Someone Like You

Halley leaves the hospital and spends the rest of the week in bed, with her mother tending to her injuries. Halley tries not to think about Macon, feeling “hurt and angry and […] like a fool” for not listening to the people in her life who tried to warn her about Macon, especially Scarlett (239). Macon tries to contact Halley by idling in the street outside for minutes at a time, honking his horn as he drives away. Halley stares at the ring Macon gave her, which was cut off after the accident, and thinks about how he is not who she thought he was.

Scarlett tells Halley to forget about Macon, furious with his behavior leading up to and following the accident, but Halley tells her that it is not as simple as turning off her emotions for him. A few nights later, Macon once again throws pebbles at Halley’s window, asking her to sneak outside and meet him so that they can talk. Halley goes outside, and Macon makes excuses for not going to the hospital to visit Halley. While he speaks, Halley wonders “what it was that [she]’d ever thought was so magical about him” (242). Halley stops him mid-sentence and tells him that she cannot see him anymore, not because of her parents but because she knows now that she deserves better.

Halley goes back inside and finds her mother waiting for her. Julia assumes that Halley snuck out to see Macon to resume their relationship and does not pause to let Halley explain that she was breaking up with him. Her mother’s anger escalates, and she threatens to force Halley to change schools or follow her 24 hours a day to keep her away from Macon. Finally, Halley interrupts her and asks why her mother never gives her an opportunity to explain herself or her actions before assuming the worst. She tells her mother that she will never learn unless her mother lets her make mistakes. This seems to impact Julia, and they walk upstairs together. At the top of the stairs, her mother asks what she told Macon, and Halley explains that she told him that he was not who she thought he was and that she ended their relationship for good.

Halley can tell that her mother wants to ask more questions but instead tells Halley, “Good for you” (248), before going to bed. Halley feels that things are, while not altogether better, on the right track again with her and her mother. Halley stands on the landing alone, thinking back to the night she sat with Grandma Halley and watched Halley’s Comet fly overhead, now in her memory seeing the bright flash in the sky where before it was a haze of clouds.

Four months later, Julia takes photos of Halley before prom, which she is attending with Noah Vaughn. Halley feels like she’s “in hell” as she stands in an uncomfortable dress getting ready to go to prom with her ex-boyfriend (249). Halley turns around and sees Scarlett approaching in her maternity prom dress, sewn for her by Cameron’s mother.

Halley notes important changes in her life since January. Her relationship with her mother is improving, and she has not spoken to Macon since their breakup. Macon has begun dating Elizabeth Gunderson. Scarlett is due any day. Halley joins Scarlett at her prenatal classes, and Marion has come around to the idea of Scarlett keeping the baby, no longer pushing her into adoption. She has continued to date Steve, now attending his medieval reenactment weekends alongside him.

In the limousine, Noah pulls out a flask and becomes progressively more drunk, tearing the back of Halley’s dress when he attempts to exit the limousine. Noah tells Halley that she has changed and acts like she is too good for everyone else. He tries to grab her in a sexual manner. Halley pushes Noah, and he stumbles backward, landing on the ground. Halley leaves him there and wonders if she can find a way to get back home.

Inside, Halley sees Scarlett and Cameron dancing, and she also sees Elizabeth and Macon standing in the opposite corner, not smiling or talking. Macon spots Halley and smiles at her, sending a wave of emotion through Halley. Halley becomes overwhelmed, running for the bathroom as a way to escape. Elizabeth enters the bathroom as well and tells her that Macon still loves her. Elizabeth asks if Halley still loves Macon, and she says that she does not, realizing how true it is, although she still feels emotional about their breakup.

Then, Ginny bursts into the bathroom and tells Halley that Scarlett has gone into labor. Halley rushes to Scarlett’s side, and Scarlett tells Halley that she needs to get to the hospital but does not want to go by ambulance. Halley and Cameron take Scarlett out of the prom, and as Halley tries to figure out their next steps, Macon and Elizabeth pull up in front of them, and Macon offers them a ride. Halley briefly thinks about what happened the last time they were in a car together but pushes the thought away, helping Scarlett into the car alongside Cameron.

As they near the hospital, Scarlett asks Halley to promise not to leave her side once they arrive. As they check Scarlett into the emergency room, Halley calls her mother and tells her that the baby is coming, and Julia promises to stay by the phone for updates. The doctor checks Scarlett and tells her that the baby should be arriving shortly. Halley tries to help Scarlett with her breathing when the doctor leaves, but Scarlett is overwhelmed with pain. Halley begins to panic and leaves the room, ignoring Scarlett’s pleas to stay. Standing in the hallway, she feels herself begin to fall apart until she sees her mother approaching.

Halley begins to tell her mother that she cannot go back in the room and help Scarlett, and Julia tells her that Halley is “the only one [Scarlett] wants” (274). Together, they go back into the room and stay with Scarlett. Halley watches her mother whisper comforting words to Scarlett, the same way she has done for Halley throughout her life, and Halley realizes how much she will always rely on and need her mother.

With Halley and Julia by her side, Scarlett gives birth to a baby girl whom she names Grace Halley Thomas. When Halley sees her for the first time, she realizes that baby Grace is the culmination of their experiences from the past year: “from the summer with Michael to the winter with Macon. [They] would never forget” (278). Scarlett falls asleep after spending time with the baby, and Halley goes to the waiting room to tell Cameron the news.

Halley is surprised to see that the waiting room is packed with people: their classmates from the prom, Marion, Steve, and a bunch of their friends dressed in full medieval costume, Cameron, and even Macon. Marion rushes to Halley, and she announces that everyone is doing well and that the baby is a girl. The room erupts into cheers.

Later that night, Halley sends her mother home and stays with Scarlett while she sleeps. Halley fights the urge to wake up Scarlett so that they can talk about everything that has happened, but she decides to go home, stopping by the nursery on her way so that she can look in on Grace. She presses her hand to the glass, her and Scarlett’s signal, so that Grace knows that she is there.

Halley leaves the hospital alone and, on the way, only thinks about baby Grace, imagining her future. She wonders what Grace will be like and hopes that she has a little bit of all the people that love her and made her. Halley is not yet sure what she can offer baby Grace but thinks about a time in the future when she will explain the origin of her middle name, Halley, and feels that at that point, she will know exactly what to say.