A List of Cages

In this chapter, Adam narrates the details about a conversation he has with his mother, Catherine. Adam goes into the living room and finds his mother watching television at midnight. When Adam plops down on the couch, his mother says she's worried about him because he seems to be "'too together'"(290). Adam tries to clarify what she really means: "'so are you worried that I'm together or that I'm pretending to be together'" (290). Catherine replies she's not sure what it is, but she's concerned that he is not talking to Emerald, and he's not leaving the house. She knows he isn't going out because he believes Julian needs him. She tells Adam that he is the kind of person who needs to be around people, and if he won't go out, he needs to bring people in. She suggests that Adam have the graduation party that he's been thinking about.

Julian narrates the events that happen at Adam's graduation party. Julian goes outside, and he "picture[s] his mother standing on [his] old back porch" (294). Julian closes his eyes, and he hears a voice in his head that he's heard "a million times" (294). He sees Russell near the open gate, and then Russell is walking towards him. Julian's eyes look towards the back door and at that moment Russell springs on Julian and wraps his arms around him. Russell asks Julian why he left, and Julian starts to answer, but Russell's forearm tightens around his throat, and he says, "'I'm the one who took you in. Me. But no matter what I do for you, you still hate me'" (294). Julian sincerely tells Russell he doesn't hate him, and he knows that he's "just unhappy" (295). Russell asks Julian if he wants to come with him, and Julian says no. He tells Russell that he hurt him, and "it's not okay to hurt people. Even if [he's] unhappy" (295). Russell gets upset at Julian's response; he says he never touched Julian, and Russell makes Julian admit that it's not true. (All of Russell's beatings were done with objects.)

Russell now wraps his hand around Julian's throat, tightens his fingers, and starts to drag Julian to the gate. He slaps his hand across Julian's lips; Julian retaliates by kicking and clawing his arm. Then Russell pulls out a gun and tells Julian it belonged to his father (Russell's father).Julian says he understands how Russell misses his father because Julian misses his father too, but Russell laughs, saying he never missed his father. Russell says he always hated him. Russell continues to talk about Julian’s father. He tells Julian that his father told him a true man shouldn't rely on a gun, but he tells Julian that his situation is different because "sometimes you need things done quick" (298). He tells Julian that "'Adam is something that could be done quick'" (296). Julian tries to speak up, but Russell squeezes his face hard. Russell then releases Julian's face, and reminds Julian how quickly a loved one can be taken away from him. Julian responds by growing cold, sweaty and limp. Russell pulls him farther away from Adam's house. 

Adam now narrates what he sees as Charlie and Russell are "rolling across the grass"(299). Adam sees Charlie dig his knees into Russell's chest, and eventually gets the better of him. Adam watches Charlie break Russell's nose with his fist, and as his blood spills out, Charlie lands with a thud next to Julian. Charlie’s tackles him again and hears another "firecracker blast," and now both Russell and Charlie are lying still, with both of their shirts bloody (300).

Adam's mom grabs Adam and puts her arms around him, but Adam pulls away, calling out Charlie's name. Neither Charlie or Julian are moving. Finally, Charlie grunts and sits up, and when Adam asks him if he is okay, he responds that maybe he's in shock. Adam laughs hysterically, telling Charlie he thinks Russell is the one in shock as Russell lies there, very still but not dead. Adam's mother gathers the crying kids, and Emerald takes Julian by the hand and leads him away from the scene of the struggle.

Charlie tries to justify his actions to Adam, stammering that Russell was going to kill him, and take Julian. Adam says, "'I know'" (301). 

Adam narrates a poignant scene as he reflects on everything that has happened while he's looking out at a lake he used to go to when he was a child. Russell is dead, and Julian and Charlie are safe, but he still ponders his role in what happened at the graduation party. Adam doesn't understand how Emerald knew where he was going, but she finds him at the lake. She asks Adam what she did to make him not talk to her; Adam tells her she didn't do anything. She starts crying, saying how scared she was when she believed Russell was going to kill him. She tells Adam she loves him and that he was brave. Adam thinks he wasn't brave because he didn't do anything to prevent Julian from being abducted. He reminds her that Charlie was the one who did something, not him.

Emerald tells Adam how everyone watches him and how he glows with "big-soul smiles" touching everyone he passes (304). She tells him there are different ways of helping people and different ways of doing good. Adam asks her in a joking way if she's going to sing some corny song about how beautiful he is, and how he doesn't know that he's beautiful. Emerald doesn't respond to his question, but instead she touches his face tenderly and tells him he’s beautiful.

Adam narrates the chapter as Julian and Adam sit in the living room. Adam is watching TV and texting Emerald while Julian is typing on his computer. Julian leans over his mother's spiral notebook "thrumming with tension […] with intense concentration" trying to make sense again of all the lists his mother wrote (305). Julian figures out that one is a list of number one popular songs, another is a list of the cities in the USA with the highest elevation, and so on, but he finally rips out the pages "violently," claiming that the lists don't really mean anything (307). Then he takes that thought a step further. saying that "'Nothing means anything! People just go. They don't finish […] We don't die after we complete some mission, we just die'" (307). Julian says he knows this is true because he's sure that if his parents had been given a choice, they wouldn't have died and left him. Julian knows they weren't finished with him yet. Julian cries hysterically, wraps his arms around his stomach, and collapses.

Adam extends his finger across Julian's face, simulating a gesture he knows Julian’s father made to soothe Julian, when he was a child. Then, as he's trying to comfort Julian, Adam suddenly thinks about all the times he felt uneasy about Julian's whereabouts or safety. Adam felt and "knew things [he] couldn't have known" (308). He tells Julian that maybe his parents did take care of him from wherever they are by working through Adam's intuition. 

Julian narrates the final chapter as he describes his birthday party at Emerald's house. There are streamers, balloons, strung lanterns, party hats, and an enormous cake. Emerald's yard is filled with people and "too many to fit at the picnic table," and for once, Julian doesn't feel embarrassed. Jesse pulls out his guitar and asks Julian if he wants to sing, but this time Julian says he just wants to listen while "everyone keeps talking and laughing like they could stay here forever” (310).

The book ends with Julian lying back on a trampoline under "a perfect night sky"(310).He reflects on how "the lights strung through the trees have moved to float above us. Beautiful and too many to see all at once [with] Ten Million Stars" (310).