All the Colors of the Dark
by Chris Whitaker
Contents
Chapter 222
Overview
Patch secretly watches his daughter at Monta Clare High School after escaping prison, hoping for a moment of connection. Instead, seeing her and then spotting a police cruiser deepens his shame and fear, and he withdraws without revealing himself. The chapter shows that Patch's greatest obstacle is no longer pursuit alone, but his belief that he is unworthy of the life and family he lost.
Summary
Patch hides in the woods across from Monta Clare High School and watches the morning begin. The setting feels almost painfully beautiful to him, and when he sees his reflection in the water, panic rises as he worries about his appearance and what he has become.
As students arrive, Patch reflects on the idea of second chances. He realizes that refusing to repeat past wrongs does not erase them, and that some returns may be beyond reach no matter how desperately a person wants them.
After waiting an hour, Patch finally sees his daughter. He is overwhelmed by how beautiful she has grown and starts toward her, emotionally thrown back to his own youth and memories of her mother. But before he can call out, a police cruiser enters the school grounds, and Patch retreats into the trees. He decides he does not deserve his daughter, and that she does not deserve the damage he would bring into her life.
Who Appears
- Patchescaped fugitive who watches his daughter from hiding and decides not to approach her
- Patch's daughterteenage girl Patch comes to see at Monta Clare High School, unaware of his presence