A Thousand Broken Pieces

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness, mental illness, death, death by suicide, and anti-gay bias.

Savannah collapses in tears at Cael’s story, and they curl up together in the studio. Cael says that he is tired, and Savannah leads him out of the studio. Leo stops them and asks how they are. Cael says that he is tired, and Savannah asks to spend the night with Cael. Leo reluctantly agrees, provided that they stay clothed above the covers and keep the door open. 

In bed, Cael asks about Poppy, and Savannah admits that she sometimes thinks that she should have died instead. Savannah notes Poppy’s and Ida’s bright and uplifting personalities, contrasting them with her own introverted nature. Cael says that Savannah’s death would have destroyed him. Cael says that he wanted to believe that Cillian did not mean to kill himself, but the seven words on the Bruins ticket he keeps in his wallet read, “I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m sorry” (180). They each say that they love each other, and Savannah feels comforted by her relationship with Cael.