If He Had Been with Me
by Laura Nowlin
Contents
Chapter 22
Overview
Autumn endures finals while sick, vomits, and faces a public jab about pregnancy. She asks Finny to stop potential rumors and reveals she is a virgin, prompting his curt, unsettled reaction.
The exchange crystallizes Autumn’s sense that she and Finny are separated by an emotional distance that’s growing harder to ignore.
Summary
On the semester’s last day, Autumn feels ill but stays for three finals. During English, she grows nauseous, finishes early, and barely reaches the bathroom before vomiting. Returning, she’s met with Alexis’s shouted question about pregnancy, which Mr. Laughegan shuts down as he offers a nurse’s pass that Autumn declines.
Jamie checks on Autumn affectionately before heading to gym. Autumn survives math and rides the bus home behind Finny and Sylvie. After Sylvie leaves, Autumn asks Finny to keep their friends from spreading a pregnancy rumor.
Finny, surprised such gossip exists, quietly asks if pregnancy is possible. Autumn, offended, insists she has never had sex. Finny’s startled look shifts to a frown, and he tersely agrees to help. They part at their porches without good-bye.
Alone in bed, Autumn replays Finny’s reaction and feels a piercing realization: despite knowing they’ve drifted apart, his response to her virginity underscores a widening gulf between them she can now feel.
Who Appears
- AutumnNarrator; sick during finals, vomits, confronts pregnancy rumor, asks Finny to stop gossip, reveals her virginity, feels growing distance.
- Finny (Phineas)Walks home with Autumn; surprised by rumor talk; startled by her virginity admission; responds curtly, signaling emotional distance.
- JamieSupportive boyfriend; comforts Autumn during lunch, checks on her after class, shares an affectionate goodbye.
- Mr. LaugheganEnglish teacher; notices Autumn’s illness, halts student speculation, offers nurse pass, assigns reading over break.
- AlexisClassmate who publicly asks if Autumn is pregnant, triggering concern about rumors.
- VictoriaClassmate who piles onto Alexis’s pregnancy insinuation before being silenced by the teacher.
- SylvieFinny’s girlfriend; parts from him before Autumn approaches; observes from a distance.
- SashaClassmate chatting with Jamie; present during Autumn’s illness in class.