. His hand moves up her dress, then he moves his fingers inside of her, holding her on the hood of her car while she climaxes. She admits to herself that “it’s everything [she] shouldn’t want but crave[s] with a desperate intensity” (153). After he pulls his hand back, she asks what lie he will tell his wife about where he’s been. When he answers that he doesn’t like to think about her, Petra asks if he likes to think about Petra when he’s with his wife. He responds that he doesn’t want to, but he does anyway. As he goes to leave, he looks one last time at Petra, telling her to stop following him because she “won’t like what [she] finds” (154).

Petra returns to the cabin. She spends the rest of the day writing.