Short answer: Because of guilt, shame, and self‑punishment after “the biggest mistake of her life” a decade earlier, which wrecked her relationship with Sam and turned her childhood summer life into something she couldn’t bear to revisit.
Details from the provided Recapy context:
- Percy made a major mistake ten years earlier that led her to leave Barry’s Bay and cut herself off from the life she once loved.
- Since then she’s kept people at arm’s length, living in the city and avoiding anything that might force her to confront what happened.
- Returning only happens when she’s called back for Sam’s mother’s funeral—an unavoidable event that puts her back into Sam’s orbit and forces the reckoning she’s been avoiding.
The Recapy summary doesn’t give the scene‑by‑scene or spoiler specifics of that mistake here. If you want a full-spoiler explanation of what happened and how it breaks Percy's relationship with Sam, tell me and I’ll give a spoiler‑full recap.
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