"So...did that go down the way you hoped it would?" Trent asked.

They were driving back through Possum Springs, though he wasn't sure where they were going. Bea hadn't said anything since they'd left the trailer park.

"...more or less," she replied.

"Okay."

Bea glanced at him. "You're upset."

"I'm...I'd say concerned is a better word than upset."

"Why?"

"That was really out of character for you," he replied. "And not quite in a good way. I mean...it's-" He sighed. "That was a mixed bag."

"Wasn't that the resolution you wanted? Aren't you glad that we got a resolution to it?"

"Yes and yes, I'm just-that was more aggressive than you normally go. And it just...you gambled. And you didn't necessarily have to."

Bea pursed her lips and thought about it for a bit. He waited. She looked like she didn't like what she was hearing.

She didn't speak again until they had pulled up into the driveway of their place and parked. "Okay, Trent. So...I'm going to say something I rarely do: I think you're wrong."

"Okay...I'm listening."

"Thank you. How do I put this?" she muttered. "I think that, for the most part, you are really on the money about what's appropriate and what's not. What's smart and what's not. However, I think there are times where you have a blind spot, when the situation...not passes a certain threshold, necessarily, but falls within a certain window of pressure. Because you proved that it's not a threshold thing with the whole 'getting shot rushing a psycho' situation. When it comes down to it and it's life or death, you do well. But I think that as pressure or tension builds, you do well up to a certain point. And past that point, you begin regressing, and that's not unreasonable, or even illogical. Because there comes a point at which pushing a situation further when there's a given amount of risk becomes stupid. But, there are some situations where, even though the risk is stupid, it is still worth pursuing. So, I'm acknowledging that I did gamble, and more so than usual, but it was not unnecessarily. I think there was a narrow window of time there where Chris was actually open to hearing what we had to say, and I think going for it was worth the risk."

"All right, I'm with you so far," Trent replied. "But what made you suspect that the window was now, under these circumstances?"

She sighed. "I'll admit that it was gut instinct. It was just-all of it felt right. The circumstances, how soon it was after the thing with Claire, you and me being there, hitting him unexpectedly on his home turf...it all felt like a perfect storm. It was just...a moment of clarity. It just felt right. And I recognize that that's kind of a shitty answer to that question, but it's what I've got. It was my judgment. I made the call and I asked you to step into the line of danger for me. But I wasn't doing it just for myself, I was doing it for us. All of us. You, me, Mae, Ann. Anyone else he might come in contact with. Think about it: if we can shift the course of his emotional trajectory for the better, who knows how many people that might help in the future? How many people are going to come in contact with him. He's the kind of guy that's gonna wind up in prison someday because he finally got too pissed and killed someone...and I think you agree with me."

Trent considered it all carefully for a long few minutes, then slowly nodded. "Okay...yeah. I agree. That makes sense. And...it was worth the risk."

"Was it what he said after I got in the Jeep? I didn't really hear any of it, but he looked...well, angry for some of it, but also weirdly receptive. He looked like he was actually fucking listening," Bea replied.

"Yeah. He asked me what was so fucking special about me, why I'm with Mae and you and his sister, because that's like the only thing that really matters in his mind, and also asked me how to be better. And I thought...well, honestly a lot of what you were just saying. I think we're on the same wavelength. I tried. Honestly, I told him you told him everything he needed to hear to be a better person. Whether or not that actually takes?" He shrugged.

Bea nodded, then looked a little guilty. "So...are we cool? I know that as much as I defended myself, I did ask a lot basically without warning, and I was pushier than I normally am...and that's not cool."

"We're cool, Bea," he said. "It all shook out for the best, I think, and overall what you did makes sense. Although...I can't believe you lied about a gun. That was…"

"Yeah. Maybe not the best idea. But it'll make him think twice about coming after any of us, and he'd believe it, too. Half the fucking town is packing in one way or another...but other than that, we're good?"

He laughed. "Yeah, we're good."

"Okay, good." She smiled suddenly. "I'm still pretty keyed up from all that...wanna go have absolutely wild sex?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Race you."

They both hopped out of the Jeep.

Trent found himself laying between two naked, panting women later that night.

He'd fucked Bea and, like usual, Mae had slept through it. Ann had complained that hearing that made her horny, but she wanted a full-on threesome, and Mae still wasn't up yet, so they agreed to wait. While they were waiting, Trent went up and worked on Demontower, and did a bit of preliminary research on Cyber Wars.

