When Trent came awake, he felt good.
Motivated.
It was a little hard to get himself out from between Mae and Bea. Mae, as expected, didn't rouse at all. Bea moaned and rolled over.
"Go away," she murmured.
"Is that any way to talk to your boyfriend?" Trent replied as he stood and stretched.
"Mmm...you do got a hot ass," Bea muttered as she raised her head and stared at him. "But I'm so fucking tired."
"Go back to sleep. I'll get you up when Angus gets here," Trent replied.
"You're a fucking life safer."
Trent laughed and grabbed some of his clothes, noticing Ann was already up apparently. As he headed for the bathroom, he faintly heard something downstairs, what sounded like a game. A familiar one, though he wasn't awake enough to place it at the moment. He went into the bathroom, feeling focused, coming more awake with each minute.
Trent was a writer, and he had gone too long without writing. Well, besides that Demontower fanfic. It occurred to him that he had been focusing on the new people in his life. Specifically, his now three girlfriends. That still was something he was having a hard time adjusting to, and he was terrified he was going to somehow fuck it up. But, the important thing that he was also realizing, was that he had an opportunity to get his writing career off the ground right now.
That might not be true in six months, or even two.
Because this situation was precarious. The fact of the matter was, they were three people, living in a house, without any income. He'd already blown through almost two grand so far, and even though he had more coming in from the furniture sales, how long would that keep them going? Not long enough, he had to use the resources he had while he still had them to get an actual revenue stream coming in, somehow, or it would all bleed away.
He was scared, because everything he'd learned about being a writer was just...insane. Too much luck, a lot of work, a lot of pitfalls.
But what else was he going to do?
Trent brushed his teeth, took a leak, showered, dried, dressed, and then headed downstairs where he found Ann sitting on the coffee table.
"Hey," he said, seeing that she was playing Mario Kart 64.
"Hey," she replied, "I hooked up your N64, I hope that's okay. Also, the cords aren't long enough to reach the couch."
"That's cool, and we'll have to find a fix for that. You having fun?" Trent replied.
"A lot. I forgot how much I loved this game. I feel like a kid again...you need me to do anything?"
"Nope, keep on having fun. I'm gonna make breakfast. You cool with bacon and eggs?"
"Yes. And thank you. I really appreciate it," she replied.
"Also, I'm gonna be kind of locked away in my office for most of the day. I have work to get done. Also, I will totally take you up on that editing offer."
"Oh. Sweet. I can start on that today actually. I'm super curious of what you've written about," Ann replied. Then she winced. "My laptop's kinda shit, though. I've been meaning to have Angus look at it, Bea said he could help maybe make it go faster, although it's never been super fast."
"Mind if I look at it?" he asked.
"Go for it, dude. There's no password. Also, there's actually nothing left on there that I feel like keeping, so if you fry it, like, no big deal," Ann replied.
"I'll do what I can with it."
She got up and walked over to where she'd set some of her stuff off to the side when they'd been moving her in, then brought her laptop back.
"Uh...thanks," she said as he took it.
"You're welcome," he replied.
"No. I mean, like...for everything. All the stuff-you've done a lot for me, Trent. You and Mae. And it means a lot. And I still don't really know how to react to it. I mean, I know how I should, but I just feel...guilty. Like I don't deserve all this. I really fucked things up for myself. That you and Mae and Bea are all giving me a chance is...I can't really convey how much it means to me. I know I've said that before, but, like, it's a huge deal. Before you came along...I kind of felt like my life was over. Like I was just doomed, and it wasn't ever going to get any better. But it doesn't feel that way anymore. I'm still scared I'll fuck things up, but I don't feel doomed anymore. And that is like...I don't know, man. I don't really have words for that."
Trent came over and sat down beside her on the coffee table. He gave her a hug and she squeezed him tightly. "I don't really know what to say," he admitted. "I just want you to be happy. You're a good person, Ann. I guess...don't feel, like, indebted to me or something. You're my friend. My girlfriend now. And my roommate. I guess...let's just, you know, get settled. And try to take it easy."
"And have sex?" she asked.
He laughed. "Yes, very most definitely have sex. You are so good at sex."
"I used to think that I sucked at it," she murmured as they parted from the hug. "I still don't know how I feel about it...I mean, to be clear, I feel good about having sex with you and Mae. I don't want to send any mixed messages there. I'm, like, way happy to be doing it with you. Like, over the moon. I feel like all of us, all four of us, you and me and Mae and Bea, like, we all didn't realize sex could actually be this good. And that's just...so much fun."
