The morning after killing his father, teenage Tom wakes from nightmares and briefly wishes the murder had been a dream. Seeing the missing rug in the living room confirms what happened: Tom slit Bill Brewer’s throat, wrapped the body, and buried it in the woods. Tom feels no grief for his abusive father and even admits to himself that he enjoyed the killing, which makes Tom fear that something is deeply wrong with him.

In the kitchen, Tom makes coffee and thinks ahead to his mother’s return from Seattle. Tom plans to act ignorant about Bill’s disappearance because Bill was unreliable and often absent. When Tom’s mother calls, Tom tries to sound normal while she updates him about Uncle Dave’s heart procedure and asks whether Bill is around.

The conversation makes Tom increasingly anxious because his mother keeps pressing for details about Bill. Tom lies that Bill may have gone to work and then almost contradicts himself, narrowly avoiding exposing that something is wrong. Tom’s mother finally asks Tom to text her when Bill gets home that night, leaving Tom worried about how long he can maintain the lie.

On the walk to school, Tom reassures himself that he covered his tracks, that Slug will keep quiet, and that Alison probably saw nothing. Tom starts to believe he will get away with the murder. That confidence collapses when Tom reaches school and sees several police cars outside, making Tom fear the authorities have already discovered what he did.

Before Tom can learn why the police are there, Daisy runs to him in tears. Tom tries to comfort Daisy, assuming the situation can still be managed. Daisy then reveals the real crisis: Alison is missing, and Tom is stunned and sickened by the news.