Content Warning: This section discusses murder and violence against women.

“I smiled as I dried my hands, grateful I didn’t need to ask. Not tonight. Not with him.”

Meghan thinks this before she is killed and while she is enjoying a seemingly pleasant first date with James. In an example of dramatic irony, Meghan sees the sign advising women who feel unsafe to “ask for Andrea” and thinks happily about how her date is going well. The quotation reveals the limitations of safety measures in light of a man’s ability to deceive; Meghan is in fact in deep danger but has no notion that she is.

“I wasn’t breathing hard because I wasn’t breathing at all.”

This dramatic quotation occurs when Meghan first realizes that, while she retains consciousness, she has died and left her physical body. Like the other two protagonists, Meghan will navigate the plot in ghostly form. The quotation subverts the typical form of the thriller or murder mystery in that the victims continue to function as protagonists even after their deaths.

“The disturbing truth was, James’s texts were par for the course. I’d heard worse stories from plenty of friends.”

Here, Brecia explains why she wasn’t initially alarmed when James sent her disturbing text messages after she broke up with him. The quotation shows how dangerous trends in how men engage with women (particularly after rejection) lead to normalization and allow a violent man like James to get away with his behavior.