52 pages • 1 hour read
Mercedes RonMy Fault
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 24-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 24 Summary: “Nick”
Nick leaves the restaurant with Anna. On the drive, he stews over seeing Mario and Noah together. Needing time alone, he drops Anna off and goes to the club. While drinking, he starts thinking about the past.
After his mom left, Nick met and moved in with Lion. Through Lion, Nick found people who respected him. However, William pulled him away from the gang and insisted he move home. Although life “in that neighborhood had been tough,” Nick misses living with Lion (208). He’s in trouble with Ronnie now, too, and doesn’t know what will happen. A girl he slept with once approaches and interrupts his thoughts.
Nick leaves the club. In the lot, Ronnie and his friends are leaning against Nick’s Ferrari. They demand that Nick beg for it back and threaten to make Noah pay for embarrassing Ronnie. The men get into a fight. When Nick gets home, he is furious to discover Noah is still out. He cleans up from the fight and calls Noah, hearing her phone ring as she enters the front hall.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Noah”
Nick demands to know where Noah was. Confused by Nick’s mood, she explains that she went out for ice cream with Mario, Jenna, and Lion. Nick warns her to be careful and tells her about Ronnie’s threats. Noah tries to hide her anxiety but has nightmares that night.
The next morning, Noah reflects on the night before. She likes Mario but not as much as Nick. In the kitchen, Raffaella informs Noah that it’s Nick’s birthday. She races outside and wishes him a happy birthday. Nick playfully grabs her, and they jump into the pool.
They kiss until Raffaella appears and reminds Nick to tell Noah his news. Nick says their parents bought him “four tickets to the Bahamas” and he wants her to join him, Jenna, and Lion (221). Noah hesitates, telling Nick she isn’t ready to have sex with him. He suggests they have an open relationship, but Noah thinks it’s better to be friends.
Noah spends the day reading and writing in her room. Her mind wanders to her past and her future. Raffaella enters and gives her a new school uniform. After she leaves, Nick comes in and invites her to his birthday party. She declines because she has plans with Mario. That night, as Nick blows out the candles on his cake with the family, Noah wonders what he wished for.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Nick”
Nick thinks about his relationship with Noah while preparing for the party. He wishes she wasn’t going out with Mario and realizes she’s started to change. He tries to enjoy his party but keeps thinking about Noah. Noah arrives with Jenna. She gives him a toy Ferrari and a birthday note. He kisses her and feels her leaning into him. When she abruptly pulls away, Nick realizes he’s falling for her.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Noah”
Noah pulls away and suggests they rejoin the party. Nick asks if she’s okay, but she insists that she’s fine and tells him to go find Anna. For the next hour, she avoids him. Then a game of Truth or Dare begins. Noah gets upset when Anna reveals that she and Nick recently had sex, then gets even more upset when Noah kisses a guy named Sam in front of everyone.
Nick and Noah leave together. On the way home, Noah insists that Nick shouldn’t be so upset over a game. He admits that he’s jealous and wants to “do it all with [her]” (243). Noah doesn’t know what to say.
Noah and Jenna go shopping for their trip. Noah gets several unknown calls while they’re out. When Jenna confronts Noah about her feelings for Nick, Noah laughs her off.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Nick”
Nick, Noah, Jenna, and Lion arrive at the Hotel Atlantis in the Bahamas. After settling in, they go to the beach. Nick notices that Noah is wearing a one-piece instead of a bikini. They talk and laugh on the sand until Nick drags her into the water. Later, Jenna and Lion disappear, and Nick and Noah join a volleyball game on the beach. Nick is impressed by Noah’s skill. Afterward, they shower and change before dinner. In the elevator, Nick is shocked by how attractive Noah looks in Jenna’s dress.
Chapter 29 Summary: “Noah”
Noah gets another call from an unknown number. She ignores it and tries to focus on dinner. Throughout the evening, she and Nick watch each other. Afterward, they go to the club and end up dancing with other people. Annoyed, Nick pulls Noah away from her partner. They get into an argument about their relationship, and Nick invites Noah back to his room.
In Nick’s room, the two kiss until Noah pulls away, admitting she isn’t ready to have sex. Nick gives her a change of clothes and invites her to hang out and talk instead. His phone rings, interrupting their conversation. Noah is offended by how he’s talking to the caller, but afterward, Nick reveals he was talking to Madison. He explains the situation, adding that Madison is diabetic and he’s often worried about her. They open up about their personal lives until Noah refuses to tell Nick why she’s afraid of the dark.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Nick”
Nick feels guilty for pressing Noah. She assures him she’s fine but says she’s ready for bed. He walks her across the hall to her room, feeling a distance between them when they say good night.
The next day, Nick doesn’t hide his feelings for Noah around Jenna and Lion. He also buys Noah a necklace. Later, Lion pulls Nick aside and warns him to be careful with Noah. Nick assures him he’s fine but silently acknowledges his intense feelings for Noah.
That night, the friends go clubbing. Furious to see Noah dancing with another guy, Nick grabs the guy and punches him until Lion pulls him away. Upset, Noah tells Nick she can’t be with him if he’s going to keep acting this way.
Chapter 31 Summary: “Noah”
Back at the hotel, Noah thinks about what happened at the club. She wishes Nick would stop acting out because she can’t be with someone who scares her. An hour later, she hears Nick returning to his room and finds him kissing another girl in the hall. He pulls away and curses Noah for interrupting them.
In the morning, the friends meet in the lobby before heading to the airport. Nick confronts Noah, apologizing for last night and insisting that he was drunk. Noah reiterates that they can’t be together.
On the plane, Noah replays everything that’s happened and starts crying. Nick tries comforting her, but she pushes him away and tells him he’s hurt her.
