Paul keeps a diary and shares that time at Georgia Pines tends to erode memory, something he actively fights against. He wakes up early to take a walk through the woods with his breakfast of buttered toast, borrowing a staff poncho to protect himself from the rain. He performs an unnamed task in one of the old sheds along the path and makes his way back, but not before running into Brad. Brad demands to know what Paul is doing in the woods and why he is so secretive. He grabs Paul’s wrist when he determines no one is watching. His grasp is so painful that Paul accidentally squeezes his buttered toast to shreds. Paul reluctantly apologizes and concedes to Brad’s bullying, promising to not tell anyone about the abuse. When Paul runs into Elaine later, she expresses concern about Brad’s treatment of Paul but says that she agrees with Brad in the sense that Paul does seem to have a secret. Paul asks if Elaine will read what he has written about his time at Cold Mountain when he is done, to which she agrees.