The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die

When Cady exits the bathroom, she hears James and Ty having a conversation about her. James asks Ty why he finally brings a girl home but then sleeps on the couch. Ty explains that she needs help and has amnesia. When James says he should’ve taken her to a hospital, Ty explains about the men looking for her, how he doesn’t trust them, and how they mentioned that she was from a mental hospital. James can’t believe he would bring someone dangerous and from a mental hospital home, but Ty again explains that he doesn’t believe she’s as dangerous as the men say she is. As Cady listens, she learns that Ty is taking online EMT classes. Cady finally interrupts them and apologizes for being a nuisance. She insists on leaving, but Ty, and then James, urge her to just get some sleep. They’ll figure things out in the morning. She goes to Ty’s room and before she realizes it, falls fast asleep.

Cady awakens from a dream where a little boy is asking her to dance in imitation of various animals he calls out. When she first wakes up, she doesn’t remember where she is, then finally recalls the day before. She also sees that someone has washed her clothes, which embarrasses her. She dresses and heads to the kitchen, where both James and Ty are eating cereal. She informs them that she was able to sleep, and then Ty says they need to check her nails to make sure they’re not infected. He takes her to the bathroom and cuts nail shapes out of foil, while James explains that Ty wants to be an EMT. Ty then goes over the process of her nails growing back and doctors her up. The three wonder who could have possibly done this to her and what information could have been so important that it warranted torture. James suggests that they think about going to the police, and Cady wonders if it’s a good idea now that things don’t seem as dire in daylight as they did the night before. James goes off to make eggs, and while the three eat, Ty and James listen to Cady’s story again while asking questions. James says it sounds like the man who called Officer Dillow used something called a spoof card, which means he can call a number, give an address and random number, and the call will look like it’s coming from the place he gave. Ty takes her phone and begins writing down numbers that were recently called on it. Then James retrieves his laptop to research who Brenner is. When he sees the newsfeed, all three are shocked. A news article explains that Officer Dillow has been found shot to death.

James clicks on the article and the three read the story. The news brief says that Officer Dillow was shot in the chest and that his death is being considered a homicide. It also explains how his death might possibly be linked to a runaway teenage girl who is described as having blond hair. Both Ty and James turn to Cady and look at her questioningly. She insists that she didn’t kill Officer Dillow, that she left him tied up. The three ruminate on how he could’ve been killed. James mentions that she doesn’t have her memory, so maybe she did kill him, but Cady reminds them that she remembers everything after the cabin: “The few facts I know shift and fall into a different perspective, like twisting a kaleidoscope” (82). She deduces that they either killed him for asking too many questions or to frame her. Now, if she goes to the police for help, they’ll think she’s a crazy murderer. Moreover, her fingerprints are all over Dillow’s car, and she took his gun. The three then try and figure out how the men keep realizing where she is, only to deduce that Brenner’s phone must have a tracking device in it. They take out the battery, and when James goes to the window, he sees men canvassing the parking lot. James says there are two men in suits, and it seems like they’re going door to door. They hear the men at their neighbor’s door. Cady asks if there’s a back door, but she realizes that there’s nowhere for her to hide.

Cady runs to the back of the apartment, but there’s nowhere to hide. The men then knock on the door. James calls out that he’s coming, while Ty and Cady hide in a bedroom closet. Although Cady can’t hear what James is saying to the men, she can hear his voice rising and falling and wonders if he’s doing it on purpose to sound more dramatic. She reaches for the gun, but Ty holds her hand and tells her not to. They’re pressed together close, and she can feel his breath on her. After a while, she realizes she’s crying. She almost faints, and Ty holds her. Footsteps then come toward the room.

James explains that the men flashed a badge and asked about Cady’s whereabouts. He told them there were two roommates asleep, and when the men asked if he’d wake them, he refused. They wanted to look around, but James said he felt he was being persecuted for being gay and that he would call the ACLU. The men then backed off and left. Cady wants to try and cut the bathroom window screen and flee through the back, but James says the men have probably thought of this already. Instead, he suggests that they disguise Cady. The men are looking for a blond female. He suggests that they dye her hair and change her clothes. After they do, Cady looks like a 13-year-old boy with black hair instead of a 16-year-old girl with blond hair. James has chopped her hair off, and Ty gives her one of his old shirts to wear. They decide her name will be “Nate” if anyone asks. James returns and informs them that the men are checking license plates in the parking lot. If they get to Ty’s car and realize he works at the mall, they’ll connect him to Cady and return. Ty gives her a skateboard, telling her that it’s just like snowboarding, and that it’s their only means of escape. They will leave together and pretend as if they’re going to school.