"It fucking is," Trent agreed. "I mean, yeah. I'm not quite on the same level as Bea and Mae. They're both so inexperienced, which...I mean, surprises me, for different reasons, for both of them. But you honestly can't tell about people. But yeah, it's such a fun experience."
"Yeah. So...you're right. We'll take it easy. Figure things out...thanks. For being so understanding and chill, dude. You're, like...a million times better than my ex-husband."
"Well...I just wanna take care of you and make you happy, Ann."
"And that is like head and fucking shoulders above Dennis, Trent." She kissed him. "Let me know if you need or want anything from me."
"I will, I promise. For now, enjoy yourself. You've had, like, a really long, dark time, and you need an actual rest and recovery period," he said.
"I do...and thank you, for giving me time and a place to make that happen. I think I heard Bea once say you're the MVP, you fucking are, man."
They kissed again and he took her laptop into the kitchen, where he fired it up and began trying to see what was up while also making some breakfast. Trent had never really thought of himself as someone who liked to cook or the guy who made food for people but...that was really turning out to be the case in this new house of his. And from what he was learning, women, or at least these women, really appreciate a man that could and would cook for them.
He saw a few problems right away with her laptop: it was old, it was cheap, it was jam-packed full of stuff. Music, documents, pictures, some games. He was almost positive it had some kind of malware on it. Trent was, by no stretch of the imagination, a tech expert, but he at least knew a few things. First thing he did was run the security program, which was, for some reason, turned off. While it ran its course, he made breakfast. After he got a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns out to Ann, he saw that it was still going.
He made himself a plate, and found that it was still going.
He ended up leaving it running and joined Ann in the living room, eating his breakfast. He didn't get very far into it before there was a knock at the door.
"Oh boy, Bea's gonna be pissed," he muttered as he got up.
"Why? Who is it?" Ann asked.
"Angus. It means she's gotta wake up and go be responsible."
"Oh...yeah. God, I hope she doesn't resent us for all being lazy fucks who can sleep in as much as we want...uh, not that you're a lazy fuck."
"No, I totally agree with you. We're gonna have to sort of even the odds on that," Trent replied. "Be right back."
He answered the door and indeed found Angus waiting for him. Outside, a light dusting of snow had fallen overnight.
"It's getting cold," he said as he came in.
"Definitely...although I'm waiting for a big one," Trent said, studying his front yard briefly before closing the door.
"Oh it's coming...is Bea up yet?"
"No, not yet. Uh...while I'm waking her, you know laptop stuff, right?" he asked.
"I do. Mostly. Why?"
"Ann's laptop is...kinda fucked, I think. Would you mind checking it out?"
"Not at all. It'll give Bea some time to wake up."
"Thank you very much. It's in the kitchen. Feel free to help yourself to whatever food is in there."
"Very excellent and many thank yous."
They parted ways and Trent headed upstairs. When he opened the door, he found that both Bea and Mae hadn't moved an inch. He moved over to Bea and gently began rubbing her arm. It took a moment, but she came awake.
"What?" she murmured.
"Angus is here," he replied regretfully.
"Fuck."
"I know. I'm sorry."
She sighed. "What time is it?"
Trent checked his phone. "Eleven fifty."
"Good, I have some time at least." She looked up at him with bleary eyes and smiled suddenly. "Would you have a quickie with me in the shower?"
"You're really loud when you have sex, Bea," Ann said as they came downstairs.
"I'm sorry! Like, it feels really good! And it just, like, it makes me make noise!" Bea complained as they came into the living room.
"Honestly I get it," Ann replied, smiling. "I just like teasing you a little."
"Guess I should probably start getting used to that." She sighed suddenly. "I have, like, so much to do. I don't know if I'm actually gonna see you for the rest of the week. Also...uh...something that I thought about. I can't even remember if I mentioned it or not before but even if I did, I wanted to go over it again. And maybe you could go over it with Mae. But, like, don't send messages, like...as my boyfriend, if that makes sense? Like over the phone or over the internet. Anything that could be read. I don't know if my dad might somehow get into my phone or laptop, but if he did and saw it...I mean it's pretty unlikely, but I'm just paranoid. Basically, I'm your girlfriend just inside this house...oh my fucking God I'm such a shitty girlfriend…" she moaned.
"Hey, no, come on, don't think that," Trent said. He hugged her and she clung to him. "You're a fucking awesome girlfriend, Bea. I know that our relationship comes with certain conditions, and I understood that completely when I said yes to this. You don't want people to know, it makes logical sense, and I respect it. It's okay. I'm not mad. And I'll be careful."
