June tells Demon that Emmy is being sent to a long-term residential treatment program in Asheville, not a short rehab stint. June invites Demon to say goodbye, and mentions that Rose Dartell has contacted Emmy with a threat, increasing the urgency and fear around Emmy’s departure.

After work at the co-op, Demon visits June’s house and Emmy asks to walk to their old ruined cabin. Emmy, still thin and shaken from her rescue but recognizably herself, admits she is terrified to leave because she fears being reshaped in a place where nobody knows who she used to be. Demon tries to reassure Emmy she will handle it, while privately doubting that identity and reputation will carry over outside Lee County.

Demon gives Emmy the old snake bracelet, and Emmy fastens it around her ankle, revealing how much Demon’s childhood devotion (and care for his mother) mattered to her. Emmy nearly kisses Demon but instead asks Demon to try to take care of Dori, and tells Demon that Demon has an inner steadiness she lacks. Demon reflects bitterly on Dori’s ongoing self-destruction and his own failing efforts to keep her alive.

Leaving, Demon finds Hammer Kelly pulled over, heartbroken and unable to face Emmy. Hammer asks Demon to pass along a goodbye and an apology, admitting he still loves Emmy, and Demon realizes there is nothing he can fix for Hammer.

Later, Angus franticly calls Demon for help at Coach Winfield’s house. Demon arrives to find Angus and U-Haul screaming and circling each other; Angus orders Demon not to let U-Haul leave. Demon restrains U-Haul, is bitten and has his injured knee yanked, and U-Haul escapes outside. Angus has grabbed all the car keys and locked U-Haul out of his Mustang, buying them time as they shelter inside the car and try to anticipate what U-Haul will do next.

In the car, Angus reveals U-Haul’s sexual threat and long-term predation: he has kept her underwear since she was a child and watched her bathing, and now is using blackmail to force sex. The blackmail centers on financial crimes Angus uncovered in Coach’s office—U-Haul forging Coach’s signature, stealing from Miss Betsy, and diverting booster and football funds into his mother’s account—triggered after a caller (Mr. McCobb) warned of Coach’s money being invested through U-Haul. Near midnight, they check on Coach, who is passed out and unaware; Demon helps Angus take Coach’s Smith & Wesson to bed for protection, urges her to barricade the door, and stays long enough to steady her as she starts planning lawyers, repayment, and the fallout, while Angus wrestles with guilt for having long known about Coach’s alcoholism.