Chapter 79

Autumn and Finny see their mothers off for a winery weekend after Autumn’s parents’ divorce is finalized. They text while apart until Jack arrives, then build a large blanket “cave,” drink rum and Coke, and settle in for movies. Autumn is reassured when Finny overhears her insist nothing romantic ever happened between them during childhood sleepovers.

Overnight, Autumn sleeps beside Finny in the fort, drawn to his closeness. By late morning, she wakes alone and overhears Finny telling Jack that he will break up with Sylvie when Sylvie returns tomorrow. Shocked and nauseated, Autumn rushes to the bathroom and is sick, then weathers a subdued afternoon with toast and the end of their movie before retreating home.

In the shower, Autumn confronts her longing for Finny and the fear of watching him love someone else. Needing control, she throws herself into writing, determined to finish her novel. She writes obsessively through the day, barely pausing, and finally types the long-anticipated last sentence, feeling numb and bereft as if her characters, Izzy and Aden, have died.

As dusk falls, Finny checks on Autumn. She breaks down and explains her grief over her finished story. Finny first misreads the intensity of her emotion but then holds her and listens. When he asks to read the novel, Autumn resists, then, seeking closure and trust, agrees to let him read it after dinner.