Demon drifts through the rest of winter in a medicated haze, spending more and more time living at Dori’s while she cares for her father, Vester. Demon tries to taper off oxy but keeps getting thrown off by Dori’s “add-ons,” and the visiting nurses treat Demon as a cousin while warning Dori to lock up Vester’s narcotics. Christmas passes with Demon avoiding Coach Winfield’s house and missing Angus, as Demon’s world narrows to Dori, isolation, and occasional drawing.

School becomes mostly irrelevant to Demon except for practical benefits like keeping eligibility and getting a driver’s license. Demon repeats Ms. Annie’s art class but no longer feels the same drive, and Demon connects unexpectedly to assigned books about lost kids and adults who failed them. Demon’s friendships fade after the knee injury, leaving Demon restless and angry at how limited life feels in Lee County.

Spurred by a dare-like challenge from Angus and Demon’s hunger to see the ocean, Demon decides to go to Virginia Beach and cruelly talks it up around Dori, who begs Demon to go without her. Demon recruits Fast Forward for transportation and Maggot for company; Emmy quickly joins, and the four set off with no money, no real plan, and Fast Forward promising a cash connection on the way. Demon’s desire is fueled partly by envy of richer classmates who can take beach trips effortlessly.

The first night they only reach a park called Hungry Mother, where a dumped patch of sand by a lake mocks their “beach” dream. Maggot and Emmy treat it like a party while Demon insists it is not the ocean, and Demon watches Fast Forward and Emmy flirt and dance, heightening Demon’s unease about their dynamic. Fast Forward and Emmy leave to buy food, returning with cold pizza and signs they have been making out, and the group breaks into an unlocked cabin to avoid the dropping temperature.

Unable to sleep, sweating and anxious, Demon takes a small dose of oxy and sits outside, where Emmy joins Demon and confesses her fear and guilt. Emmy reveals June Peggot has been threatened by desperate addicts seeking painkillers and describes manipulation and violence in the exam rooms; Emmy also admits she secretly drove Martha Coldiron to Knoxville for an abortion and lies constantly to June, who hates Fast Forward. Emmy further tells Demon that Maggot is deeper into meth than oxy and is trading sex to procure drugs, leaving Demon shaken; after Emmy goes back inside, Demon stays awake until dawn, reflecting that all of them are “demons” shaped by starving, damaged homes despite the kindness some adults tried to offer.