Liam rasps. “No one else was going in.” Later, Liam reveals he’d been awake when the fire started and saw Mike and his drunk friends leave. When he noticed flames, he rushed out — and learned Max was left behind. Without hesitation, he ran into the burning house. The next morning, Mike shows up on Claire’s doorstep, shaken. He admits the fire was his fault — he left the grill on. Humbled,
he offers Max to Liam, recognizing the boy’s bravery and realizing it’s time to make changes. He’s going to rehab and leaving town for a while. As Max bounds into the house and into Liam’s arms, Claire sees the laughter return to her son’s face — something she hasn’t seen since her husband died. Watching them play in the yard later, she whispers to the quiet air beside her, “You’d be so proud of him.”