How we cite our quotes: (Section Break.Paragraph)
Quote #1
You took your head from your hands. Your eyes flashed at me for a moment, but they weren't icy. They'd thawed a little. They looked wet. For a second I wondered if you'd been crying, too.
You saw me studying you and turned away. Then you went out of the room and came back several minutes later with a glass of water. You sat beside the bed and held it out to me. "I won't do anything to you," you said. (6.17-18)
This kind of behavior is really disorienting for us readers who are used to typical TV abduction plots. Ty kidnapped Gemma, so shouldn't he be keeping her in a pit in his basement and depriving her of food and water? Instead, he actually seems pretty decent—aside from the whole abduction thing, that is.
Quote #2
You stopped the car and turned off the engine. You got out and leaned against the hood. You peered at the boulders, looking for me. You'd seen me running; I was sure of that. You could probably see me there, too, shivering against the rocks, trying desperately to soak in some of their heat.
"Gem?" you called.
After a moment, you went around to the passenger door and opened it. You took out a sweater, came back, and held it out.
"Come back to me." (19.12-15)
Okay, so first he brings her a glass of water and doesn't follow the Law & Order playbook. Now, he brings her a sweater. What's this guy's deal? Even though he still has the kidnapping thing hanging over his head, there's a part of him that seems to have Gemma's best interests in mind—at least within the confines of his property.
Quote #3
I didn't struggle. I didn't do anything. My body went limp. In the house you wrapped me in blankets. You put something hot in my hands, which you made me drink. But my body and my brain and my insides had frozen solid and nothing would thaw them. (20.1)
Ty's motivations here seem really weird; it's like he lets her get lost in the Separates so she can realize how much she needs him. Let's also offer another friendly reminder that he kidnapped her—and yet he's still doing all these weirdly compassionate things for her rather than just hurrying up and killing her already.
Quote #4
When I was trapped in the house, it felt like I'd already died. At least when I was with you, it felt like my life mattered somehow.… No, that's not really it; it felt like my life was being noticed. It sounds weird, I know, but I could tell that you liked having me around. And that was better than the alternative, that feeling of emptiness that threatened to drown me every hour of being in that house. (35.8)
It's funny how the farther we get into her stay with Ty, the more Gemma begins to sense that he really doesn't mean her any ill will. Obviously if he likes having her around, he's going to keep being nice and not kill her.
Quote #5
You smiled, remembering. "You asked me if I was looking for Easter eggs. We talked—you told me about your fairies and their flower houses. I told you about the Min Mins: the spirits who live in the trees around here and try to steal lost children. And you weren't scared, like most people were of me back then.… You just looked at me like a regular person. I liked that." (37.25)
This recollection of the first time Ty met Gemma kind of gives us some insight into why he treats her with the compassion he does: As it happens, she was actually kind to him first. You have to consider that Ty probably didn't look like a normal dude after spending all that time in the Australian bush; at best, he was probably really tanned (and not in a hot model way) and looked homeless. And yet, Gemma treated him with kindness.
Quote #6
"What did you do to him? After you dragged him into the bushes?"
You looked at me then. A flash from your eyes told me you knew exactly what I was talking about.
"Nothing," you said. "I did nothing."
"He left me alone after that."
"I know."
I uncurled my knees and leaned toward you […] "Do you think you saved me from him?" (46.61-66)
Maybe attacking a guy and dragging him into the bushes doesn't look compassionate on the surface, but who knows what Josh was planning on doing that night? It's interesting that Gemma's kidnapper—not the teenage boy who has a crush on her—is the one who seems to care about her the most.
Quote #7
"But it's always like this with camels … baby steps. Just one tiny thing at a time until she learns to accept." (47.11)
Ty might be a kidnapper, but he's also pretty patient. He's patient with Gemma as she acclimates to her new surroundings. He's patient with the camel after they steal her from her herd. What he does might be bad, but we can't help feeling like Ty isn't altogether a terrible person.
Quote #8
When I woke, it was cool. Almost too cool. Cloths soaking with water were lying over my body. On each side of me, a fan was whirring […] Your hand reached across, picked up the cloth, and put it back, squeezing its water gently onto my skin.
"Thank you," I whispered. (62.1-2)
After Gemma's massive failure of an escape attempt, Ty comes after her, finds her, and brings her back to his place to take care of her sunburns and dehydration. And Gemma actually thanks him for it. By this point, she recognizes his compassion as genuine and seems to understand that, bizarre as it seems, his intentions around her captivity are good.
Quote #9
You carried me inside the plane, laid me on something soft. Then you started to pull away. I reached out and grabbed your hand, locked my fingers around yours. I wouldn't let go. I didn't want to be left alone with these strangers. I looked up at you, found your eyes. You hesitated, glanced back outside at the tarmac and flatness and red land beyond … then back at me. You nodded slightly as you sat. You started talking to me. I don't know what you said. But there were tears in your eyes. (89.3)
We need to take a minute to process exactly what Ty does in this scene because when it comes down to it, it represents the ultimate act of compassion in this book. Gemma doesn't want to be left alone—and even though it means getting caught and facing jail time and the loss of his freedom, Ty nonetheless chooses to stay on the plane with her. If you doubted that he cares for her, this choice should clear that up.
Quote #10
The judge will sentence you. I can't stop that. But perhaps my testimony may influence where they send you … somewhere near your land, a room with a window this time. Maybe. And perhaps this letter may help you, too. I want you to see that the person I glimpsed running beside the camel, running to save my life, is the person you can choose to be. I can't save you the way you want me to. But I can tell you what I feel. It's not much. But it may give you a chance. (111.9)
While she contemplates making up a story about how she knew Ty before the kidnapping and chose to run away with him, Gemma knows that, ultimately, the most compassionate thing she can do for Ty is tell the truth and see that he's punished for what he did. Most likely, even if she had lied, he would have ended up in jail anyway because there's still that whole bit about Gemma being a minor. Nonetheless, she knows that she has some influence on what his experience will be like and how he could change from this point forward.