60 pages • 2 hours read
J. T. GeissingerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, graphic violence, sexual content, substance use, mental illness, death by suicide, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and pregnancy loss.
Kayla and Aidan fall asleep without talking, and Kayla thinks about Michael. She remembers his death, in which he fell from their boat and drowned. Kayla watched and heard a mysterious laughter as Michael drowned, though she did not report the laughter to the police. Kayla regrets lying to Aidan by implying that Michael is still alive, but part of her wishes Michael was still alive.
In the morning, Aidan caresses Kayla, demanding that she address him as “master” or “sir.” Kayla is aroused, and Aidan performs oral sex on Kayla. Again, Aidan denies Kayla’s orgasm, moving her to perform oral sex on him. Aidan says Kayla is perfect and that he feels renewed by their relationship. After their orgasms, they continue to have sex.
Lying in bed later, Aidan asks Kayla if she is likely to get back together with her husband, which makes Kayla feel bad about lying to Aidan. She says there is no chance of Michael coming back, and Aidan presses Kayla on why she still wears her wedding ring. Though Kayla dismisses it as a habit, Aidan says that he can tell Kayla is not invested in her relationship with Aidan. He tries to end the relationship, making Kayla angry. She says he cannot dictate their relationship from the beginning, and she expresses frustration at Aidan’s periodic insistence on a dom/sub dynamic, in which Kayla must follow Aidan’s orders. Regarding sex, Kayla likes to be submissive, but she says they need to contribute equally to discussions about their relationship. They tentatively agree that they are in a relationship.
Kayla says she needs to go home and work, and Aidan says he works on building a house on Sundays. Kayla is amazed that Aidan is building a house from scratch, and she wants to see it. Aidan is surprised that Kayla wants to see the house, and Kayla jokes that Aidan must have tokens from other women there. Aidan says he has never wanted to be with someone before. Aidan says he wants to know what the parameters of their relationship are, and Kayla says she wants to spend time with him and get to know him better. Kayla can see something is bothering Aidan, but he refuses to talk about it, which Kayla predicts will be a theme of their relationship. They kiss, and Aidan jokes about punishing Kayla if she talks back to him. When Kayla leaves, she finds a 1937 D-type buffalo nickel in her car, just like the one she found on her property.
Kayla panics at the sight of the coin, which she knows she left at home. She wonders if she simply forgot that she took the coin with her. She checks the security app but realizes she would need to watch through 12 hours of footage. Additionally, if someone had broken in, stolen the coin, and brought it here, it would have triggered the alarm. Kayla goes home and sweeps her house, resolving to have some wine. Checking the app anyway, she sees a young blonde boy playing in her backyard, and she gradually realizes that no one would trek through the woods to play in her yard. Going outside, Kayla finds the yard empty and calls out for the boy. Checking the app again, she only finds static in the recording of the previous 30 minutes.
In the morning the next day, the alarm wakes Kayla, and she finds Fiona disabling the alarm downstairs. Kayla asks how Fiona knows the code, but Fiona says Kayla gave it to her. Kayla wonders why her memory issues seem to be getting worse. Fiona broaches the topic of Kayla’s disorientation since Michael’s death, asking if something other than grief is bothering Kayla. Kayla acts confused, but Fiona says she thinks the house is haunted, citing possible issues like furniture moving, electrical issues, and objects appearing in random places. Kayla hesitantly confirms that such things have been happening, but she asserts that she does not believe in ghosts. Fiona dismisses Kayla’s beliefs, saying that Scotland is full of ghosts. Kayla thinks about the boy in the backyard who evaded the recording system. Kayla repeats her disbelief in ghosts, and the lights flicker seemingly in response to her.
Fiona tells Kayla how she needs to deal with the ghost, which she assumes is incredibly angry. She says Kayla should not tell the ghost, or ghosts, that they are dead since spirits are usually left behind when someone dies a violent or tragic death and typically do not realize they died. Kayla makes fun of Fiona for taking the discussion of spirits seriously, and Fiona is offended. Kayla apologizes but insists she does not believe in ghosts. Fiona says her sister is a medium, and she can help Kayla communicate with the ghost. However, it will ultimately be the ghost’s decision to leave or not. Kayla starts to believe Fiona more when she adds that ghosts can cause headaches and memory loss. Kayla describes the little boy and the man she saw on the property, and Fiona is surprised that the boy’s ghost was playing. The man behind the tree sounds more like the kind of ghost Fiona would expect based on the moving furniture and flickering lights. Fiona emphasizes that Kayla should not try to communicate with the ghosts on her own, nor should she tell them they are dead. If the ghost realizes it is dead against its will, it will be damned for eternity. After the conversation, Kayla decides to mail her letter to Dante, and she realizes that the ghost might be Michael.
In his response, Dante writes about his cat, OJ, which he had when he was eight years old. After OJ died, Dante realized how much he loved his cat. He notes that hindsight is interesting, and he says people need to investigate their past to find meaning. Addressing why he is in prison, he says he “loved someone too much” (191), adding that he would do anything for the person he loves, including dying by suicide.
