They Both Die at the End

They Both Die at the End

by

Adam Silvera

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Rufus Emeterio Character Analysis

Rufus is one of the novel’s protagonists; he’s a 17-year-old Cuban American boy in foster care. Rufus’s last six months have been almost unbearable: he watched his parents and sister, Olivia, drown after their car drove into the Hudson River. After this, Rufus ended up in foster care, and his girlfriend Aimee recently broke up with him and began dating Peck, whom Rufus hates. Despite these circumstances, Rufus tries to make the best of it—he turns to his foster siblings, Malcolm, Tagoe, and Aimee (whom he calls the “Plutos”) for support, and he loves riding his bike. However, everything changes when Rufus receives his call from Death-Cast while he’s in the process of beating up Peck. Rufus doesn’t see himself as a violent person, so the thought that beating Peck could be his last act is disturbing. He vows to die a good person, but his attempt to have a meaningful funeral fails when the police arrive to arrest him. Rufus ultimately turns to Last Friend and meets Mateo, who awes Rufus with both his kindness and his fears. For the first few hours of their friendship, Rufus demonstrates that he can be a good friend by supporting Mateo in what he wants to do. As the day wears on, however, Rufus decides to come clean about his past. Sharing the story of his family’s deaths helps Rufus come to terms with those events, and it brings him closer to Mateo. After the boys leap into a pool at the Travel Arena, Rufus finally feels whole and like he’s left his anger behind. Rufus is open about his bisexuality and begins to suspect early on that Mateo is also non-heterosexual. They finally kiss and confess their feelings for each other at Clint’s Graveyard. Rufus is extremely angry that his and Mateo’s relationship won’t even last 24 hours, and he’s overtaken with grief when Mateo dies first. Rufus isn’t dead yet at the end of the novel, but it’s implied that he dies moments after he steps off a curb to cross the street. He vows to find Mateo and his own family in the afterlife.

Rufus Emeterio Quotes in They Both Die at the End

The They Both Die at the End quotes below are all either spoken by Rufus Emeterio or refer to Rufus Emeterio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mortality, Life, and Meaning Theme Icon
).
Rufus Emeterio, 1:05 a.m. Quotes

I’m trying to stay shut ‘cause I don’t wanna take my problems out on some guy doing his job, even though I have no idea why the hell anyone applies for this position in the first place. Let’s pretend I got a future for a second, entertain me—in no universe am I ever waking up and saying, “I think I’ll get a twelve-to-three shift where I do nothing but tell people their lives are over.” But Victor and others did.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Victor
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:

“You want me to get off my throne and get real with you? Okay. An hour ago I got off the phone with a woman who cried over how she won’t be a mother anymore after her four-year-old daughter dies today. [...] And then I had to put in a request to the Youth Department to dispatch a cop just in case the mother is responsible, which believe it or not, is not the most disgusting thing I’ve done for this job.”

Related Characters: Victor (speaker), Rufus Emeterio
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Rufus, 1:18 a.m. Quotes

I don’t wanna think about any of that, I just wanna get to Aimee and say goodbye to the Plutos as the friend they know I am, not the monster I was tonight.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Aimee Dubois, Malcolm Anthony, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Tagoe Hayes
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 1:52 a.m. Quotes

But I was wrong, go figure. This is exactly the person I always wanted to be—loose, fun, carefree. No one will look at this photo and think it was out of character, because none of these people know me, and their only expectations of me are to be the person I’m presenting myself as in my profile.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio
Related Symbols: Photos
Page Number: 46
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 3:14 a.m. Quotes

Rufus E. (3:19 a.m.): Hey, Mateo. Nice hat.

He not only responded, but he likes my Luigi hat from my profile picture. He’s already connecting to the person I want to become.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Lidia
Related Symbols: Photos
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 4:26 a.m. Quotes

But I wasn’t honest with Rufus because, on a deep level, I do believe partying on the train is my kind of scene. It’s just that the fear of disappointing others or making a fool of myself always wins.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Lidia
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 4:58 a.m. Quotes

“I think we made his day by not pretending he’s invisible.”

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, The Homeless Man
Page Number: 126
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 7:22 a.m. Quotes

I believe him. He’s not monstrous. Monsters don’t come to your home to help you live; they trap you in your bed and eat you alive. “People make mistakes,” I say.

