Slammed

Eddie drags Lake to a bathroom and does her hair and makeup. They return to the table, and Will is present as well as Javi, a classmate. Lake tries to explain to Eddie that she and Will are not in a relationship; Eddie does not pry. Will gives Lake a small smile. Eddie is called up to recite her poem. She speaks of a pink balloon she was given as a child by her mother, as well as her life in foster care and her upcoming 18th birthday. The crowd applauds her.

Javi’s leg keeps bumping Lake’s, which she does not care for. Will notices and insists they switch seats. Afterward, Gavin, Eddie, Will, and Lake talk. Gavin recalls when he and Will pranked each other; he was a sophomore and Will was a senior. Lake is heartened by the easy dynamic between her and Will.

The next night, Kel and Caulder beg for a sleepover, and Julia relents. Lake texts Eddie, and Eddie invites her to go to the movies with her and Gavin. While she is in the bathroom, Lake sees a pile of bills. She opens one and sees the family’s bank balance and mortgage repayments. She concludes that they didn’t need to sell their Texan ranch, as their financial situation isn’t dire. Lake believes her mother lied to get them to move to Michigan for her to start a new relationship. She furiously leaves, ignoring her mother’s pleas to come back. She cries over pizza with Eddie and Gavin.

Lake’s mother is waiting for her when she returns and hugs her. Lake berates her over her new relationship, but Julia explains that she is not seeing someone; she has lung cancer and is dying. Lake goes across the road and collapses in Will’s arms, telling him about her mother’s prognosis. He carries her to his bed. Lake hears him quietly talk to her mother, insisting that she be allowed to stay.

Lake wakes up in Will’s bed, and it is late. Will makes her coffee and says he will take the boys to a movie and then dinner so she can talk to her mom. Across the road, Lake sees Eddie pull up and calls her over. Eddie comments on the fact that she is wearing the same clothes as the night before and that she is at their teacher’s house. Lake tells her everything, including her mother’s condition. Eddie insists they talk to Lake’s mother.

Eddie drags a reluctant Lake across the road and sits her on the couch next to her mother. She explains that Lake needs to ask questions and her mother needs to answer them. She gives Julia a hug and then leaves. It is revealed that Lake’s father knew about Julia’s diagnosis and decided to move the family to Michigan, where Julia could get treatment. However, Julia was overwhelmed with her husband’s death and blamed the shock of her diagnosis for his heart attack. She didn’t go to the doctor for three months, by which time the cancer had spread; the cancer is terminal. Julia’s friend Brenda volunteered to raise Kel, and they will inform Kel that night. Lake screams that she will not allow her brother to be given away. She runs across the road to Will’s bedroom and cries on his bed. She remembers getting into a car accident due to the driver being drunk and how she thought only of Kel at the moment of impact.

Lake wakes up and cleans Will’s house, meticulously organizing books and recipe cards. Will insists that Lake have a shower and retrieves clean clothes from her house. They fall asleep together on the floor, listening to the Avett Brothers. Eddie comes back to check on Lake, and Will is angry that she knew to check his house. He angrily tells Lake to go home. The next day, Lake takes Kel out for a day of fun, including breakfast, ice skating, and the movies.

Will arrives to class late, clearly in a bad mood. He asks the class to score a number of poems, including Eddie’s. Lake questions the point of the assignment. Will finally explains that it doesn’t matter what other people make of one’s poetry, just that one expresses something; points can’t be assigned to sharing a piece of your soul. He then tears up the tallied scores. Will gives Lake and Eddie detention slips, so, after school, they return to the classroom. Lake questions why Will can’t come to her house and talk, and Will reveals that Caulder was in the car accident that killed their parents. At first, Caulder lived with their grandparents, but he hated this, so Will abandoned his football scholarship and girlfriend to build a life for him. He explains that if Eddie tells anyone what she knows, he will lose his job, and this would affect Caulder. Will leaves, emotional. Crying, Eddie asks Lake how she is not in love with Will, and Lake explains that she is in love with him.

Lake recalls the time she almost had sex with Seth, an ex-boyfriend. She remembers how she broke her curfew and had to confront her parents after that night; she feels the same way now, readying herself for a confrontation with her mother. She is relieved when she sees Julia, Kel, and Caulder carving pumpkins together. Lake joins in, and her mother agrees that they can just carve pumpkins that night and not talk about her diagnosis. Will arrives and joins in; it is revealed that Will gave Lake detention, and Julia is jokingly happy about it. They all eat pizza together, and then Caulder and Will leave.

While throwing out the trash, Lake sees Will doing the same. They hug, and Will tells her that she will never be ready for her mother’s diagnosis but that her mother has the right to tell Kel. Julia comes into Lake’s bedroom that night and says tonight will be her last shift at her nursing job.