Nothing of note happens for a week, and Kayla thinks about Dante’s letter. She feels like the Eurydice is watching her. Aidan texts her to tell her she won and to call him. She replies that he could have called her at any time, and he calls. He says he was giving her space, and Kayla says she did not want or ask for distance, adding that she missed him. He tells her to come over in 10 minutes or else he will punish her. She drives straight to Aidan’s apartment, and they have sex. Aidan commands Kayla, and she calls him “master.” However, when he tells her she should run, she runs through the apartment, forcing Aidan to chase her. When he catches her, they continue to have sex, and Aidan delays Kayla’s orgasm. Eventually, they both orgasm and fall into bed.
After sex, Aidan caresses Kayla, telling her how free he feels with her. He asks what he can do for her, now or in the future, to make her feel good. She says she wants him to stop walking away when they are talking, and she does not want him to hide things from her. He comments on her wedding ring again, but he says she does not need to explain herself to him. Aidan draws Kayla a bath and brings her snacks. She feels like they are magnets that do not want to be drawn together. Kayla thinks about how little she knows about Aidan, and just as she thinks to ask his age, he asks how old she is. Kayla is 30, and Aidan is 35. Kayla thinks she should tell Aidan about Michael, and Aidan can tell Kayla feels conflicted. He asks if Kayla’s husband is hurting her, and she says no. Aidan says he would kill her husband if he was hurting her, and he admits that he killed his father. He adds that he could get away with murder if he had to do it again. Kayla appreciates his offer. Aidan performs oral sex on Kayla, asking her to break up with him before he falls in love with her. They have sex, and Kayla understands Aidan’s feeling of freedom when they are together.
Aidan makes them breakfast before they go to the house he is building by Hidden Cove. Aidan lends Kayla a jacket and helmet that are both too big for her, and they ride his motorcycle. At the house, Kayla sees that only the frame of the house is assembled, and Aidan says putting in plumbing and electricity will cost him a lot of money. Kayla says she will want to pay him for working on her house, and Aidan chuckles. Aidan says he wants to install a wraparound porch and a dock, so he can get a small boat, which reminds Kayla of the Eurydice. They hear children laughing, and Aidan asks if Kayla wants children. She says she does, and she explains that she lost a pregnancy when she and Michael tried to have children. In her memory, she lies on the floor of her office, bleeding and yelling, but she realizes it is not her voice yelling. The memory fades, leaving Kayla feeling like part of the memory is missing.
They kiss, and Kayla runs off, tempting Aidan to chase her. He chases her through the woods around the property, finally catching her to have sex in the woods.
In these chapters, Geissenger centers the importance of Kayla’s wedding ring, a symbol in the text, through its impact on Kayla and Aidan’s relationship. Aidan expresses discomfort and anger that Kayla is unwilling or unable to remove her wedding ring. This issue further develops and thematically connects The Transcendence of Love Beyond the Physical Realm and The Impact of Unresolved Grief and Guilt. Notably, Kayla refuses to reveal to Aidan that Michael is dead. Kayla wonders, “Was I a good wife? I don’t know. I tried to be. More than anything, I wanted to make him happy” (147). Kayla’s internal debate about her marriage frames her inability to remove the ring as an issue of obligation. She feels she may not have been a good wife, so she wears the rings to affirm her dedication to her deceased husband. However, she immediately follows this thought by noting, “But our relationship was nothing like this” (147). This prompts more guilt as Kayla confronts the fact that she is happier with Aidan than she was with Michael.
Additionally, the author continues to develop The Contrast Between Sexual and Romantic Equity. Aidan’s feelings match Kayla’s, as he says, “Whenever we’re together, I feel like a new man. A better man. Like everything bad that’s ever happened to me doesn’t matter anymore because your sweet smile takes it all away” (151). Kayla feels the same way, bringing the comparison between Michael and Aidan back to the forefront. Kayla notes how her and Aidan’s sex life is “cathartic,” saying, “[I]t’s as if I’ve been baptized and reborn into a lighter version of my own body” (205). This mirrors Aidan’s thoughts. However, Kayla adds that “there’s an underlying sense of care and safety that makes me feel adored like I’ve never been before” (205). This sentiment carries two important implications; first, Kayla feels safe and loved with Aidan despite their violent sexual encounters, and second, Kayla did not feel safe and loved with Michael. Such implications, which occur throughout the novel, continue to foreshadow that Michael was not as loving and exceptional as Kayla often tries to make him sound. While Geissinger does not yet reveal the true nature of Michael’s violent tendencies, this continued foreshadowing adds to the narrative tension.
The supernatural events of the novel begin to come to light, as Fiona explains the possibility of a haunting to Kayla. Fiona’s description of how ghosts need to be helped into the afterlife mirrors the story of Eurydice. Fiona explains, “They must be gently coaxed into understanding and accept it through their own free will, or they might retreat further into their fantasy world, dooming themselves to be locked in the darkness for eternity” (188). Just as Orpheus needed to lead Eurydice out of Hades without looking back, Fiona suggests that Kayla needs to guide the spirits into realizing their death on their own without explicitly pulling them from their fantasy. However, Fiona’s insistence on gently coaxing spirits into understanding their deaths opens a new possibility of foreshadowing: Kayla may be the ghost that Fiona is trying to help. Fiona ties the nature of a haunting to tragic or violent deaths, and this chapter section ends with Kayla remembering losing her pregnancy, including “a stranger’s voice, full of rage, bearing down on me like a hurricane” (219). Such a memory implies that Michael may have been the cause of the pregnancy loss, and Kayla or Michael might have died a violent death and caused the haunting.