“And my friends are the ones being punished,” Rufus says. “Their last memory of me will be running out the back door from my own funeral because the cops were coming for me. I left them behind... I’ve spent the last four months feeling abandoned by my family dying, and in a split second I did the same damn thing to my new family.”

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Aimee Dubois, Malcolm Anthony, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Tagoe Hayes, Vin Pearce, Rufus’s Parents, Olivia
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
Rufus, 7:53 a.m. Quotes

I don’t know if he’s playing it off like he doesn’t know this from my Last Friend profile or if he’s impacted by this piece of history between me and my sister or if he overlooked this on my profile and is some ass who cares about who other people kiss. I hope not. We’re friends now, hands down, and it’s not forced. I met this kid a few years ago because some creative designer somewhere developed an app to forge connections. I’d hate to disconnect.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Mateo Torrez, Dalma Young, Olivia
Page Number: 176
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 11:32 a.m. Quotes

“I think we’re already dead, dude. Not everyone, just Deckers. The whole Death-Cast thing seems too fantasy to be true. Knowing when our last day is going down so we can live it right: Straight-up fantasy. The first afterlife kicks off when Death-Cast tells us to live out our day knowing it’s our last; that way we’ll take full advantage of it, thinking we’re still alive. Then we enter the next and final afterlife without any regrets.”

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Mateo Torrez, Andrea Donahue
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 12:22 p.m. Quotes

Twelve hours ago I received the phone call telling me I’m going to die today. In my own Mateo way, I’ve said tons of goodbyes already [...] but the most important goodbye is the one I said to Past Mateo, who I left behind at home when my Last Friend accompanied me into a world that has it out for us. Rufus has done so much for me and I’m here to help him confront any demons following him [...]

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Lidia, Dad, Mateo’s Mom
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 12:58 p.m. Quotes

I buy the mystery book and the postcards, thank Joel for his help, and we leave. Rufus said the key to his relationships was speaking up. I can do this with the postcards, but I have to use my voice, too.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Joel
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:
Deirdre Clayton, 1:50 p.m. Quotes

Deirdre reaches deep within herself, far past the place where lies and hopelessness come easily, and even beneath the very honest truth where she’s okay with the impacting the relief that comes with flying off this roof. She sees two boys living and this makes her feel less dead inside.

Intent may not be enough to cause her to actually die, she knows this from the countless other mornings when she’s woken up to ugliness, but when faced with the chance to prove Death-Cast wrong, Deirdre makes the right decision and lives.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez, Rufus Emeterio, Deirdre
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 3:26 p.m. Quotes

“Welcome to the World Travel Arena. Sorry to lose you three.”

“I’m not dying,” Lidia corrects.

“Oh. Cost for guests is going to be one hundred dollars,” the teller says. He looks at me and Rufus. “Suggested donation is one dollar for Deckers.”

I pay for all our tickets, donating an extra couple hundred dollars in the hope that the arena remains open for many, many years.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Lidia (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Victor, Deirdre
Page Number: 281
Explanation and Analysis:
Officer Andrade, 4:32 p.m. Quotes

Graham is always on Andrade’s mind, and today is no exception, with these foster kids in the holding cell who are acting out because their brother is a Decker. You don’t need matching DNA for someone to be your brother, Andrade knows this. And you definitely don’t need the same blood to lose a part of yourself when someone dies.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Malcolm Anthony, Tagoe Hayes, Officer Andrade, Graham
Page Number: 291
Explanation and Analysis:

Andrade is doing his damn best to get that snuff channel terminated by the end of the year. No way in hell he can share a beer with Graham in heaven without getting this job done. Andrade wants to focus on his real work, not babysitting. That’s why he has their foster parents signing release forms this very second. Let them go home with firm warnings so they can sleep.

And grieve.

