We Were Liars

E. Lockhart

Chapter Summary

Chapter 1

Cadence Sinclair Eastman presents us to her family, the

Sinclairs, who are athletic, tall, and handsome. The Sinclair
Family looks perfect: no one is a criminal, an addict, or a
failure. It doesn’t matter if divorce shreds the muscles of their
hearts, if their fund is running out and if there’s a cluster of
pill bottles on their bedside table. They appeared perfect and
they spend their summertime on a private island off the coast of
Massachusetts.

Chapter 2

Cadence Sinclair Eastman lived with her mother and three

dogs at Burlington Vermont. She used to be blond, strong, and
pretty but now her hair is black and she looks weak and sick. She
suffers migraines since her accident. June of the summer when she
was fifteen, her father left them with another woman, announcing
that he could no longer bear to be part of the Sinclair family.
Cadence feels that she was shot in the chest causing her to bled
out and fell on the lawn. Her mother tells her to get a hold of
herself and be normal. They went indoors and trashed the gifts
her father had given to them, then they pack up and go to
Beechwood Island.
Chapter 3

Penny, Carrie, and Bess are the daughters of Tipper and

Harris Sinclair. Harris inherited houses and land, made
intelligent decisions about the stock market, married Tipper, and
kept her in the kitchen and the garden. Harris's only failure is
he doesn’t have a son but no matter, the Sinclair daughters were
sunburnt and blessed. They built three new houses on their craggy
private island and gave them each a name: Windemere for Penny,
Red Gate for Carrie, and Cuddledown for Bess. Cadence is the
eldest Sinclair grandchild. Heiress to the island, the fortune,
and the expectations.

Chapter 4

Cadence spends her summer on Beechwood with her three

closest friends: Johnny, Mirren, and Gat. They are all nearly the
same age and the rest of their family called them “the Liars”
since they’re always causing trouble and tend to lie. Cadence,
Johnny, and Mirren are cousins, and for their first seven years
at the island, they played together but not particularly close.
Gat arrived for their eighth summer along with his uncle Ed.
Carrie’s husband left her with two boys, Johnny and Will, and
soon she met Ed and brought him with her and the two boys to
spend their summer at the island. Gat’s father died and he and
Johnny are close friends, so Ed and Carrie thought he might enjoy
spending his summer on the island. Gat steps off the boat onto
the island, he and Cadence lock eyes for a moment. That summer
the four of them spend all their time together and the following
summer Gat came back to the island.
Chapter 5

On the fourteenth summer, Gat asked Cadence if he can take

the boat out, and she told him he doesn't need to ask permission.
He said he feels like he does, and that he has to get off the
island for a minute because sometimes he can’t bear being on the
island. Cady went with him and they jump out of the boat and go
for a swim joking about sharks. The water is cold so they got
back on the boat and huddled together under a fleece blanket. Gat
told Cady that she is pretty and it's distracting him. Not long
after that, Gat started lending his books to Cady and they spend
more time alone together, walking through the lawn or on the
beach in the evenings. One day Cady stared at Gat lying in a
hammock they wrote each other’s names on the backs of their
hands, and Cady felt as if Gat belongs to her.

Chapter 6

The next year Cady’s father left them, Cady and Penny are
busy removing him from their lives so they arrived at Beechwood a
week later than the rest of the Sinclair Family. Cady is
delighted to see Gat again. They haven’t seen each other since
the previous summer but Cady’s feelings for Gat didn’t change.
Cady went to Red Gate looking for Gat, she saw him standing at
the kitchen sink holding a dried rose, but as she watches he put
the rose on an envelope, seals it, addresses and stamps it- the
rose isn’t for her as she hoped, but for a different girl.
Heartbroken, she ran to the perimeter of the island before he
noticed her, then she tore all the roses off a bush and threw
them into the sea.
Chapter 7

Cady learned more about Gat's girlfriend, Raquel from Johnny

who has met her. She lived in New York just like Gat, a modern
dancer, and wore black clothes. Gat didn't mention Raquel to Cady
but he had trouble meeting her eyes. After a night of anger and
frustrations, Cady decided to act normal and pretend to know
nothing about Raquel. The Liars spend the summer doing their
usual activities: playing tennis, laying in the sun, having
bonfires, and making ice cream. One night, Cady noticed that
instead of their names on the back of Gat's hand, his hand had
the title of books he wanted to read: Being on the left and
Nothingness on the right. On her own hands, Cady wrote a
quotation she liked "Live in today".

While having a bonfire, Gat raised the question of how is it

possible to say that Cady's granddad owns the island or how can
anyone say that a piece of land belongs to them. Johnny wanted to
change the topic but Gat ignored him. Gat continues- he was in
India earlier that year and saw people living in a village
without toilets. Johnny responds that Gat told them about it like
forty-seven times. Cady thinks about Gat that he is interested in
the world and he has trouble imagining the possibility that other
people will be bored by what he's saying. She understands that
Gat wants to make them think. Johnny and Mirren told Gat to stop
talking, angered by this Gat walked into the sea in his jeans.
Cady knows that if she didn't follow him, she'll lose him
forever, so she runs to the water with her dress. Standing in the
waves, Cady tells Gat that she doesn’t want him to shut up, and
she likes what he has to say. And that when the others told him
to shut up, they meant that they love him because he reminded
them how shallow and selfish they are. Gat holds her hands and
asks if that is what she meant, too, and Cady says yes.

Chapter 8

That night Cady had trouble sleeping. Gat called her name
and she looked out the window and went out to see Gat when her
mother fell asleep. They lie together and looked at the stars in
the sky while holding hands. They talked about God, religion, and
wonders if they are good people and how should they lived their
lives. Gat gave his jacket to Cady to keep her warm. She wanted
to kiss him but she didn't, wondering if he loved Raquel.

Chapter 9

The next morning, during their breakfast Cady's mother asked

her to go through her Dad's things in the Windemere Attic and
told her to take what she wanted. Gat and Cady then went to the
attic, they were sorting her dad's book when Got told her to shut
up. He then got on his knees, reached out, and stroked her hair
saying that he loves her. Cady suddenly kissed Gat.

Chapter 10

Harris suddenly walked in causing Gat to step awkwardly on

the color-sorted books. Harris warns him to watch himself, and
that he might get hurt but of course, there's a deep meaning
behind Harris's warning. Without another word, Gat left the attic
leaving Harris and Cady alone.

Harris reminisces with Cady about bringing her to her first

baseball game when she's four years old. Harris loved retelling
key moments in Sinclair's Family history enlarging their
importance. But Cady wasn't paying attention this time since she
was preoccupied with the thoughts of Gat- whether he'll break up
Raquel, when she'll see him again and what would happen between
them. After Harris finishes his story Cady went outside and found
Gat on the perimeter path and kissed him immediately.

Chapter 11

Eight months before the fifteenth summer, Timmer dies of

heart failure. When Sinclair's arrived at the Beechwood, the
island felt empty. Tipper was a central figure in the lives of
her children and grandchildren, and Clairmont the main house on
the island is filled with her memories. Cady went to the craft
room at Clairmont to look around at the fabric and sewing
accessories Tipper used, and the memories made her melt into a
puddle on the floor.

Penny found her daughter in the craft room and immediately

told her to act normal. Penny was worried about her father so she
advises Cady to never remind people of their loss, and they all
must be strong for Harris. Cady and the rest of the family manage
to erase Tipper from their lives just as they have done with
anyone else who left their family - including Penny's, Carrie's,
and Bess's ex-husbands. They simply act as if these people don't
exist in the first place.