Noah finds a threatening anonymous note in her car the next day. She dismisses the threat, assuming it’s Ronnie, and tries to enjoy her bowling outing with Mario, Jenna, and Lion. When she falls and hits her head, her friends want her to go to the hospital, but she refuses.
At work, Noah vomits twice. Just as she’s about to head home, her boss asks her to stay late and serve a group of guys who just came in. Noah is horrified to discover it’s Ronnie and his friends. They taunt and threaten her until Nick appears and defends her. Then Noah faints.
Chapter 32 Summary: “Nick”
Nick helps Noah to his car and drives her to the hospital, where they learn she has a concussion. Afterward, they pick Noah’s car up from the bar, and Nick goes to Anna’s. Anna notices he’s being distant and demands to know what’s going on. Nick admits that he’s in love with Noah. Anna gets upset, and Nick leaves.
Back at home, Nick finds Noah and Raffaella sleeping on the couch. He studies them, thinking about his mom and how much he loves Noah. He tells himself that he’s going to be better for her.
In the morning, Nick discovers that Noah isn’t eating breakfast. He tries comforting her, but she pushes him away again.
Chapter 33 Summary: “Noah”
Noah gets up early for her first day of school, determined to take better care of herself. In the kitchen, Raffaella compliments Noah’s uniform and Nick helps tie her tie. Afterward, Raffaella gives Noah a letter that came for her: It’s another threatening note. Noah hides it in her nightstand and heads out to school. At school, Jenna introduces Noah to her friends. Throughout the day, everyone pesters Noah about Nick, who was a popular St. Marie’s student.
Later that evening, Noah gets ready to attend a party with Jenna. In the hall, she hears William and Raffaella arguing. She stands outside the door, trying to understand what’s going on when Nick appears behind her. Nick tries to be friendly, but Noah pushes him away again. She tells herself she’s going to get drunk and forget about everything.
Chapter 34 Summary: “Nick”
Jenna calls Nick in the middle of the night, begging him to come help her with Noah. Nick races to the party and discovers that Noah is very drunk. He drives her home and helps her to bed. Realizing her clothes are covered in vomit, he undresses her, shocked to find a large scar on her stomach. He realizes she has more secrets than he thought.
Chapters 24-34 Analysis
Noah and Nick’s trip to the Bahamas further develops the theme of The Relationship Between Love and Hate. Before they leave on their trip, they’re unsure how they feel about each other and how to navigate their often-conflicting emotions. Nick doesn’t “want anyone [else] to be with her” and often corners Noah in intimate settings to initiate more physical intimacy between them (207). Despite these seemingly overt advances, however, he also continues to pursue sexual relationships with other women. He’s accustomed to living his life independently, and his seeming inability to commit to a relationship with Noah is inspired by his fear of losing his freedom. However, once Nick spends time with Noah in the Bahamas, his feelings for her become more concrete. He begins to understand why he likes Noah and endeavors to change himself to be with her. This island setting grants the characters time and space away from their home environment, apart from the complexities of their histories and family life, to explore their feelings. It also offers them perspective on their relationship and themselves and gives opportunities for authentic connection. The trip to the Bahamas is a narrative device used to alter the parameters of Noah and Nick’s dynamic, offering a neutral space for transformation.
The trip to the Bahamas also moves Nick and Noah’s relationship further along the enemies to lovers narrative as they get to know each other and themselves better. Spending time with Noah gives Nick clarity on who Noah is and who he wants to be for her. He begins to understand that although Noah is “so different from [him],” it’s her differences that attract him to her (207). Where Nick is volatile and defensive, Noah is more logical and controlled. At the same time, Nick admires how confident Noah is and likes that she often challenges him. In addition, the more physically intimate the two become, the more emotionally attached Nick feels to Noah. “She [is] perfect,” he realizes after kissing Noah again, “and I [am] falling in love like an idiot” (236). This revelation marks a turning point in the novel’s explorations of the relationship between love and hate. Noah still irks Nick, but once he acknowledges his feelings, he stops treating her with cruelty, showing his progress along his character arc. He becomes more playful, sensitive, and protective of Noah and stops treating her like his adversary. Leaning into these more positive emotions in turn softens Noah’s frustration with Nick, and these scenes foreshadow how enmity might grow into love.
At the same time, Noah and Nick’s feelings for each other evolve at different rates, largely because Noah is still Overcoming Past Trauma. While her affection for and attachment to Nick does further develop during the trip, Nick’s violent outbursts and possessiveness still make her wary. For example, Nick becomes aggressive and angry whenever he sees Noah interacting with another man who isn’t him: “One minute [she is] dancing with a guy, the next [she is] almost falling over while the guy [she] wish[es] would ask [her] onto the dance floor [is] pounding the hell out of the dumbass who kissed [her] without asking” (272). Nick’s uncontrollable rage triggers Noah’s traumatic memories, and she realizes that Nick is “just a jealous tough guy trying to mark his territory” (272). Although Noah’s traumatic past hasn’t been revealed yet, her reaction to Nick’s violence and her contention that she can’t “be with anyone who scare[s] [her]” implies a connection to her trauma (272). Her increasingly anxious responses to Nick’s advances in these chapters prove that Nick’s behavior is reminding her of violent behavior she’s encountered in the past, while her restless state of mind shows how trauma can lodge itself in the individual’s body. Noah isn’t in danger with Nick, but she feels that she is because of her yet undisclosed past experiences. Her trauma is complicating her ability to fully embrace a relationship with Nick in the present and to let Nick into her heart. Although in these chapters the characters make progress toward each other, they are still holding back, and the novel sustains its narrative tension by allowing their emotions for each other to continue vacillating between affection and hesitation.