"Fuck, Trent, you are such a good boyfriend," Bea groaned again. "I was so fucking scared that, like, I was gonna fight a lot with my boyfriend, if I ever actually got one, and you're just so...reasonable. I just...thank you. I really appreciate you being so cool about this. There's so many problems in my life, I can't tell you how grateful I am to have you not only not adding to them, but to actually give me a place I can come to and just fucking relax for awhile. Although, like, don't let all my complaining stop you from telling me if you've got a problem. Like, I want to be supportive and helpful too, okay?"
"Okay, Bea," he replied. "I promise, I'll let you know."
"Good. That goes for everyone in earshot," she said loudly, "and also Mae but she's sleeping and she's never not complained at me anyway, even when it was completely inappropriate." She groaned and let go of him. "I don't fucking want to leave...but I have to. I promised my dad I'd help clean the apartment today, and then I got work all the rest of the week. And all of a sudden my dad's all like 'let's hang out!', and I know it's just because he wants to keep me from you, and if this were before I'd call him on his bullshit, but now? It's like, he's finally doing stuff instead of wasting away on the couch and I want to actually support him doing stuff even if he's doing it for the wrong reasons...goddamnit my fucking life…" she groaned.
"We'll be there for you however we can," Trent said. "Text and call whenever. Just because we can't talk like boyfriend and girlfriend doesn't mean we can't talk."
"Okay...thank you...is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.
"Actually, yes. Keep sending people my way to buy furniture and also if you can get a lead on like a used car or something, I'd fucking love that, because I need a goddamned car," Trent said.
"Oh, yeah, wow. Three people live in this house and none of us have cars," Ann murmured.
"I will totally try to get a line on that, and I will definitely send people your way. Actually now's a great time for it with all the gift-giving and extra money floating around," Bea said.
"Oh yeah, speaking of extra money," Trent murmured, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and handed Bea three twenties.
"What...is this for?" she asked, accepting them uncertainly.
"For whatever," he replied. "Gas money. Food money. Bullshit money. Buy yourself something that will keep you sane with it."
"Trent, no...I...fuck…" she muttered, looking down at it. "This is like sixty bucks, dude. I can't just accept this."
"Bea, I get where you're coming from, but I also remember how much even like a goddamned twenty would've helped me get through a really, really shitty day by letting me get myself an energy drink or a burger or something. I know how much something like that can help when you're putting up with awful bullshit, and I want you to be able to do that. Just...consider it another Longest Night present, or a late birthday present maybe," he said.
She sighed, then stuffed the money in her purse and then kissed him firmly. "Thank you," she said. She gripped his shoulders and stared at him. "I'm gonna say this now, and probably again later, but I'm sorry if I seem ungrateful, or make it hard to take care of me, or be my boyfriend. I've had to get by on so little for so long, and I've lost so much...it's just made me…" she sighed suddenly and looked up while blinking several times. "Goddamnit I'm gonna fucking cry," she whispered.
"It's okay, Bea," Trent replied. "I understand."
She laughed. "You have to keep saying that with us," she muttered, then shook her head and wiped at her eyes and sniffed. "It's okay, I'm fine. I'm not going to cry. I'm fine. But...thank you. Okay, I should go now. I'll text you."
"I guess now is a good time to give my report," Angus said.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you needed to talk," Bea replied.
"It's okay." He looked at Ann and Trent. "So, I took a look at the laptop and, like, it's got some viruses on it and it's really overloaded with files and documents and bloatware and junkware. There's this USB stick I gave to Mae awhile back, she might still have it. If you stick it in the laptop, it should basically clean it out, but you'll also lose, like, everything on it. So grab what you want before you use it. If she doesn't have it, let me know, I'll get another to you. That being said, I managed to clean it up a bit, so it's more usable right now. And a defrag is running on it so that should help, but it'll probably take awhile."
"Thanks, Angus. I really appreciate the help," Ann said.
"Yep. Uh, I'm ready if you are, Bea."
"Okay, let's get going Angus," Bea replied. "Bye Selma. Bye amazing boyfriend."
They both told her goodbye and she and Angus headed out. Trent closed the door behind them, lingering and watching her go through the window, then returned to the couch and fell onto it heavily with a sigh.
"Jeez, dude, we're like...such a heavy group," Ann murmured. "I'm sorry."
"You know what? I'm not," Trent replied.
"Really?"
"Yes. Really. I'm actually grateful. