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Back She's Gone Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Video #1
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. Twenty-Five
  31. Twenty-Six
  32. Video #2
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Fifty-Seven
  64. Fifty-Eight
  65. Fifty-Nine
  66. Sixty
  67. Sixty-One
  68. Sixty-Two
  69. Sixty-Three
  70. Sixty-Four
  71. Sixty-Five
  72. Video #3
  73. Sixty-Six
  74. Sixty-Seven
  75. Sixty-Eight
  76. Sixty-Nine
  77. Seventy
  78. Seventy-One
  79. Seventy-Two
  80. Seventy-Three
  81. Seventy-Four
  82. Seventy-Five
  83. Seventy-Six
  84. Seventy-Seven
  85. Seventy-Eight
  86. Seventy-Nine
  87. Eighty
  88. Eighty-One
  89. Eighty-Two
  90. Eighty-Three
  91. The Final Video
  92. Acknowledgments
  93. About the Author
  95. Back Cover

It’s the middle of an entry. The page after the one torn out doesn’t follow from the page before. Which means it was probably taken out for a reason.

But was it taken out by Chloe?

There’s then a gap of about a week when nothing is written. The pages aren’t torn out—Chloe just wasn’t writing.

Then the entries resume, but they’re shorter. All of them.

I don’t think I enjoy writing anymore.

I’m tired of thinking about all of this.

And then she wrote:

I need to tell Hunter what’s happening. But not sure how he will respond.

Not sure at all.

Sixty

Respond to what?

The entries aren’t coming every day. Sometimes she skips a day or two or three.

But a feeling of doom has settled inside my gut like a rock. Heavy. Dense.

Uncomfortable.

And then:

I’m just not sure who I can tell. A counselor. Should I tell my mom and dad?

Would they even understand? Would anyone?

“Fuck,” I say out loud. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Haley told us about the broken condom. The pregnancy hotline.

“Fuck.”

It has to be true:

Chloe was pregnant.

Sixty-One

The rock in my gut feels like it’s growing. Like it’s going to push its way out of my throat.

I stand, hands on knees. Breathing.

The first wave of nausea passes. Slowly, but it passes.

Everything is shaking when I sit on the bed again and flip ahead like a madman. Some of the entries are totally mundane, as though her crisis was the furthest thing from her mind.

Went to lunch with Mom. Such a great time. It felt more like we were friends than mother and daughter.

This physics lab is wiping me out.

Found a dress today!

But then:

I can’t sleep thinking about it.

I feel sick.

I need to talk to someone.

The Tuesday before homecoming, Chloe wrote:

I’m going to tell Hunter after HoCo. I can’t wait. He has to know. And I don’t care what the consequences are—I can’t keep this from him. I know he’s going to be hurt. Confused. Maybe very angry. I hate this.

The next day:

I can’t believe Basher came over. And I can’t believe I wanted to talk to him.

Basher?

Did she really want to talk to Basher? Why?

When I turn the page, there’s nothing there.

The next two pages are ripped out.

And the rest of the journal is blank.

Sixty-Two

Basher?

There’s nothing else in the book.

An idea grows in my mind like a poisonous weed. Basher was always hanging around Chloe’s house. Basher never got over Chloe. Basher is tight with Scott.