Chapter 7

Summary

• The chapter opens with the narrator, Leah, driving home with a sense of urgency but is uncertain that her presence would make a difference.
• She comes home to find that her roommate, Emmy, is not there but her belongings still are. This leads Leah to believe that something has potentially happened to Emmy, even though it could just simply be an instance of Emmy disappearing spontaneously as she has in the past.
• Emmy has a consistent pattern of stealing small items, calling them "tokens" from the places she visited without actually purchasing them. This historic pattern unsettles Leah even further.
• Leah reminisces about the day she ran into Emmy again after eight years of no contact. Emmy has changed in that time, especially physically, but her unpredictability remains unchanged.
• Leah recalls that evening in a bar when Emmy discussed her failed relationship with her fiancé, her intentions to leave town again, and her desire for a less chaotic life.
• Emmy's discourses and her suggestion about leaving the city resonate with Leah, who feels the need to escape a personal crisis and start anew.
• Next morning, despite the intoxication from the night before and the spontaneous nature of their decision, both women affirm their plans to move to western Pennsylvania.
• Back in the present time, Leah finds Emmy's abandoned toothbrush and a pendant ripped from a necklace in the backyard. Leah experiences a growing sense of fear and unease.
• A police officer arrives at their house. Leah is so overcome with fear and worry about Emmy's whereabouts that she insists on speaking with Detective Donovan, setting the stage for future investigations.