Chapter 26

At Noah’s hill, the group spends the afternoon sledding. After resisting the boys’ dangerous ramp, Autumn finally agrees to ride with Jamie. They hit the jump, collide midair, and Autumn lands with a painful blow to her eye from Jamie’s head. Friends fuss over her, and the injury becomes a joking story as the shock fades.

Jamie drops Autumn at home before the mall. Inside, her family and Aunt Angelina’s new boyfriend, Kevin, react to her bruised eye. Finny quickly checks her for concussion symptoms and makes a better ice pack using one of Autumn’s socks, offering precise care tips, which impresses the adults.

During dinner, conversation centers on the adults while Autumn and Finny, seated side by side, keep knocking elbows. Afterward they watch TV in silence, a contrast to their former conspiratorial closeness. When Autumn refreshes her ice, Finny asks about the pain and gently teases her about crying at commercials, easing the mood.

Their talk turns to futures. Finny suggests she remove the ice intermittently and, almost offhand, admits he has been considering becoming a doctor. He encourages Autumn’s writing, recalling a sixth‑grade story, but she frames a practical path—marrying Jamie, kids, maybe teaching. Finny questions whether teaching and a conventional life fit her, and his frown signals disapproval and unease about her certainty with Jamie.

The conversation cools. When Finny and his mother leave with Kevin, he offers only a brief goodbye. Later, Autumn finds an old photo of her and Finny placed out on her dresser—likely moved when he took the sock. She hides it deep in the drawer again, deciding she cannot afford to keep him as a friend.