In Boston, Lily spends her bereavement leave at home while her roommate Lucy rushes out and says she will stay with Alex. Lily sorts through shoeboxes of old belongings brought back from her father's funeral, then receives a call from Lily's mother. Lily's mother assumes Lily froze during the funeral eulogy rather than deliberately refusing to praise Andrew, and Lily lets the excuse stand because she feels some guilt over hurting her mother.

Lily finds her old “Ellen diaries,” journals written as letters to Ellen DeGeneres. Hoping that rereading them might help Lily understand her childhood and possibly find forgiveness, Lily opens the journal from when she was fifteen and begins reading about the time Lily first noticed someone staying in the abandoned house behind her family home.

In the diary entries, teenage Lily sees a boy sneaking out of the empty house and later realizes he rides Lily's school bus. Lily learns from Katie that the boy is Atlas Corrigan, a senior, and notices that Atlas is likely homeless. After realizing Atlas may have stolen radishes from Lily's garden because Atlas has no food, Lily leaves sandwiches, drinks, and chips on the porch for Atlas.

Atlas thanks Lily at the bus stop, then later sits beside Lily on the bus and asks whether Lily told anyone about Atlas staying in the house. Lily says no, and when Lily asks why Atlas does not live with his parents, Atlas says they do not want him there. This answer deepens Lily's sympathy, so Lily impulsively invites Atlas to shower at Lily's house before Lily's parents return.

While Atlas showers, Lily anxiously watches for Lily's parents and packs a backpack with food, clothes, jeans, and socks. After Atlas comes out clean-shaven and transformed, Lily gives Atlas the supplies, introduces herself properly, and notices both Lily's attraction and Atlas's shame. Atlas thanks Lily for not being judgmental, leaving Lily determined to find out what happened to him.

Back in the present, Lily's mother calls again and abruptly raises the possibility of moving to Boston. The idea panics Lily because Lily moved to Boston to gain independence after Andrew's cancer made him too weak to continue physically hurting Lily's mother. With Andrew dead, Lily had expected more freedom, but Lily's mother's possible move makes Lily feel trapped again, so Lily channels the stress into cleaning and organizing.