Layla

Leeds and Layla write out their plan for her death by drowning, and Leeds goes over it to commit it to memory. He will need to hold her underwater, check her pulse, wake up Aspen, and call 911 in a matter of five minutes. He is nervous that something will go wrong and he’ll lose Layla forever.

They go out to the pool, where they had their first kiss, and kiss again. Then Sable slips into Layla’s body, and her body stiffens as she gets scared and prepares to scream. Leeds finds it easier to push her underwater when Sable is inside of her, so he begins to carry out the plan. When she is no longer moving, he calls for Aspen, who is a nurse, to come help. She and Chad rush out, and she administers CPR while Chad calls an ambulance. He has carried out the plan exactly as Layla told him to, but he cries while she is unresponsive. The chapter ends as the ambulance arrives to take Layla to the hospital.

Leeds and Chad are in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for Aspen to join them. They have been there for less than an hour, and Leeds is anxiously pacing the room. When Aspen arrives, she is suspicious of Leeds having something to do with Layla’s drowning, especially since Sable had told them that Leeds had been tying her up and drugging her. Aspen asks Leeds why Layla was in the pool in the first place. She notices scratch marks on Leeds’s arms that indicate Layla might have scratched him to break free. He insists he had nothing to do with her drowning, that Layla probably had a seizure underwater, but she doesn’t believe him.

Just then, a doctor comes out and tells Leeds he can see Layla. Leeds goes to her room, and Aspen pushes past him to enter as well. Layla looks straight at Leeds and asks him, “Do you know what you look like right now?” and when he shakes his head she answers, “You look like you’re dying inside” (287). This is a signal to Leeds that their plan worked: Layla remembers their conversation when they first met, so her spirit has been restored to her body.

Leeds explains that when they left the hospital they went straight to Montana; they wanted to start fresh together. They bought a new house and had to buy all new things because they left their old lives behind. Leeds knows it will take time to win back Aspen’s trust, but he is confident that he can do it. At the end, they are listening to music and one of his songs comes on. Layla starts dancing, and Leeds gratefully reflects that she is still the terrible dancer that she was when they first met.