Joel begins riding his bike homeward as the teenagers leave. He remembers that his mother called him “the worst keeper of guilty secrets” (47). Joel predicts that everyone will blame him for Tony’s drowning. With fear and guilt, he begins riding to Starved Rock State Park to avoid going home. He considers hiding in a cave in the bluffs. The absurdity of his plan dawns on him, and with dread he turns homeward: “Home, the narrow tires sang against the pavement. Home” (48). He considers various alibis for himself, thinking the events “could have happened the way he had it figured out” (51). He panics as he passes the bridge over the Vermillion River. He goes down to the banks and sees Tony’s clothing scattered all over. He arranges it neatly, then, realizing that Tony never would’ve done such a thing, messes it up slightly. He fully accepts that Tony has died.

Joel is lying down in his bedroom. He hears his father yell angrily from downstairs. Joel responds rudely to his father’s questions and expects to be punished, thinking “his father had never hit him, but he would now” (55). Mrs. Zabrinsky, Tony’s mother, knew that Joel was home because Bobby, Joel’s younger brother, saw him returning home alone.