Gat never got it though, he constantly mentions these

people, recalling that they had existed and had been on the
island. He brought up memories of Cady's father and the quality
time they spent together. Cady's reaction to these memories was
to bleed "emotionally" and Gat kindly attends to her wounds. But
he continues to talk about Cady's father and about Tipper which
reminds Cady that he is not a part of the Sinclair Family.

Cady and Gat mostly spend the summer alone together, seeking
moments to sneak off. Gat writes notes and leaves small presents
under Cady's pillow. Instead of writing back, Cady drew Gat and
her together in crayons. They find every chance they can to touch
each other gently, enjoying their closeness.

Chapter 12

One night in late July, Cady went swimming alone, wearing

only camisole and underwear with no towel. She doesn't know how
he gets there or where Gat, Johnny, and Mirren are. Cady hit her
on the rocks off the shore and went under. Penny found her
daughter on the sand, curled into a ball, and was shivering
uncontrollably. The adults take care of her and eventually
brought her to a hospital on Martha's Vineyard, where she stayed
for several days as the doctors ran tests on her.

Penny brought Cady to Vermont to recuperate. Cady wrote

emails to the other Liars asking about Gat but hadn't received
any response. She wonders if she and Gat are really in love. She
stopped writing and deleted all the emails from her sent mail
folder and tries to forget about Gat, deciding it was only a
summer fling, and he abandoned her when she's in need.

Chapter 13

Six weeks after the incident, Cady started having migraines

that cause her to vomit and blackout all the time. The doctors
have done MRIs CT scans and determined she has a traumatic brain
injury. She was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Headaches also
known as PTHA. The doctors prescribed her painkillers and they've
told her to watch for signs of addiction, but also to be sure to
take her medicines.

Chapter 14

After a year in Colorado, Cady's father wanted to see her

and insisted on taking her to Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and
Scotland - a ten-week trip beginning in mid-June. Cady doesn't
want to go she wants to return to Beechwood but Penny insists
Cady on going with her father. Cady suffers from migraines,
vomits, and blackouts throughout the Europe trip. She misses so
much school that she has to repeat the 11th grade and drop out of
all of her sports, and she loses contact with many of her
friends. She missed the Liars so she leaves them voice messages
and emails which she alternates between sounding lonely and needy
and being falsely upbeat and positive. But none of them ever
reply.

Chapter 15

Back in Burlington, it's just Cady, Penny, and their dogs

are all alone in their house. They still act normal as if nothing
happens. Cady doesn't talk too much. People who know her at
school tend to keep away from her. She and her mother argue a
lot, now that she needs help doing everything. She lost her
independence after the accident. Cady knows that people see them
as mysterious, she's not immune to being viewed as a mystery, as
a Sinclair, as a privileged clan, and as a part of a magical,
important narrative, just because she's a part of this clan. Her
mother is not immune to it either. Still, they're magical people,
because they are Sinclairs.
Chapter 16

When she was eight years old, Cady's father gave her a stack
of fairy-tale books for Christmas, and although it came from
different cultures it seemed to have the same structure,
beginning with three characters- pigs, bears, brothers, soldiers,
billygoats, and princesses. When she returned from her trip to
Europe, she starts writing her own story.

Once upon a time begins Cady, there was a King with three
beautiful daughters. He couldn't decide which of them will
inherit his kingdom so he asked his daughters to describe their
love for him. The first two daughters gave an answer that
satisfied him, but the youngest told him that she loved him as
meat loves salt, so he banished her from the kingdom. The
youngest became a cook at an inn, and years later, the eldest
princess had her wedding meal there. The King didn't know that
his daughter was the chef, she cooked the roasted pig with no
salt. It was the favorite dish of the King, when he complained,
the cook reminded him of what his youngest daughter once said to
him and how he exiled her. The King realized that it was his
daughter and that she indeed loved him the most. 

