Thirteen Reasons Why: Cassette 6: Side B Summary & Analysis

Hannah begins the penultimate side of the tapes by asking her listeners not to give up on her, but then she admits that she’s giving up on herself. This tape is about her own role in her story. Before the party, Hannah explains, she’d thought about suicide a lot, trying to decide how she would do it. Now she explains that instead of trying to make her death look like an accident by driving off the road—which would mean she’d have to trust her listeners not to tell other people what really happened—she’s decided to take pills. She’ll do it tomorrow. Before that, she’ll mail the tapes to Justin, and then there’ll be no going back. 

Hannah resumes her story, picking up the weekend after the big party. This weekend, there’s another party, but she doesn’t attend that one. She’s still grounded, but she’s looking after someone’s dog, and the party is happening in a house a few doors down. The sound of the music makes Hannah remember the party of last weekend, and she feels sick. The dog keeps yapping at people walking past the house, so Hannah puts him in the garage. She tries to shut out the blaring music by closing the curtains and blinds all over the house and hiding in the bedroom. It makes her feel like she’s back in the closet at the party last weekend. She starts rocking back and forth just like she did then.

When the party dies down, the dog stops yapping, and Hannah opens all the curtains. She goes outside for some fresh air. (On the tape, Hannah points the listeners to D-4 on their maps: Courtney Crimsen’s house, although this tape isn’t about Courtney.) That night, Hannah plans just to walk past the house and maybe offer someone a ride home if they seem too drunk to drive themselves. But everyone seems to have left. Someone calls Hannah’s name from behind the gate of the party house: it’s Bryce. He tells her to come and join him and his friends. Courtney’s head pops up beside his. (In the present, Clay speculates that Hannah only joined Bryce and Courtney because she wanted to sabotage herself, and Bryce was the perfect person to help with that.)

Hannah’s story continues. Hannah goes through the gate and sees a hot tub. Bryce and Courtney are in the tub. Courtney tells Hannah they’re in their underwear. Hannah strips off and gets in. The water calms her, though she’s terrified at the same time. She knows she shouldn’t be here; she doesn’t trust Bryce or Courtney. But she’s tired of fighting. When the water starts to feel too hot, Hannah pushes her upper body out of it, but her breasts are visible through her wet bra, so she sinks back down. Bryce moves over to her and sits with his body touching hers.

Even though Hannah is aware of Bryce’s reputation, she doesn’t try to stop him from getting closer to her. He touches her thigh. When she clenches her jaw, he takes his hand away but puts it back almost immediately, then he slides it across her stomach so that his little finger is touching her underwear and his thumb is touching her bra. Hannah turns her head away. Courtney gets out of the hot tub and walks away. Bryce asks Hannah if she remembers being named “Best ass in the freshman class.” Hannah lets her body go limp and her legs open. For the first time, she surrenders to the reputation other people built for her. She lets Bryce touch her and have sex with her, knowing that she’s using him in order to completely give up on herself.

In the present, instead of walking to Courtney’s house, Clay walks toward the park where Hannah had her first kiss. As he listens to Hannah talk about Bryce, he grates his fingers against the chain link fence. He ends up with deep cuts on his hand. He knows he has to clean it, so he heads to the nearest gas station and buys a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some bandages. After going to the bathroom to dress his wound, he leaves the gas station and starts running.