In summer heat, Patch begins emptying the old Macauley house room by room. He carries furniture into the yard, boxes up utensils and appliances, and strips the upstairs of bedding, clothes, makeup, and perfume. Each object reminds Patch of his mother, and the work becomes a painful effort to clear away a life that still clings to the house.

When Patch reaches his bedroom, he packs away his pirate memorabilia and confronts how far he is from that old self. Rather than preserve the house, Patch decides to erase it. Around lunchtime, he brings Saint’s grandmother, Norma, to the property, and a van collects whatever can still be donated to housing projects and charities.

After that, Patch returns from the hardware store with a sledgehammer and violently tears into the building. He rips out doors, baseboards, carpet, banisters, counters, and bathroom fixtures, smashing the house apart until he is dusty, bleeding, and exhausted. Even after the house injures him with an exposed nail and the demolition wears him down, Patch goes back inside to continue, showing that this destruction is deliberate and emotional, not impulsive.

Later, Saint joins Norma outside and watches Patch’s fury burn itself out. That night, Patch sets fire to the stripped remains in the yard and sits on the broken porch watching the flames consume the old house. Misty, Charlotte, and Sammy arrive to witness the burning, and as Patch looks at Charlotte, his daughter, he feels a warmth that comes from more than the fire, suggesting that destroying the past is making room for a different future.