Your House Will Pay

Without warning one night, Yvonne suddenly starts to feel unwell again. By morning, she has a fever. She is unconscious before the EMTs arrive, and she ends up dying at the hospital. Her gunshot wound had become infected, and her body went into sepsis. To Grace, it all feels unreal. She yells at the doctor. Paul is more emotional than ever, grieving over his wife’s body.

Miriam admits she felt they were all going to start becoming better people after the incident. She is grateful that her mother didn’t die thinking she hated her. But while Miriam had come back in time for a reconciliation, Grace’s relationship with her mother in her final days was not nearly as positive. Grace had spurned Yvonne and abandoned her in her heart. Now, Grace feels alone. She is angry at Miriam for having been able to lose their mother on her own terms. She prays for her mother’s soul, but knows heaven is only for the repentant.

Yvonne’s death changes everything, as Ray will now face murder charges. Grace Park is no longer in touch with Ray’s lawyer, and it is unclear if she will testify to Ray’s innocence now.

At the Holloway house, everyone is in mourning. Darryl is home again, sulking in his room. Shawn hasn’t told anyone that Darryl was the one who shot Jung-Ja Han. While everyone is in the living room, Shawn goes to Darryl’s room and finally answers his question: “You do nothing, you hear me?” (275). He tells him never to tell any of the Baring Cross crew because they might get caught one day and try to trade the information to the police. He tells him to let Ray make his own decision and fight the murder charge in his son’s stead. Shawn says Darryl’s “debt to society” has been made, and now, he owes it to his family to live a good life (275).

Later, Shawn visits Ray in jail. He hasn’t seen Ray since the night Jung-Ja Han was shot, and Ray and him shared beers into the morning. Ray looks older and worn down by jail. He is angry that Shawn hadn’t visited him, but the feeling passes. They ask after each other and the family. Shawn tells Ray that he knows he didn’t shoot Yvonne and, without saying it, intimates that he knows it was Darryl. At first, Ray is adamant that he did it, but then his body deflates. It is the first time he knows for certain that his son shot Jung-Ja Han. Ray says he confessed because he was already in trouble for owning a gun while on parole. Shawn scolds him for having a gun, but Ray acts like he didn’t have a choice. Even now he believes that everyone has a gun, so he needed one to protect his family. Shawn disagrees, but believes it is not worth arguing over. Instead, Shawn tells him that thousands of people are saying he’s innocent, explaining what Reddit is.

Ray expresses remorse for having wasted his time out of jail. He was anxious being around his children who didn’t know him, and wishes he made more of an effort while he had the chance. Without saying as much, Ray thanks Shawn for taking care of his children, and Shawn promises to keep taking care of them.

There is a big funeral for Yvonne full of mourners whom Grace has never seen before. Grace doesn’t cry during the funeral, as she is too angry. She feels anger toward Darryl and wants him to pay for what he did. During the funeral, Ray’s lawyer texts Grace informing her that Ray has been indicted.

The next day, Grace and Miriam attend a protest at Los Angeles City Hall, the same place in which they attended Alfonso Curiel’s memorial. Grace wanted to attend to see Darryl for herself. The place is full of signs that call out racism in America, and Grace takes it personally for her mother’s sake. Miriam assures her that the protest is happening because people think Ray is innocent. Curiel’s shooter, Trevor Warren, was not indicted, so this feels like injustice. Miriam agrees that it was injustice in Warren’s case, but doesn’t understand why people are certain that Ray is innocent. Grace tells her that Ray is innocent and that he’s protecting his son. She shows her sister the video on her phone, which she has rewatched hundreds of times.

Grace asks Miriam if she told the Holloways where to find Yvonne. Miriam has been grappling with this guilt for a while, and worries that their mother’s death is her fault. Grace thinks it is Miriam’s fault, but doesn’t want to lose her sister, so she says otherwise. She thinks she will need to learn to live with what she cannot forgive. Grace does not care that Ray is in prison. She thinks he deserves it for protecting her mother’s killer.

The chapter suddenly shifts to Shawn, the first mid-chapter shift in the novel. Shawn is at the same rally as Grace and Miriam. His Aunt Sheila has been on the phone all day rallying support; Dasha has used social media to spread the word. Now, Sheila is up front with Brother Vincent as he gives a speech about Ray Holloway, Ava Matthews, and justice.

Because Shawn knows there are many cameras in the crowd, he dares not look at Darryl during the speech. He worries that someone will be able to read the expression on his face.