Maybe even find their friend if he’s still alive.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Malcolm Anthony, Tagoe Hayes, Officer Andrade, Graham, Jenn Lori, Francis
Page Number: 292
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 5:14 p.m. Quotes

“I know there’s no time to waste, but I had to be sure you are who I thought you were. The best thing about dying is your friendship.” I never thought I would find someone I could say words like this to.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Dad, Mateo’s Mom
Related Symbols: Mateo’s Birth
Page Number: 308
Explanation and Analysis:
The Gang With No Name; 5:36 p.m. Quotes

Death-Cast did not call this gang of boys today, and they’re living as if this means their lives can’t be over while they’re alive. They run through the streets, not caring about traffic, as if they’re invincible against speeding cars and completely untouchable by the law.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Howie Maldonado, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Kendrick O’Connell, Damien Rivas
Page Number: 315
Explanation and Analysis:
The Plutos, 6:33 p.m. Quotes

You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Aimee Dubois, Malcolm Anthony, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Tagoe Hayes
Page Number: 334
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 7:34 p.m. Quotes

“I always wanted to stumble into someone like you and it sucks that I had to find you through a stupid app.”

“I like the Last Friend app. [...] I think the app puts you out there more than anything else. For me, it meant admitting I was lonely and wanted to connect with someone.”

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio (speaker)
Page Number: 340
Explanation and Analysis:
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They Both Die at the End PDF

Rufus Emeterio Quotes in They Both Die at the End

The They Both Die at the End quotes below are all either spoken by Rufus Emeterio or refer to Rufus Emeterio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mortality, Life, and Meaning Theme Icon
).
Rufus Emeterio, 1:05 a.m. Quotes

I’m trying to stay shut ‘cause I don’t wanna take my problems out on some guy doing his job, even though I have no idea why the hell anyone applies for this position in the first place. Let’s pretend I got a future for a second, entertain me—in no universe am I ever waking up and saying, “I think I’ll get a twelve-to-three shift where I do nothing but tell people their lives are over.” But Victor and others did.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Victor
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:

“You want me to get off my throne and get real with you? Okay. An hour ago I got off the phone with a woman who cried over how she won’t be a mother anymore after her four-year-old daughter dies today. [...] And then I had to put in a request to the Youth Department to dispatch a cop just in case the mother is responsible, which believe it or not, is not the most disgusting thing I’ve done for this job.”

Related Characters: Victor (speaker), Rufus Emeterio
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Rufus, 1:18 a.m. Quotes

I don’t wanna think about any of that, I just wanna get to Aimee and say goodbye to the Plutos as the friend they know I am, not the monster I was tonight.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Aimee Dubois, Malcolm Anthony, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Tagoe Hayes
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 1:52 a.m. Quotes

But I was wrong, go figure. This is exactly the person I always wanted to be—loose, fun, carefree. No one will look at this photo and think it was out of character, because none of these people know me, and their only expectations of me are to be the person I’m presenting myself as in my profile.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio
Related Symbols: Photos
Page Number: 46
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 3:14 a.m. Quotes

Rufus E. (3:19 a.m.): Hey, Mateo. Nice hat.

He not only responded, but he likes my Luigi hat from my profile picture. He’s already connecting to the person I want to become.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Lidia
Related Symbols: Photos
Page Number: 74
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 4:26 a.m. Quotes

But I wasn’t honest with Rufus because, on a deep level, I do believe partying on the train is my kind of scene. It’s just that the fear of disappointing others or making a fool of myself always wins.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Lidia
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 4:58 a.m. Quotes

“I think we made his day by not pretending he’s invisible.”

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, The Homeless Man
Page Number: 126
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 7:22 a.m. Quotes

I believe him. He’s not monstrous. Monsters don’t come to your home to help you live; they trap you in your bed and eat you alive. “People make mistakes,” I say.

“And my friends are the ones being punished,” Rufus says. “Their last memory of me will be running out the back door from my own funeral because the cops were coming for me. I left them behind... I’ve spent the last four months feeling abandoned by my family dying, and in a split second I did the same damn thing to my new family.”

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Aimee Dubois, Malcolm Anthony, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Tagoe Hayes, Vin Pearce, Rufus’s Parents, Olivia
Page Number: 173
Explanation and Analysis:
Rufus, 7:53 a.m. Quotes

I don’t know if he’s playing it off like he doesn’t know this from my Last Friend profile or if he’s impacted by this piece of history between me and my sister or if he overlooked this on my profile and is some ass who cares about who other people kiss. I hope not. We’re friends now, hands down, and it’s not forced. I met this kid a few years ago because some creative designer somewhere developed an app to forge connections. I’d hate to disconnect.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Mateo Torrez, Dalma Young, Olivia
Page Number: 176
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 11:32 a.m. Quotes

“I think we’re already dead, dude. Not everyone, just Deckers. The whole Death-Cast thing seems too fantasy to be true. Knowing when our last day is going down so we can live it right: Straight-up fantasy. The first afterlife kicks off when Death-Cast tells us to live out our day knowing it’s our last; that way we’ll take full advantage of it, thinking we’re still alive. Then we enter the next and final afterlife without any regrets.”

