The Story of Tom Brennan: Chapter Sixteen Summary & Analysis

Tom sits next to Kylie, puts his arms around her, and tells her that her hair isn't that bad. She insists it's not her hair and starts to sob. Tom thinks the look in her eyes is the same as it was the first few days after the accident: terrified and lost. Finally, she gulps that she has a secret about Fin and Claire. Tom insists that everyone knew they liked each other, but Kylie shushes him. She says that she and Fin used to talk about Claire; Fin couldn't believe that Claire liked him, since all the girls wanted Daniel.

Kylie asks Tom if he remembers the fight that Fin and Daniel had the week before the sudden death match. It started because Fin talked to Claire, and Daniel was jealous. Kylie says that Daniel knew he was losing Claire, and it made him especially mad that he was losing her to Fin. She brings up the time in Year Nine when Daniel found out which girl Fin wanted to take and then asked her himself, just so Fin couldn't take her. Tom thinks that Daniel did that sort of thing a lot.

Kylie continues that when Fin told her about the fight with Daniel, she reminded him of the Year Nine dance debacle and insisted that Daniel shouldn't get his way. She says that the day before the accident, when Aunty Kath was out, she suggested Fin invite Claire over and said she'd keep watch. Fin and Claire snuggled and kissed, and Claire decided to break up with Daniel. Kylie cries that she feels like the entire thing was her fault.

Tom admits that on the night of the accident, he told Daniel he was a jerk and walked away. He says he knew Daniel was upset and drunk, but he hated him right then and didn't stop him from driving. Tom says that he's not even sure now if he could've done anything. He admits that one of the last things he said to Daniel was, "you're going down."

Slowly, Tom says that Daniel is different now. Then, he drank a lot and was hung over all the time, as were Luke and Owen. Tom says he knew things were bad, but he's only recently realized that St. John's was basically playing with twelve players instead of fifteen, and Fin was doing most of the work. The young players were scared, nobody was having fun, and winning the last match was a total fluke.

Tom says that Dad was under intense pressure, and Mum and Dad knew they couldn't control Daniel. Tom wonders if Daniel just needed to fall this far. Tom suggests that Kylie go see him, and she asks why Tom seems to understand more and feel better than she does. Tom assures her she'll feel better soon and asks her what she's going to do about her hair. He takes the scissors and does his best to even it out.

Brendan asks Tom to do some work around the sheds to earn the trip to Nepal. Tom can barely believe he's going and is getting more excited by the day. Some days Chrissy comes by to drop things off for Jonny and then she and Tom talk. Tom feels as though he can be himself around her, and he loves her laugh. One afternoon, Jonny says with a meaningful look that Chrissy still isn't seeing anyone. After Jonny leaves, Brendan asks Tom if they can talk. Tom panics; he wonders if Jonny is actually a scarily possessive brother.

Brendan says he wants to talk about what Chrissy said at dinner the other week. Tom thinks this conversation will absolutely be a warning to not go near Chrissy, especially when Brendan says that Jonny can get emotional. Brendan confirms that Tom is aware that he and Jonny are together. Tom breathes a sigh of relief to be talking about Brendan's sexuality, not Jonny being violently possessive. Brendan remarks that they always talk about Daniel when they run instead of themselves, but Tom tells him to forget it. Brendan says that he just wants to have it in the open since they're going to travel together. Later, Tom thinks that he's never seen Brendan as anything more than an uncle, but now, Brendan wants Tom to truly see him. Tom thinks that Daniel probably sees Brendan this way too.

Rory comes over that weekend. He looks around, asks where everyone is, and says he always used to call Gran's place "Saint Margalette the Butcher's." Finally, Tom says that his family members are either visiting Fin or Daniel. They discuss Kylie's haircut and then play a video game. In a break, Rory brings up the match next weekend with St. John's. Tom is dreading it; he knows he'll need to talk to Matt before the game. He tells Rory that some of the guys are still his friends, but he thinks that he's not sure if that's true anymore. More than anything, Tom is scared that the game will push him back into the dark hole.

Mum, Kylie, and Tom make dinner a few days later. It's the first time Mum has cooked in ages, so Kylie and Tom humor her when she explains her methods to them. Tom wonders if he's more like Mum than he realizes, as he thinks that going back to bed and not coming out sounds like a reasonable plan. To keep his mind off of the game with St. John's, Tom goes to Brendan's cabin to research Nepal. Tom knocks and lets himself in. Brendan doesn't see Tom. He's sitting on the couch, drinking gin and looking at pictures of Daniel. Brendan staggers to the stereo and restarts his music: the song "Daniel" by Elton John. He's crying and mouthing the lyrics. Tom slowly backs out.