They Both Die at the End

Mateo acknowledges that it has been only 12 hours since he received the Death-Cast notice and, in his own way, he has “said tons of goodbyes already,” but the “most important goodbye is the one [he] said to Past Mateo,” who he left behind when he and Rufus decided to become Last Friends and team up in a “world that has it out for us” (227). Mateo feels like Rufus has already done so much for him, and he hopes to be able to return the favor by helping him confront whatever demons might be following him. Mateo feels more alive than ever. 

The rain stops as Mateo leads Rufus toward the World Travel Arena, walking along the piers in Chelsea. Mateo tells Rufus that perhaps, while walking along the Hudson River on the piers, that being so near a river—the ultimate cause of his family’s death—that perhaps it will give Rufus some closure. On the piers, Rufus opens up about how he feels that he feels guilty that he is the one to survive his family’s fatal accident: “But I’m the one who left them, yo. I’m the one who got out the sinking car and swam away” (230).