Odette explains all of her fears to him after he tried to kiss her and she dodged away. Ethan knows what would happen to him if she were to go leave. He would cease to exist. He refuses to even attempt to conceive of a world devoid of her utter loveliness.
He speaks as firmly as his hand as it envelopes hers. "When I think of what you and Anthony had. It doesn't compare to what we have. that love," he spits out the word love, showing he thinks it was anything but love. "isn't like ours; it's ugly. selfish. It was crippling and all it did was make you sick. We're not like that." He affirms, Odette believes him. She trust him.
She drives home the next morning all smiles and laughter. She's downright giddy. She wishes she had let Ethan kiss her. Yet she's glad she didn't. Crossing the line from friendship to romance is a daunting task. But after last night, she felt it was possible. She loved Ethan and she decided to let herself take the plunge.
When Odette returned to Tic Tak Joe's everything appeared to in order, but when she opened her door at the top of the stairs she saw something that truly broke her heart.
Betsy lay sprawled on the floor. Needles littered the wooden floor, a tourniquet carelessly tossed off near her arm. A small pool of vomit staining her shirt.
Betsy was strung out.
Betsy had relapsed.