# Chapter 34: Midnight Confessions and a Thanksgiving Invitation
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 34 of "The Deal: Off Campus." This is one of those quiet, intimate chapters that sneaks up on you—no wild party, no explosive argument, just a late-night phone call that leaves your heart aching in the best way. So grab a blanket, dim the lights, and let's step into Hannah's world after midnight.
The chapter opens with Hannah still wide awake, her phone meowing just after twelve. She isn't in pajamas, isn't relaxing, isn't doing anything close to resting. Ever since Cass threw his selfish, vindictive wrench into her life, Hannah has been living in a state of controlled panic. The showcase is looming, school and work are relentless, and somehow she also has Garrett. For the next month, she's basically a walking basket case unless she magically learns to juggle it all without a nervous breakdown.
But the text isn't from just anyone. It's Garrett. He can't sleep. She asks if this is a booty call. He says no—then immediately asks if she wants it to be. Classic Garrett. Hannah shuts that down, tells him she's rehearsing and totally stressed, and he argues that's all the more reason for a booty call. She tells him to keep it in his pants and asks why he can't sleep. His answer is simple: his whole body hurts. He lost the game earlier, took brutal hits, and was icing his entire torso when they last talked. Sympathy flutters through Hannah's belly, and she calls him instead of typing.
His husky voice slides into her ear. "Hey." Just that one word, and the intimacy of the scene wraps around you. Hannah apologizes that she can't come over and kiss all his boo-boos, but she's working on the song. Garrett being Garrett says there's only one boo-boo he wants kissed—and then clarifies he means his dick. Hannah chokes down a laugh. It's playful, warm, and exactly the kind of banter that makes them feel real.
Then the conversation shifts. Garrett asks if she's decided which song she'll sing. She thinks so—it's the one she sang to him last month while they were studying. The sad one. Garrett remembers. Hannah says sad is good because it packs more emotional punch. She hesitates, then asks if his dad was at the game. Garrett says his father never misses one. She asks if he brought up Thanksgiving again. Garrett says no, thank fuck, because his dad doesn't even look at him when they lose. The bitterness in his voice is thick enough to taste. Then he clears his throat and asks her to put him on speakerphone. He wants to hear her sing.
Hannah's heart squeezes, but she hides it behind a casual tone. She teases him about wanting a lullaby. He chuckles and admits his chest feels like it got hit by a truck. He needs a distraction. She tells him to feel free to hang up if he gets bored. And Garrett, my own personal sweet-talker, says, "Baby, I could watch you watching paint dry, and I still wouldn't be bored."
That line. That's the moment where you just know Garrett Graham is gone for this girl.
Hannah settles the acoustic on her lap and sings the song from the top. Her door is closed, and she isn't worried about waking Allie because she already gave her earplugs and warned her about late-night rehearsals until the showcase. Weirdly, Hannah isn't angry anymore. She's relieved. Cass turned their duet into a flashy, jazz-hands performance that she despised, so even though being dumped from it was infuriating, she's decided she's better off not singing with him at all. That small shift matters—it shows Hannah reclaiming her power, note by note.
She runs through the song three times until her voice goes hoarse. She stops to chug water from the bottle on her nightstand. Then Garrett's voice startles her: "Still here, you know." She laughs because she honestly forgot he was on the line. She jokes that she couldn't put him to sleep. He says flattered, not insulted—her voice gives him chills and makes it impossible to fall asleep. Hannah smiles even though he can't see her. Then her brain kicks back into work mode. She starts thinking out loud about the last chorus, whether to end high or low, maybe switch up the middle section. She gets an idea, tells him she's hanging up to figure it out, and orders him to go to sleep.
But before she can hang up, Garrett says, "Wellsy, wait."
The longest pause follows. She asks if he's there. He says yes. A heavy breath reverberates through the line. Then he asks, "Will you come home with me for Thanksgiving?"
Hannah freezes. Are you serious? Another pause, even longer. She almost expects him to rescind the invitation. And she doesn't think she'd be upset if he did. Knowing what she knows about Garrett's father, she isn't sure she can sit across a dinner table from that man without reaching over to strangle him. What kind of man hits his own son? His twelve-year-old son? The question hangs in the air, heavy and unanswered.
Then Garrett's voice cracks on his next words: "I can't go back there alone, Hannah. Will you come?"
And Hannah's heart cracks right along with it. She lets out a shaky breath and says, "Of course I will."
That's where the chapter leaves us—not with a kiss, not with a grand gesture, but with a promise. Hannah agreeing to step into the darkest part of Garrett's past. It's terrifying, tender, and impossibly brave.
---
## Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
This chapter is a masterclass in quiet intimacy. It doesn't need dramatic twists because the emotional stakes are already sky-high. The banter between Hannah and Garrett is effortless and funny, but underneath it, you feel Garrett's pain, his exhaustion, his fear of facing his father alone. And Hannah—she's overwhelmed, she's stressed, she's still healing from Cass's betrayal, yet she doesn't hesitate when Garrett needs her. That "Of course I will" hit me right in the chest. The chapter also does a beautiful job showing Hannah's growth: she's no longer just reacting to Cass; she's making choices for herself, including choosing Garrett in a way that costs her something.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars
---
## Next Chapter Prediction
Thanksgiving is going to be a battlefield. Hannah will meet Garrett's father, and it will be every bit as awful as she fears—maybe worse. I predict tense dinners, cruel comments, and Garrett reverting to the guarded, wounded version of himself we've only glimpsed. But I also think Hannah will become his anchor. She'll see the full extent of what he survived, and it will either break them open or bring them closer than ever. There may be a confrontation, a revelation about Garrett's past, and a moment where Hannah stands up for him in a way no one ever has. The title "The Deal" has always been about their arrangement, but after this chapter, it feels like the real deal is just beginning.
To listen free the next reviews chatpers, please access website novelsaudio.com and search keyword: The Deal: Off Campus or click the link in the description of this video or if you want to listen or read full the The Deal: Off Campus please access website Novelsaudio.com