# Chapter 42: New Year’s Eve, Old Wounds
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 42 of “The Deal: Off Campus.” This is the chapter where Hannah runs from the truth, hides inside family chaos, and makes a midnight phone call that cracks her heart wide open all over again. So grab a blanket, maybe some popcorn, and let’s dive in.
Christmas break cannot come soon enough for Hannah. She boards the plane to Philly looking like a gorgeous disaster—sweats, bedhead, and stress zits doing their worst. Since the showcase, she has run into Garrett three times: once at the Coffee Hut, once in the quad, and once outside the Ethics lecture hall. Every single time, he asks the same question: how many guys has she dated since their breakup? And every single time, Hannah panics, blurts out an excuse about being late, and runs away like a coward.
The problem is simple and brutal. She broke up with Garrett under false pretenses. She told him she wanted to explore, to date other people, to figure out what she wants. But if she doesn’t actually do that, Garrett will know something is wrong. So she should ask someone out. She should go on a very public date and convince the boy she loves that she has moved on. Except the thought of being with anyone other than Garrett makes her physically sick. Thankfully, she has a reprieve: three weeks with her family.
Seeing her parents is exactly what she needed. She still thinks about Garrett nonstop, but it is easier to distract herself when she is baking Christmas cookies with her dad or being dragged into the city for a shopping day with her mom and aunt. On their second night in Philly, her mom catches her moping in the guest room, tells her she looks like a hobo who crawled out from under the boardwalk, shoves her into the shower, and forces her to brush her hair. Then Hannah spills everything. Her mom responds by launching Operation Holiday Cheer—a full-scale assault of holiday activities designed to keep Hannah busy. And Hannah loves her dearly for it.
But she is not looking forward to going back to Briar in three days. She knows Garrett is probably planning his own not-so-covert operation: Operation Get Hannah to Admit She Was Lying. She knows he is going to try to win her back. And she also knows it will not take much effort. All he has to do is look at her with those gorgeous gray eyes, flash that crooked grin, and she will break down in tears, throw her arms around him, and tell him everything. She misses him that much.
On New Year’s Eve, Hannah finds herself in the living room with her parents, her aunt and uncle, and their friends Bill and Susan—three middle-aged couples and zero glamorous parties. Susan brings up Hannah’s recent scholarship win. Hannah blushes and downplays it, but inside, her smug monster cheers. She remembers the outrage on Cass Donovan’s face when his name was not called. She is five grand richer, and now she can pay her residence and meal expenses for the upcoming semester without leaning on her parents.
At ten to midnight, Uncle Mark unmutes the television so everyone can watch the Times Square celebration. Aunt Nicole hands out cardboard noisemakers with pink streamers. Her mom passes around confetti. It is cheesy, but Hannah would not trade her family for anything. When the countdown reaches zero and everyone screams “HAPPY NEW YEAR,” her eyes go misty. Because the strike of midnight does not just mean a new year. January 1st is also Garrett’s birthday.
She clamps her lips together to stop the tears. Her father spins her around and kisses her cheek. “Happy New Year, princess.” Then he notices her sad expression and gently tells her to pick up the phone and call that poor boy already. Hannah’s jaw drops. She swivels toward her mother, who at least has the decency to look guilty. Her dad just chuckles and says he figured it out himself. She has been so miserable it had to be boy trouble. “Go wish him a happy new year. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
Her pulse races as she hurries upstairs. She fishes her phone out of her purse, hesitates, and knows this is a terrible idea. She broke up with him. She is supposed to be moving on. But it is his birthday. She exhales a shaky breath and makes the call. Garrett answers on the first ring.
She expects noise—chatter, laughter, drunken yells. Instead, wherever he is, it is quiet as a church. His husky voice tickles her ear. “Happy New Year, Hannah.” She whispers, “Happy birthday, Garrett.” There is a pause. “You remembered.” She blinks through tears. “Of course I did.” There are so many things she wants to say. I love you. I miss you. I hate your father. But she swallows all of it and says nothing.
Then Garrett asks cheerfully, “How’s the dating going?” Her stomach goes rigid. She forces lightness. “Uh… it’s great.” He presses. “Yeah? Doing lots of exploring? Conducting a thorough search for the meaning of love?” There is a mocking note there, but more than anything, he sounds amused. Smug, even. He asks how many guys she has dated. She says a few. He says awesome, hopes they are treating her right—opening doors, laying jackets over puddles, that kind of chivalrous stuff. God, he is such a jackass. She loves him. She assures him they are all very chivalrous and she is having a blast. He pauses. “Good to hear. I’ll see you in a few days. You can tell me all about it.”
He hangs up. Hannah curses under her breath. Why is he pushing this? Why can’t he accept that it is over and focus on his stupid hockey team? And how is she supposed to convince him she does not want to be with him when she cannot even convince herself?
This chapter is quieter than some of the others, but it is quietly devastating. It shows Hannah trapped in a lie she built to protect Garrett, and every phone call, every memory, every New Year’s wish only tightens the trap. The family scenes are warm and funny, but they also highlight how alone Hannah feels in her secret. The midnight phone call is the emotional gut punch—two people pretending to be fine while both clearly bleeding. I felt Hannah’s frustration, her love, and her exhaustion all at once. The chapter does not need big dramatic events because the internal conflict is already a storm.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
Next Chapter Prediction: Garrett will make good on his promise to see Hannah in a few days, and he will not waste any time trying to get the truth out of her. He clearly knows she is lying about dating other guys, and his smug, amused tone suggests he is planning to call her bluff. I predict he will corner her soon after they return to Briar—maybe after a class, at the coffee shop, or by showing up somewhere she cannot escape. Hannah will try to keep up the act, but Garrett will push harder, perhaps revealing that he knows more than she thinks about why she ended things. The real question is whether she will finally confess the truth about his father’s ultimatum, or whether Garrett will force it out of her first.
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