Contents
Chapter 31
Overview
Dean sinks into a numb routine after Beau’s death, abandoning the youth team and withdrawing from Allie. Allie tries to hold things together, even reassuring hurt Dakota. When Dean misses Allie’s opening night and admits he’s on molly, a brutal confrontation erupts. Allie ends the caretaking, leaves, and forces Dean to face his grief without her.
Summary
Allie describes weeks of Dean’s spiral: he attends class and practice on autopilot, then drinks or gets high nightly. Emotionally absent and sexually disengaged unless intoxicated, Dean also quits coaching the Hurricanes, rejecting the one activity that brought him joy.
Determined not to let him lose what matters, Allie visits the rink. She assures Coach Doug Ellis that Dean will return, but Ellis notes the kids may feel abandoned. Allie then comforts Dakota, who cries, convinced Dean dislikes her after he stopped showing up.
Exhausted and worried she’s cleaning up Dean’s messes, Allie presses him to attend her opening night. Dean promises he will. On opening, the play succeeds to a standing ovation—but Dean is absent. Allie rushes to the house and finds a party underway, with Dean alone and out of it.
Upstairs, Dean apologizes and claims he forgot; when Allie notices his euphoria, he admits he took molly. Angry he used drugs and missed her show, Allie rejects his excuses and Beau-related justification. She tells him to face real-life pain without self-medicating, recounts advocating for him with Ellis and Dakota, and refuses to keep enabling him. She packs, says she’s done, and leaves for Bristol’s.
Who Appears
- AllieNarrator; tries to support Dean, visits the rink, consoles Dakota, opens her play, confronts Dean for using drugs and missing opening night, and leaves.
- Dean Di LaurentisGrieving Beau; functioning at school and hockey but drinking and getting high, quits coaching, misses Allie’s opening, takes molly, and is confronted.
- Coach Doug EllisMiddle-school coach who questions Dean’s absence and warns about kids feeling abandoned.
- DakotaYoung player devastated by Dean’s disappearance; fears he dislikes her, cries, and is comforted by Allie.
- Beau MaxwellDean’s deceased friend; his death drives Dean’s spiral and is used as a misguided excuse for partying.
- MalloryAllie’s co-star who celebrates after the successful opening night.