The youngest has been reunited with her father. The two
older sisters were constantly fighting for their father's favor,
but the King give the kingdom to his youngest daughter, which
angered her older sisters. She then realized that the King was a
tyrant, and as a queen, she would be stuck with him for the rest
of her life and she will not abandon him no matter how sick he
becomes. It's difficult for her to tell the difference between
the reasons she stays with her father. 
Chapter 17

After returning from her Europe trip, Cady started a project

giving away her possessions one at a time. She mails an old
Barbie doll to Mirren and a striped scarf to Johnny. She gave her
pillow to a homeless girl, donated her copy of King Lear to the
library, and took a framed photo of Tipper to Goodwill. On the
other hand, her mother keeps accumulating expensive things. She
asked her mother why she needs so many things, Penny answered her
that it gave her a sense of place, personal history, and
pleasure. However, Cady disagrees and thinks that owning those
things made her mother more powerful and more than a Bryn Mawr
dropout. 

Chapter 18

Cady knows that selective amnesia is a consequence of

traumatic brain injury, but she doesn't want people to know that
she can't remember and don't want to be labeled with a
disability. Cady attempts to recall what happened from the summer
of the accident. Mirren's hand holding a container of gas for the
motorboats, Penny asking about black pearls, Johnny running down
the stairs from Clairmont to the boathouse, Harris holding on to
a tree while watching the bonfire, and the Liars cracking up
laughing. When Cady asked for more information from her mother,
Penny became frustrated and told her that she previously told her
everything but Cady can't recall it. Cady insisted on hearing it
one last time and she wrote down her answers so she could look
back at them when she wanted to.

Chapter 19
 Cady's father plans to take her to Australia and New Zealand
for the whole summer, but Cady refuses- she wants to return to
Beechwood, recall her accident and figure out why Gat
disappeared. Her mother insists her to go to Australia since the
trip is already paid for. The next day, Harris went to Burlington
to stay for a few days. It was his first visit since Tipper died.
Cady was surprised when she saw how thin and weak he seems now
compared to the invisible man she remembers from her childhood.
Harris reminisces about how Cady was the first grandchild,
talking about her in the third person as if she's not there. Cady
colored her hair and Harris told Cady that he didn't recognize
her. He gave her three peonies that he picked and Cady thinks her
granddad looks pitiful and powerful.

Chapter 20

Cady tells another story about a King who had three

beautiful daughters. One day, a three-headed dragon invades the
kingdom, burning villages with fiery breath. The King promised
that whoever slays the dragon will get a princess's hand in
marriage. Every man who tries was slaughtered and eaten. The King
thinks that a maiden might melt the dragon's heart, so he sent
each of his daughters, and the dragon eats them too. Cady asked
who killed the girls- the dragon or their father.

After Harris left the next day, Penny canceled the

Australian trip and decided to let Cady go to Beechwood and spend
her summer there for four weeks. Penny has long, private
conversations with her sisters, and Cady can't hear anything
except a few phrases. Penny told her sisters that Cady is so
fragile, and needs a lot of rest.
Chapter 21

Cady has few possessions now that make her room nearly
empty. She gave away the travel toothbrush that her mother
brought to her- it goes to the homeless girl who got her pillow.
She also gave away Gat's hunting jacket, the one that she wore
that night when they held hands and talk about God. Cady realized
that it should have been the first thing that she gave away, but
she didn't want to, because it was the only thing she had left of
him. However, she'll about to see him again, and she doesn't love
him, so she doesn't want his jacket anymore.

Chapter 22

The night before Cady and Penny leave for Beechwood, Cady's
cousin Taft called her. Taft is already on the island, his family
arrived that morning. Cady asked him if he went swimming and if
he's been on the tire swing. Taft asked if Cady was a drug addict
and Cady asked him if where he got that idea, and he answered
that his sister Bonnie told him- Bonnie says Taft should watch
out for Cady. Cady told him that she's not a drug addict, though
possibly she's lying. Taft says that Cuddledown is haunted and
asks Cady if he can sleep at Windmere. She told him that it is
not haunted, it was just the wind that blows through the house.
She suggested asking Mirren for help and that she will read him a
bedtime story. He says he will and hangs up without saying
goodbye.