And also toked up some, because he was having a hard time coming down from the adrenaline from that encounter.

When Mae finally had woken up, she'd been starving and apologetic once she realized Ann was horny. They'd eaten, but it had taken awhile for her stomach to settle, and they'd started playing Mario Kart and had gotten into that, and then finally Ann had been too horny and pretty much told them either she was going upstairs to masturbate (their wands had come in and wow had they not been kidding about how good they were, apparently, they got LOUD when they used them), or sex.

And so they'd had sex.

"That was...whew…" Ann murmured.

"Feeling better?" Trent asked.

"Yep. So much. Mae, you're getting better at eating pussy."

"Really!?"

"Yep. Two orgasms that time. Good ones."

"Okay, cool. I was a little distracted with Trent fucking destroying my pussy. You go so hard doggystyle," she muttered.

"Should I stop? I'm sorry, your ass is so fucking hot, I can't help it."

She laughed. "No, don't stop! I love getting destroyed. It's just...distracting. When I'm trying to eat pussy."

"And you're getting better about it," Ann said.

"Sweet."

Trent's phone began to ring. He groaned.

"Ignore it," Mae said.

"Who is it? I'm a little tempted," he replied.

She sighed and rolled over away from him, as he was in the middle of the bed, and grabbed his phone from off the nightstand. "Ooh, it's Claire."

"Can't ignore her, especially after what happened today," he muttered, taking the phone and answering it. "Hello."

"Trent. What did you do?" Claire asked immediately.

"Uh...what do you mean?" he replied.

"I just got done having a two hour conversation with Chris. He came over to my apartment after I got off work and apologized. He fucking cried, Trent! He apologized for, like, everything. The shit that happened when we were kids, the time he just took my car without asking, like-fuck, what happened? I'd ask if you kicked his ass but he didn't seem beat up."

"Uh, well, short answer is: Bea found out he was spreading lies about her."

"Oh God," she muttered.

"Yeah. And so we went to confront him."

"You were there!?"

"Yeah, I mean, I wasn't going to let her go alone."

"Jesus...okay, continue."

"Bea pretty much told him to fuck off and leave us alone, and he sort...broke down a little? Not much, but he was all 'why won't you date me? Am I ugly?', and so Bea and I set him straight on, like...a lot of things, because he actually seemed receptive to listening. And I guess some of it got through?"

"I mean it had to have. He's never fucking acted like this before. Never. He said he wanted to get his shit together and, despite my better judgment, I told him to try applying at Telezoft. They've got such a fucking turnover rate that they're always hiring. Honestly I think that'd be a real trial by fire for him. He'd have to reign his fucking temper in to work there. I don't know if he's changed or if this will actually stick, only time will tell, but...thank you. I'll tell her when I see her again, but tell Bea thanks from me. It...was rather cathartic. I'm still really pissed at him, but...I'd be lying if I said I had no happy memories with him."

"You're welcome, Claire. Despite everything...I really do hope it works out."

"...you're too nice for your own good."

"I mean, apparently not."

"It could still all go really, really wrong."

"I love how optimistic you are, Claire," he said.

She laughed. "Fine, fair enough. What are you doing right now?"

"Uh…"

"He's laying between two naked women!" Mae declared.

"Oh, wow. Was this a bad time?" she asked.

"No. Well, maybe a little. I mean, we've finished the threesome and we're into the come-down and aftercare."

"I should let you go. I've got some...mental unpacking to do after that. But I do want to hang out again soon. Okay?"

"Okay," he replied.

"Thanks. Later."

"Later."

He hung up and passed the phone back to Mae, who took it and started messing with it.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I heard you got an ass pic from her and I wanna see it."

"Is she okay with that?" Ann asked.

"Yeah, she gave me permission to show you all," Trent replied. "And it's a really nice pic."

"Ooh, wow. Real hot. Check it out," Mae said, passing the phone to Ann.

"Wow, yeah. Definitely nice," she agreed.

She gave the phone back to Trent, who took one more look at the pic, then gave it back to Mae, who set it back on the nightstand.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Shower? You came in both of us," Mae complained.

"I was about to suggest that," Ann said.

"Can all three of us fit in the shower?" Mae asked.

"We can try," Trent replied.

"I'm down if you are," Mae said, and hopped up out of bed.

He and Ann both laughed and followed after her.

All in all, it had been a good, if stressful, day.