Poppy leaves New York for Ohio after deciding she needs to stop running from her life and tell Alex the truth. Rachel offers to come with her, but Poppy goes alone. At the Cincinnati airport, Poppy is met by her parents, who welcome her warmly and spend the afternoon talking with her at home. Poppy waits until school is nearly out, trying to steady herself before going to see Alex at East Linfield High.

At the locked school entrance, a resource officer refuses to admit Poppy because she is not registered. Sarah Torval then recognizes Poppy and comes outside to talk to her. Poppy apologizes for how careless she was about Alex and about the emotional mess surrounding Alex and Sarah’s past relationship. Sarah bluntly agrees that all of them were hurt by what they did not admit, reveals that she and Alex are no longer together, and points Poppy toward Birdies, the bar where teachers often go after school on Fridays.

Poppy goes to Birdies and finds Alex sitting with other teachers. Forced to speak in public instead of in the private setting she had imagined, Poppy presses ahead anyway. She explains that therapy helped her understand that her love of travel was tied to loneliness and to a lifelong habit of escaping Linfield, rejection, and vulnerability. Poppy says her work no longer satisfies her because it lacks real connection, and she realizes that travel, career changes, and brief encounters were all ways of avoiding the deeper truth: she has loved Alex for years and has been running from how much he matters to her.

Poppy tells Alex that she is willing to give up anything to build a life with him, whether that means staying in New York or living in Linfield and embracing the parts of his life she once resisted. She says Alex is home to her, shows him a photo of a houseplant she has kept alive as proof that she is serious about change, and finally waits for his answer. Alex admits that his feelings for Poppy are real and overwhelming, but says their relationship still does not make sense to him and that he cannot endure watching it fall apart again. Poppy accepts the rejection, tells Alex she does not regret confessing her love, and leaves the bar crying but no longer hiding what she feels.