Chapter 23

Carrie met Penny and Cady in the port town at Woods Hole.
They got on the boat to Beechwood. As they drive up to the
island, Cadence saw the Windmere and Cuddledown, thinking about
how she'll see Gat soon. As they arrive in Beechwood, Cadence saw
that Clairmont has been completely rebuilt. Instead of the
Victorian six-bedroom with the wraparound porch and the farmhouse
kitchen, she saw a sleek modern building perched on a rocky hill
with a Japanese garden on one side. Cady knew that Harris was
renovating the house, but she didn't realize that he'd torn the
house down. He also cut down the huge old maple with the tire
swing beneath it, where Cady used to play with the Liars. Cady's
neck starts to spasm and she felt that she's drowning. Penny told
her to act normal and not cause a scene for the rest of the
family. Cady looked toward the shore and saw her friends, the
Liars, waiting for her, welcoming her home.

Chapter 24

The Liars didn't come to the dock when they pull in. Only
the little ones came to welcome them- Will, Taft, Liberty, and
Bonnie. Cady asked Taft if he feels better since he was scared
when they talked on the phone. Harry hugged Cady and called her
Mirren, Carrie told them that he's been calling everybody Mirren.
Bonnie told Cady that she looks like a dead vampire with her new
back hair. Liberty tells Bonnie to be nice to Cady like their
mother told them to and to stop talking about creepy dead stuff.
Cady told them that it's okay since she doesn't care what people
think anymore.

Chapter 25

Everyone heads to New Clairmont, leaving Cady and Penny

alone a Windmere to unpack. Cady ditch her bag and looked for the
Liars. They pounced on her, hugged her, and they all went to
Cuddledown. Cady is happy to see Gat again but feels upset at the
same time because while she was spending the past two years in
pain, Gat has been in New York City, dating beautiful girls. Gat
told her that she's gotten tall, they're about the same height
now. Johnny asked where she plans to go to college and she tells
them that she didn't graduate. Mirren tells Cady about her
boyfriend, Drake Loggerhead, who's going to Pomona with her. The
Liars told Cady that they're not going to eat dinner at New
Clairmont, or breakfast either because Harris has lost his mind.

Chapter 26

Mirren and Johnny went snorkeling, while Gat sits with Cady
on a batik blanket. Cady doesn't know how to talk to him, all she
knows is that she loves him even though he's a jerk. He tells her
not to look at his troll feet. Gat tells her that he might never
see her again, she wonders why he never wrote her back, but
doesn't ask. Gat asks to hold hands, she hesitates for a while,
but then agrees and they lie on the beach holding hands.

Chapter 27

Cady stays in her room trying to remember what happened the

last time she visited Beechwood. She looks at the patchwork
quilt, the artworks she made, and the books she used to read, she
starts pulling them off and stacks them into the laundry basket.
Her mother saw her and asked why she's giving away the books,
telling her that she loves books and they have so many good
memories attach to them. Cady tells her that when her father
left, Penny got rid of all of her dad's stuff, so why shouldn't
she give away her own. At that moment, Poppy, Bosh, and Grendel-
their three dogs- interrupt them. Penny told to her that it's all
right for her to give away her books but she is expected to eat
dinner at Clairmont with a smile on her face for her grandfather.

Chapter 28

Cady found a pen and wrote down all her memories from the
fifteenth summer, she then made a separate list of what she
remembers about the accident. She tacks the pages to the wall
above her bed, along with another list of questions that she
hopes to answer. There's a witch behind Cady, and suddenly she
swings an ivory statue of goose to Cady's forehead, smashing her
skull. The witch keeps attacking her and Cady takes her pills and
turns off the light. Penny called Cady from the hallway reminding
her about the dinner, but Cady refused. Penny told Cady the
reasons why she should go to dinner, but Cady can only feel the
break in her skull and the pain ringing through her brain.
Finally, Penny left without her.

