Jet moves in with Ryan and watches as he relapses. After a few months of his rage, silence, and unpredictability, she moves in with Elise. Elise makes Jet go to therapy, which she hates, particularly after a joint session with Ryan, who could not bring himself to talk about Lillian. Over the first year after Lillian’s death, Jet struggles to overcome her grief, at times even thinking that she wishes she were dead herself. On the first anniversary of Lillian’s death, Jet visits her gravestone and sketches an oak tree near the grave, thinking of how she draws the living tree on paper made from a dead tree.

As the years go by, Jet watches the oak tree by her mother’s grave grow. She reaches the end of high school, though her grades drop, and she refuses help and sympathy from teachers. Elise pleads with her to finish high school, and Jet earns her diploma the summer after her senior year, but she does not apply for college.

Shauna invites Jet to lunch every month, but Jet rarely agrees to it. She doesn’t want to tell anyone about her struggles, like how she often makes herself throw up. She avoids Kendi, too. When Jet finally sees Shauna, she feels comforted by the memories of Lillian that Shauna brings up.

Jet wants Ryan in her life but cannot do it if he is still drinking. She sees that memories of Lillian haunt him but believes his unwillingness to stop using alcohol means he does not want her.

Jet spends Christmas with Elise, and a few days later, Shauna calls to invite them to a New Year’s Eve party, which Ryan is also invited to. Jet does not want to go, but after Elise presses her, she agrees to attend.

At the party, Jet does her best to avoid Ryan. Shauna tells her that Kendi is not at the party, in order to make the night easier for Jet. Jet sees Ryan, and though he seems sober, she cannot talk to him for long. She goes to the bathroom and forces herself to throw up. Then she asks Elise if they can leave. When Elise goes back inside to get her shawl, Ryan finds Jet on the front steps. He says that he is sober, though he drank the night before. Jet yells at him, saying she is not Lillian and cannot just forgive him if he is not going to try to be better.

At home, Jet texts Kendi. He invites her to join him at their childhood park. When she gets there, they catch up, closing the gap that has separated them since Lillian’s death. Kendi is in college and has a girlfriend. At midnight, he apologizes to Jet, saying he wishes he had saved Lillian. Jet realizes that she never considered Kendi’s pain and regret, and she forgives him. Jet feels as though she has her best friend back.

Jet visits Shauna for lunch. At her house, Jet notices bags full of clothes for Goodwill in the foyer. Shauna tells her that they are the black clothes Kendi wore during a phase in high school. Jet does not remember it, but Shauna tells her that Kendi struggled after Lillian’s death, quitting his hobbies and never leaving the house. It was only after Michael spoke with him about moving forward that Kendi abandoned the black clothing. Later, Jet texts Kendi, and he reminds her of her own fashion phases. She thinks of what other phases are to come, and for the first time, she imagines her future.

Jet takes photography up again, buying a new camera and doing freelance work. When she is hired to make a calendar, she asks Kendi to join her on a trip to Palo Duro, where she can take nature photos. The trip also serves as a celebration for his graduation, and though they invite his on-again-off-again girlfriend Leah, the night before the trip, they break up.

The first three days of their trip are sunny and nice, great for sleeping under the stars and hiking. Jet finds herself more comfortable and relaxed with Kendi than she has been in years. When she wakes in the middle of the night from a nightmare about finding Lillian dead, Kendi comforts her and shares that he has the same nightmares. They reminisce about Lillian, and Kendi tells Jet that she was happy that final night.

On their final day, Jet presses Kendi to talk about his breakup with Leah. Kendi admits that Leah broke up with him because of Jet. She said that no one could compare to Jet in Kendi’s eyes. When Jet pushes back on this, Kendi tells her that Leah was right, and he loves her. She tells him she does not feel the same way about him, though he is like a brother to her. The drive home is awkward. When Kendi drops Jet off at home, she asks if things will be different between them now, and Kendi admits that he is unsure.

Jet loves living with Elise. One night, while cooking dinner, she receives an email from a stranger. Seeing her mother’s name in the email, she closes her laptop and finishes cooking, trying to hide her distress from Elise. After dinner, she goes to a coffee shop and rereads the email. It is from Elise’s first child, Davis Condie. He shares details of his life with Jet, wanting to meet her to better understand Lillian and his family.

Jet visits Ryan, looking for answers. She sees that his apartment is clean and that he seems sober, but she doesn’t trust this. When she asks who Davis is, Ryan admits that Lillian had a child before he met her. He gives Jet a letter from Lillian that he found when he cleaned out the apartment after her death.

Furious, Jet demands to know why he kept the letter from her and why Lillian never mentioned her son. She accuses Ryan of abandoning her and now believes that Lillian did the same thing with Davis. She leaves in fury and shoves the letter in her glove box. As she drives away, she struggles to take in this new information, and for the first time, she “understands the urge to drink” (184).

Jet struggles to write an email back to Davis, expressing many different emotions before finally settling on a short message, agreeing to meet.

Jet meets Davis at a restaurant on the River Walk. He tells her that he is one of two adopted kids, and he has a great relationship with his parents and a young family he loves. Jet tells him about Ryan, and Davis sympathizes with her, recognizing the double loss of Lillian and Ryan. Jet can see the joy he finds in learning about Lillian, but when she asks about Davis’s biological father, Davis says that the man does not want to connect.

As they learn more about each other, Jet thinks about what life could have been like if they grew up together. She realizes that she has a niece and nephew, and that Lillian had grandkids. Before they part, they agree to see each other again. Davis tells Jet that he wants to see Lillian’s grave, and she offers to take him and his family if they ever stop by. On her way home, she listens to Lillian’s favorite musician, Kenny G, and thinks she may one day open Lillian’s letter.

Jet has been hired to photograph a birth, and she is called to the birthing center in the middle of the night. She captures the parents, who already have two children, preparing for the birth. She is amazed by the mother’s strength and the father’s caring nature. She captures the pain and joy of the moment and thinks of how the beginning of life also guarantees the eventual loss of death. Afterward, she visits Lillian’s grave and angrily asks her tombstone why she let Davis go. Inspired by the night’s events, Jet decides that she will return to school to become a midwife.

Eight months after Jet and Kendi go on their trip together, Jet reaches out and asks if he will be home for Christmas. Shauna keeps telling her how much he likes his aerospace job in Houston, and Jet is relieved when he agrees to meet and catch up while he is home.

They get coffee, and Jet asks if he is seeing anyone. He tells her that he is seeing a girl named Anna. When he brings up that Shauna and Michael tease him about having kids, Jet is shocked to realize that they are old enough to have kids now. She tells him that she does not want kids, citing the pain in her past, and he is understanding.

Before they part, Jet mentions that she is photographing a wedding near him soon, and she suggests that they meet for lunch. Kendi agrees and offers to let her stay with him. Jet thanks him, and as she watches him get into his truck, she realizes with horror that she finds him attractive.