You'd Be Home Now

Emory overhears her parents in their room discussing what happened. They end up talking about how they met in Japan, a story that Emory doesn’t know, and she thinks, “I wonder what else is in my parents’ backstory that they haven’t told us?” (244). Liza texts her and apologizes for the way their friendship ended and offers to help her through this disaster. Emory struggles to think through all the ways that everything has gone wrong so quickly. Joey has an outpatient visit the following day, and she researches how to fake a urine test.

The next morning, Emory outright lies to her mother about what happened at the dance, including denying that Joey was high. She also lies about the extent of her relationship with Gage, claiming that it was just a crush on her part. Her mother apologizes for them not always having a close relationship and praises her for being her “good girl” (247). At the outpatient clinic, Joey mourns the loss of his 131 days of sobriety. Emory asks him why he didn’t ask for help instead of using it, but he explains that she can’t fully understand his addiction. She gives him a bag of her urine and he tucks it away, but the clinic doesn’t test that day, and he discards it.

On the way home, Emory stops by the hospital to visit Gage, but Joey remains in the car. Gage isn’t happy to see her. Even in a drowsy, drugged state, he manages to be cruel, blaming her for his ruined arm and the loss of his baseball career. Emory cries and explains that she just wanted to be with him, and Gage coldly asks her to leave. When she gets back to the car, she and Joey get into an argument and don’t speak for the rest of the day.

At home, Emory avoids Maddie’s texts demanding that she explain her connection to Gage. Joey apologizes, and they agree to mend their relationship before returning to school, something that they both dread. When Emory arrives in science class, the word “[w]hore” (255) is scrawled on her desk. The other students snicker and stare as Emory tries to wipe away the letters. Emory’s phone buzzes with texts, which are warnings from Liza, but she ignores them. Too embarrassed to face another class, Emory hides in the bathroom. In literature class, someone leaves her a note that reads, “[l]et me know when you reopen the pool house for business” (256). Mary Mitford calls her a “slut” to her face. Daniel defends Emory to the bullies and suggests that they get Emory out of the school, but Liza says that it’s time for Emory to stand up for herself. There’s no shame in what she did, and she must silence the bullies and demand their respect for her decisions. Liza tells Emory that along with the gossip, the nude photos are circulating. Emory retreats to the bathroom sobbing as Liza supports her.

Emory hopes that she’ll be safe in Drama Club, but Lucy attacks with harsh words about Joey’s addiction and Emory’s unpopularity. Feeling empowered with anger, Emory responds with fury, blaming Lucy for ruining Joey’s sober streak with her caustic words. She keeps yelling despite Principal Patterson calling for her.

Principal Patterson addresses the fight at the dance, but she then produces Gage’s phone found on the baseball fields. She shows Emory the photos of her in the window and tells her that someone has circulated them in public. The photos weren’t taken on school property, but since Emory is a minor, the principal must report it to her parents. She suggests that Emory stay home from school for a few days until the matter dies down. Neil arrives to pick her up looking sad and exhausted, but he hugs her instead of getting angry. Amber sees Emory and asks her to tell Joey that she doesn’t care about his past. Joey didn’t show up for tutoring, and Emory fears that he is using.

On the drive home, Neil says that he isn’t angry with her and that he faults himself for not seeing the signs that she is struggling. He promises to be home more and spend more time with her. As they drive, they notice that the crowd of people living near the bridge has grown, and the area is covered in trash. Joey finally answers Emory’s frantic texts saying that he is home.

Roly Martin, a friend of Gage’s, attacked Joey as he was leaving the locker room and punched him in the face. Neil attends to Joey and says that Emory should go and speak with her mother in her room. Abigail has torn apart Emory’s room and found the velvet box full of Emory’s stolen treasures. Abigail says that she received the photos on her phone and can’t understand why Emory would have done any of this. Emory explains that, compared to Maddie and Joey, she feels like a forgotten child. She sought attention from Gage and stole the items to have something for herself that made her feel special. Emory launches into an excoriation of her mother’s attempt to fit her into a mold of the perfect child and her concessions to avoid bringing any more strife into their household. Claiming that she deserves their unconditional love, Emory states, “I shouldn’t have to wait for the scraps of whatever you have left after dealing with Maddie and Joey” (270). Abigail leaves without responding, and Emory’s father tries to console Emory, but she begs to be alone. She gets another disgusting text asking about the pool house and wishes that she could take a drug to numb her pain. Later, Joey comes to her room and sleeps beside her, and she dreams about being at the beach.