Chapter 29

Deep in the night, Windmere raffles, just like Taft was

scared of over at Cuddledown. Cady can't fall asleep, so she went
outside. Cady saw Carrie on the walkway, walking to Red Gate,
only wearing her nightgown and shearling books. Carrie told her
that she can't sleep without Ed and asked if she saw Johnny
recently. Carrie said that Will has bad nightmares and wakes up
screaming and then she can't go back to sleep.
Chapter 30

The next morning, Penny and Harris are in the New Clairmont
kitchen. Cadence asked where Prince Philip and Fatima - Harris's
golden retriever - have gone, Harris told her that they passed a
while back. She asked if the dogs suffered and Harris answered
her not for long. Harris told Cadence that he doesn't like her
new hair color. He asked Penny that she should make Mirren change
her hair back how it was, confusing Cadence for her cousin.

Chapter 31

Cady gets her laundry basket from Windmere and headed to

Cuddledown. She met Mirrenon on the porch, skipping around. Cady
asked Mirren if why she didn't respond to any of her emails.
Mirren responded that she hates emails, and then attempts to
change the subject. Cady asked her if she received the Barbie
doll she mailed to her, and Mirren said no. Mirren asked Cady
about her migraines and their aunts have been talking about it.
Cady told her not to feel sorry for her. Mirren told her that
she, Johnny, and Gat slept at Cuddledown and that she wanted Cady
to move out of Windmere and live with them, but Cady told her
that her mother doesn't allow her.

Mirren offered Cady a handful of tiny purple rocks she

collected, reminding Cady how she used to search for purple rocks
when they were little. Mirren shouted to the world that she loves
Cady. Johnny came down the steps with bare feet wearing old
pajamas and told Mirren to stop yelling. He then bends and looks
in the laundry basket at Cady's feet asking what's inside the
basket. Cady told him that she's giving away her things and
reminds him that she sent him a stripy scarf. She told them about
giving the things to people who can use them, she talked about
charity and questioned her mother's materialism. Johnny told her
that he wants to own stuff like a car, video games, watches, real
art for his walls, and woolly clothes. Mirren kneeled by the
basket and picked up the crayon drawing of Tipper with Fatima and
Prince Philip.

Chapter 32

Gat runs at Cady as she walks toward the walkway to New

Clairmont. They went to the perimeter and walk the way they did
as children. Gat pulls Cady to him and hugs her, telling her that
he didn't get to hug her. He then asks if she remembers the last
time they walked down there, which she doesn't. She is frustrated
about her faulty memory. Cady told her that it must have slipped
her mind. Gat asked her if she's angry and she said yes. He told
her that he handles everything badly and he asked if they can
start over again and that his actions are "suboptimal". Cady is
bothered by his use of words and told him that the words he
should use are thoughtless, confusing, and manipulative. Cady
agreed that they will start over after lunch and stare at each
other for a moment.

Chapter 33

Cady had her lunch at New Clairmont and Harris gave her a
tour of the house. She thinks that the house feels sharp and
empty. The family photographs, paintings of dogs, bookshelves,
and Harris collection of New Yorker cartoons are missing. While
Cady mentioned all the missing items, Harris informed her that
their old life is long gone and that he has started over. Harris
questioned where Gat is and Cady told him that he's in Cuddledown
with Mirren and Johnny. Harris looks faint and he clutches the
desk for a moment, he says that he had a book he promised to give
to Gat. Cady reminded him that most of his books are not in the
house anymore, and he yells at her to prevent telling him what is
no longer inside the house. Carrie came in to assist, and Cady
asked her if she found Johnny last night, and if she got back to
sleep. Carrie says that she doesn't know what she's talking
about.