Meanwhile, a counterprotest develops across the street. Men who look like cops and younger prep-school types flaunt Blue Lives Matter and American flags. They counter the chants of “No justice, no peace!” with jeers, and eventually, a fight breaks out. There are police sirens, and police officers in riot gear show up to contain the crowd.

The chapter shifts back to Grace, who spots Darryl in the crowd. She points him out to Miriam, and they head in his direction. Miriam cautions her, saying she will be recognized. Grace pulls her baseball cap lower and feels like nobody is paying attention to them. Sheila Holloway is giving a speech now. She says, “I have forgiven Jung-Ja Han” (290), and Grace’s body begins trembling. Grace sees Darryl’s face and notices how devastated he looks. For the first time since her mother died, Grace cries.

The chapter shifts back to Shawn, who watches Sheila and reflects that she is the best person he knows. She takes suffering and turns it into kindness. Despite her kind words, the brawl with the counter-protestors is getting more violent. A “Fuck the police!” chant begins in the crowd. The energy stirs up Shawn’s own anger which has been present since Ava’s death. During the chaos, Shawn sees Grace and Miriam approaching. He sees Grace looking at Darryl and tells Darryl to stay by Nisha while he talks to her. He blocks Grace’s way and, when she is close enough, tells her that he is sorry about her mother.

Miriam replies that she is sorry about Ava. Grace asks to speak to Darryl. Shawn says it is not a good time, but Grace threatens to release video evidence that it was Darryl who shot Jung-Ja Han if he does not let her. Shawn, who is learning about this evidence for the first time, gets desperate. He asks what she wants and gets down on one knee as if to beg for mercy, hiding the fact that he is furious.

Now, the chapter begins combining the intimate, third-person narration of both Grace and Shawn. Grace is suddenly uncertain what she wants and asks Shawn to stand up. Then, Darryl approaches from behind Shawn and when Grace sees him, she does not know how to react. She had forgiven him when Yvonne was recovering, but when she died, she had taken her forgiveness back. Now, she doesn’t know how she feels.

Darryl tells Shawn that they need to leave, as riots are starting. He lingers and asks Shawn why he is on his knees, and Shawn realizes it is because Darryl wants to see the Park sisters. The crowd moves around them as panic sets in, but Shawn, Darryl, Grace, and Miriam don’t go anywhere. Shawn reflects that “blood and knowledge” kept them from moving (294). Darryl, Grace, and Miriam introduce themselves to each other.

Miriam brings up a letter that Yvonne wrote to the judge 10 months after the murder in which she called Ava “Anna Matthews,” having never bothered to learn Ava’s name. She tells Darryl that she loved her mother, but that her mother was not a good person and never accepted responsibility for what she did. However, she looks at Darryl and recognizes that Darryl does know what he did. Shawn grabs Darryl’s shoulder and tells him not to say anything, but Darryl steps forward.

Grace explains that she knows what her mother did was terrible, but she was still her mother. She tells Darryl that he took her mother away from her. Darryl says he knows, cries, and apologizes. Grace feels hatred toward him. She reflects that despite killing Ava, Yvonne created a stable home for Grace. She never paid her debt to society, but was a good mother, and did everything else right. Yvonne died without Grace’s forgiveness—because it was not hers to give (296). Then, Grace grabs Darryl’s hands. She holds his hands waiting for something to happen. Shawn is worried she plans to hurt him, but then notices that Grace’s face softens.

Suddenly, the crowd starts noticing what is happening and recognizes them. People start calling Grace and Miriam racists while gathering around. Grace feels overwhelmed by the crowd and fires around them. Someone spits on Grace and tells her that she is “everything that’s wrong with this country” (299). It is a white woman, and Miriam screams at her in response. Tension builds as the crowd closes in on the four of them.

Shawn notices a flaming palm tree in front of the LAPD building. He has flashbacks to the six days of violence in 1992 when he last watched his city go up in flames. He remembers there being hope in 1992 that such destruction might lead to the city’s rebirth as something better. However, there was never a new Los Angeles, as the anger and fear never left. Shawn realizes he must do something, and stands in front of Grace and Miriam and tells the crowd to back off. He tells the crowd that all they are doing is making themselves feel good while doing nothing. He tells everyone to leave them alone and “do something” (298), gesturing to the city that is erupting into riots. Finally, the crowd leaves.

The California flag catches fire, and the smoke makes everyone start coughing. Shawn finds Darryl in the smoke, and suddenly Miriam starts laughing, pointing at the surreal scene. People are fighting under the burning flags, and a teenager dances nearby. They don’t know what comes next, but they share this “torched landscape” (299).