The next morning, Joey and his parents argue over his grades, and he storms out of the house. Liza skips school and comes to stay with Emory and helps her manage the photo leak crisis. Emory wonders why Liza wants to be her friend again, and Liza explains that since her parents left, she has a new perspective on the situation. Though she was angry at Emory’s parents at first, now she understands that living with her grandmother is a much healthier situation. Liza calls their operation “Slut Club” and explains that they will harness the power of social media to uncover who leaked the photos and destigmatize Emory’s actions. Liza explains that she is tired of girls being slut-shamed for being sexually active, yet no one says a thing about the guy’s involvement. Liza begins by using her access to the school directory to trace the numbers of the anonymous texts.

Abigail makes Liza and Emory lunch, pretending that nothing has happened. She tells Emory that her grades for the quarter are good, but Joey got all Cs and Ds. Sensing the tension, Liza excuses herself to go home. Emory argues with her mother, saying that they need to loosen up on Joey because all the rules and boundaries are suffocating him and the need to please with perfection may be detrimental to his healing. Abigail refutes Emory’s defense and says that she already threatened to send him away to military school if he doesn’t improve. Claiming that she is under immense pressure to settle the Mill dispute as well as deal with the Galts’ demands to pay for Gage’s medical bills, she doesn’t have the energy to pander to Joey. Abigail expresses her disappointment in Emory’s behavior and reminds her that “[w]e have to hold ourselves to a standard, Emory. These things can follow you for the rest of your” life (281). Emory assures her that she is no longer involved with Gage. She texts Joey not to worry about his grades.

Liza is the person behind the Mis_Educated page and she posts a lengthy anonymous note revealing her parents’ substance abuse and all the subsequent trauma that she endured. She wants to rewrite the narrative for females at school by empowering them to expose the men who have made them feel invisible. She invites them to meet her the following day in the bathroom near the science lab. The post has 3,000 likes and 324 comments in which people list specific names.

Emory receives a cryptic text from Joey apologizing for all the ways that he’s hurt her and saying that “[i]t’s just too hard” (286). She calls Hank’s, but Henry says that he sent Joey home early because he was ill. Emory panics and yells for her mother. They call the police and file a missing person’s report. While the police question her parents, Emory texts Joey’s friends, including Jeremy and Max. Jeremy tells Emory that Luther turned 18 and was released from juvenile detention. After questioning Hank and reviewing the security camera footage, they discover that Leonard entered the sandwich shop and gave Joey a bag of drugs. Joey disappears into the restroom, and when he returns, the footage captures behavior consistent with someone under the influence. The police will use Joey’s cell phone to track his movements but explain that when Joey turns 18 in a few days, they will call off the search. Emory asks to stop by Frost Bridge to make sure that Joey isn’t hiding there. Neil is shocked by the conditions of the makeshift camp and leaves all the money in his wallet for the people. He tells Abigail that they must do something to help the crisis.

Later, Emory speaks to Maddie and then Daniel who explains that girls at school are wearing scarlet letters on their clothing and posting names of male aggressors on their lockers in response to Liza’s efforts. He explains that Roly Martin was the person who leaked the photos from Gage’s phone. Too distracted by her worry over Joey, Emory can barely appreciate Liza’s support and decides not to wait on the police and search for Joey on her own.

Feeling helpless, Emory calls Shadow from Blue Spruce. She explains the circumstances, and Shadow shares that he has been concerned about Joey since he called him a while back and sounded like he was struggling. Shadow helps Emory understand the complexities of recovery and that it is never a straight line but instead a series of successes and often failures. He tells Emory that the best course of action is to not go looking for Joey but to post on social media and make flyers asking for help. Shadow implores Emory to go on with her life and balance it with the hope that Joey will return home. He also helps Emory understand that each person’s situation with addiction is different and there is no single set of rules to handle the recovery. Joey’s addiction may have begun as a child when doctors gave him behavior-modification drugs, or he may have a genetic predisposition to addiction. Though unsatisfied with Shadow’s lack of tangible help, Emory takes to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook asking for help locating Joey.