Chapter 34

Taft and Will want Cady to take them tubing, but Penny
doesn't allow her to drive the boat on meds. After the meal Cady,
Taft, and Will went to the living room while the rest of the
family cleans up. Cady asks the boys what they did last summer,
they talk about tennis and swimming, then Cady asks if Will and
Taft went boating with Gat and Johnny, and they said no. When
Cady continues to ask questions Will told her that they are not
supposed to talk about how Cady ended up in the water because it
will make her headaches worse. Taft told Cady that Bonnie saw
pills in her bedroom, even though she said that she's not a drug
addict. Will told her that they don't want to talk to her
anymore, then the boys run down the path to Red Gate.

Chapter 35

Cady went to Cuddledown and help the Liars rearrange the

furniture. She asks if Bess will be mad that they are
redecorating. Mirren says that Bess won't set foot in Cuddledown
for the rest of the summer- she's been trying to get out of it
for years. Cady asks why and Johnny stares at her and asks if she
doesn't remember. Mirren yells at Johnny. Johnny then asks Gat if
he knows that Cady can't remember most of the summer fifteen.
Cady asks them if her mother explained to all of them about her
accident and memory loss, and that Cady should be supposed to
take it easy and remember things on her own. Gat smiles and pats
Cady's shoulder indicating that they have started over.

Chapter 36

The Liars play tennis, Cady and Johnny win. As they walk
back to Cuddledown, Gat asks Cady how Europe was. She answered
that she doesn't remember much about it. Cady informed them that
she spent most of her time vomiting in a blue Italian toilet.
Mirren asks how Cady can ask for them not to feel sorry for her
if she talks about vomiting in the toilet. Gat and Johnny told
Cady that they are jealous because they have never been to Rome.
Cady tells Gat that she wishes he could have been there.

Chapter 37

Penny informs Cady that she heard balls and asks her if she
were on the tennis court. She is pleased that Cady is taking up
tennis again and offers to play with her anytime, but Cady isn't
interested in it. Cady remembers something about two weeks before
her accident. Earl July everyone was sitting at the long table on
the Clairmont lawn. Harris started to talk about renovating the
Boston house, and his daughters began to argue about it. They all
wanted the house- they all grew up in it and it cost four-million
dollars. Harris asks Bess if she wants the house as it is and if
she wants to see it remodeled. Bess responded that she'd love to
help with whatever Harris wants to change. Penny who is drunk
accuses Harris of cutting the other sisters out, Harris accuses
them all of acting crazy. Two years after, Cady looks at her
aunts and mother as they sit together happily, wondering what had
changed.

Chapter 38

The Liars are playing Scrabble in the Cuddledown great room

and talk about Taft, having a motto like Harris. Taft's motto is
"Drugs are not your friend" likely from his drug education at
school. Cady informs the Liars that Bonnie and Liberty snooped in
her room and told Taft about her pills. They discuss what their
mottos would be. Cady says that her motto is "Always do what you
afraid to do" but Mirren disagrees with it telling her that
someone could die or get hurt.

Chapter 39

Cady followed Gat upstairs, chased him down the long hall,
grabbed his hand, and kissed him. Gat kissed her back but then he
stopped and says he shouldn't do it. When she asked why, he told
Cady that he is a mess, and claims that she doesn’t know him at
all. He is a different person in Beechwood where everyone’s white
except him, Ginny, and Paulo. Cady questions who Ginny and Paulo
are, and Gat points out that this is precisely the problem—Ginny
and Paulo work on the island but are invisible to Cady. Gat
continues, indicating to Cady that for Harris, Gat is like
Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights: he is the gypsy boy in the
novel who is taken in and raised by the pristine Earnshaw family.
Heathcliff fell in love with Catherine, and although she loves
him as well, she and the rest of her family can’t help but
considers him inferior to them because of his background.
Regardless of his efforts to change himself into a gentleman, he
is always a monster in their eyes; in the end, he becomes what
they expect of him. Cady responds that she heard that the novel
is a romance, but then understands that Gat’s point is that
Harris views him as a brute. What's terrifying, Gat says, is that
Harris is right: He'll always be a monster.

