Summary
Highlights
The narrator and Alex are nearly home when Hannah catches up to them after a funeral. Hannah suggests going to see bats, an activity the narrator is hesitant about given the recent loss and preoccupation with other thoughts.
The narrator agrees to join Hannah. They walk along the river, observing the powerful current. Hannah leads them to a hidden spot where hundreds of bats emerge from a cave at sunset, a breathtaking sight that briefly distracts the narrator from their grief. Hannah reveals her deep love for bats and shares a past trauma where she showed boys a bat roost in Florida, and they subsequently killed the bats. She expresses her lasting guilt and how her dad supported her.
Hannah records the bats' departure in a binder. The narrator realizes Hannah was present by Dinkin's Pond that morning and saw them. They confront Hannah about a secret, and Hannah admits that she knows about the narrator's involvement in a recent event and had hoped the narrator would be honest, but they became a "hero" instead.
The narrator asks Hannah about a note and towels. Hannah explains her reluctance to speak about the bat cave again and expresses that she had started to like the narrator last summer, leading her to consider this situation. The narrator admits to liking Hannah too and decides to tell the truth. Hannah is relieved, stating that if the narrator hadn't, she would have had to tell Raul herself. Hannah promises to help the narrator and offers to talk anytime.