Auburn negotiates between selfish and selfless love throughout the story. First, she has to leave her first love as he’s dying because, even though Adam has made clear he wants her there, Lydia wants him to spend his remaining time with her. After that, selfishness and selflessness play out between Trey, Owen, Cal, and Auburn.

Selfless love first presents as the willingness to sacrifice one’s needs for another. Owen does this for his father by both getting his father pills and taking responsibility for possession of them when Trey pulls them over. Auburn determines she can’t be with Owen and must choose Trey so she can live with her son. Over time, though, both Owen and Auburn learn that sacrificing what they need for another person isn’t just selfless; it’s harmful. Owen comes to see that his father will keep destroying his own life if Owen keeps enabling his addiction. Auburn learns that Trey is a bad person who will model manipulation and aggression for AJ.

Owen knows that his arrest for possession, even though he took the hit for his father, means Auburn can’t be with him because she would lose her already limited access to AJ.