Chapter 40

Cady starts another fairy tale: There was a king who had
three beautiful daughters. The girls grew up as lovely as the day
was long. They made grand marriages, when the first granddaughter
was born, she was so tiny that her mother kept her in her pocket,
and the rest of the family promptly forgot about her. One day,
when the tiny princess was older, she wandered into the palace
library and met a mouse who loved reading as much as she did. The
princess falls in love with the mouse, but when the princess
introduces the mouse to her family, they're afraid of him, they
could not accept him because he was an animal trying to pass
himself off as a person. The tiny princess left the palace with
the mouse and they traveled all over the world and lived happily
ever after.

Chapter 41
 Cady has less than four weeks to find out the truth. Harris
calls her Mirren. The twins are stealing sleeping pills and
diamond earrings. Penny argued with her aunts over the Boston
house. Bess hates Cuddledown. Carrie roams the island at night.
Will has nightmares and Gat is Heathcliff. Cady's headaches are
so bad that she imagines a giant cutting into her head with a
rusty saw. She stays in bed for two days, occasionally waking up
to write more questions on the papers she hung on the wall. When
Cady finally feels better, Harris takes her to Edgartown, a small
village on Martha’s Vineyard, where they see Harris’s lawyer
Thatcher, who greets Cady warmly and tells her that he has heard
a lot about her. Harris says that Cady has a good head on her
shoulders, which bothers Cady. It also bothers her that she
currently does not have a good head on her shoulders. When they
leave, Harris tells Cadence that Thatcher has taken good care of
her. He tells her not to tell her mom, because Penny will cause
trouble.

Chapter 42

On their way home, Cady remembers a memory from summer

fifteen. She was having breakfast with Harris at Clairmont- she
asks about a goose statue and Harris tells her about how he and
Tipper went to China and brought back many beautiful things,
including an ivory statue in Cuddledown. Cady says she thought
ivory was illegal and Harris brushes it off and notes that it is
still available for sale for the right price. She remembers that
one of his mottos has always been "don't take no for an answer".
Cady told him that Gat had been reading about why you shouldn't
buy ivory, and Harris got mad and said he didn't care what Gat
was reading. Cady suggested putting the statues up for auction
and then donate the money to wildlife conservation, but Harris
told her not to tell him what to do with his money.

Chapter 43

Cady found the Liars in the Cuddledown yard. The grass is

littered with tennis racquets and drink bottles, food wrappers,
and beach towels. The three of them lie on cotton blankets,
wearing sunglasses and eating a potato chip. Baby oil spread on
their bodies because Johnny doesn't believe in sunblock anymore.
Later, Cady and Gat have another conversation about starting
over, but Cady notes that they cannot start over every day. Gat
asks her just to be normal and act like friends for a few days
until things feel right again. Cady doesn’t want to act normal—
she wants to find out what happened to her. But she has been
raised to pretend that things are okay when they are not. She
agrees and hands him the fudge she bought with Harris.

Chapter 44

The next day Mirren and Cady take the small motorboat to
Edgartown without permission. Mirren talks about her love life
with Drake Loggerhead. Cady is jealous that Mirren's going off to
college in California. Another memory came, Cady recalls the
time they all went to Edgartown two years earlier, and how Gat
bought her a book she wanted to read and inscribed it for her.
Cady tells Mirren about her memory, and how she remembers her
aunts fighting over the estate and Harris arguing with her about
the ivory statues. She then asks Mirren why Gat disappeared after
the accident, whether he went back to Raquel, and whether they
fought, but Mirren just insists that she doesn’t know. After
going back to Cuddledown, Penny got mad at Cady for taking the
boat out without permission and adult supervision. Cady
apologizes and goes back to her bedroom to write down everything
she remembers.