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio (speaker), Mateo Torrez, Andrea Donahue
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 12:22 p.m. Quotes

Twelve hours ago I received the phone call telling me I’m going to die today. In my own Mateo way, I’ve said tons of goodbyes already [...] but the most important goodbye is the one I said to Past Mateo, who I left behind at home when my Last Friend accompanied me into a world that has it out for us. Rufus has done so much for me and I’m here to help him confront any demons following him [...]

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Lidia, Dad, Mateo’s Mom
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 12:58 p.m. Quotes

I buy the mystery book and the postcards, thank Joel for his help, and we leave. Rufus said the key to his relationships was speaking up. I can do this with the postcards, but I have to use my voice, too.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Joel
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:
Deirdre Clayton, 1:50 p.m. Quotes

Deirdre reaches deep within herself, far past the place where lies and hopelessness come easily, and even beneath the very honest truth where she’s okay with the impacting the relief that comes with flying off this roof. She sees two boys living and this makes her feel less dead inside.

Intent may not be enough to cause her to actually die, she knows this from the countless other mornings when she’s woken up to ugliness, but when faced with the chance to prove Death-Cast wrong, Deirdre makes the right decision and lives.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez, Rufus Emeterio, Deirdre
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 3:26 p.m. Quotes

“Welcome to the World Travel Arena. Sorry to lose you three.”

“I’m not dying,” Lidia corrects.

“Oh. Cost for guests is going to be one hundred dollars,” the teller says. He looks at me and Rufus. “Suggested donation is one dollar for Deckers.”

I pay for all our tickets, donating an extra couple hundred dollars in the hope that the arena remains open for many, many years.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Lidia (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Victor, Deirdre
Page Number: 281
Explanation and Analysis:
Officer Andrade, 4:32 p.m. Quotes

Graham is always on Andrade’s mind, and today is no exception, with these foster kids in the holding cell who are acting out because their brother is a Decker. You don’t need matching DNA for someone to be your brother, Andrade knows this. And you definitely don’t need the same blood to lose a part of yourself when someone dies.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Malcolm Anthony, Tagoe Hayes, Officer Andrade, Graham
Page Number: 291
Explanation and Analysis:

Andrade is doing his damn best to get that snuff channel terminated by the end of the year. No way in hell he can share a beer with Graham in heaven without getting this job done. Andrade wants to focus on his real work, not babysitting. That’s why he has their foster parents signing release forms this very second. Let them go home with firm warnings so they can sleep.

And grieve.

Maybe even find their friend if he’s still alive.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Malcolm Anthony, Tagoe Hayes, Officer Andrade, Graham, Jenn Lori, Francis
Page Number: 292
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 5:14 p.m. Quotes

“I know there’s no time to waste, but I had to be sure you are who I thought you were. The best thing about dying is your friendship.” I never thought I would find someone I could say words like this to.

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio, Dad, Mateo’s Mom
Related Symbols: Mateo’s Birth
Page Number: 308
Explanation and Analysis:
The Gang With No Name; 5:36 p.m. Quotes

Death-Cast did not call this gang of boys today, and they’re living as if this means their lives can’t be over while they’re alive. They run through the streets, not caring about traffic, as if they’re invincible against speeding cars and completely untouchable by the law.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Howie Maldonado, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Kendrick O’Connell, Damien Rivas
Page Number: 315
Explanation and Analysis:
The Plutos, 6:33 p.m. Quotes

You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk.

Related Characters: Rufus Emeterio, Aimee Dubois, Malcolm Anthony, Peck/Patrick Gavin, Tagoe Hayes
Page Number: 334
Explanation and Analysis:
Mateo, 7:34 p.m. Quotes

“I always wanted to stumble into someone like you and it sucks that I had to find you through a stupid app.”

“I like the Last Friend app. [...] I think the app puts you out there more than anything else. For me, it meant admitting I was lonely and wanted to connect with someone.”

Related Characters: Mateo Torrez (speaker), Rufus Emeterio (speaker)
Page Number: 340
Explanation and Analysis: