Carver is in his room, writing. He’s managed to write two pages of a new story, so his writer’s block seems to be slowly improving. This may be in part because of Dr. Mendez’s help and in part because of Jesmyn. He regularly watches her play piano now and finds this soothing.

Carver’s parents come into his room to tell him that the district attorney has decided to open an investigation into the accident. After they leave, Carver has a small panic attack: “I guess these miniature deaths are just part of my new landscape,” he thinks (168). He then asks Jesmyn if she’ll play piano for him through the phone. She does. 

Chapter 22 consists solely of an internal monologue, with the plot of the actual narrative not moving ahead in any way. Carver describes the “what ifs” that he has started playing through in his head. He daydreams about how events could have unfolded differently on the night of the accident. In every scenario he dreams up, one key element is the same: “I don’t text Mars. I don’t text Mars. I don’t text Mars” (171).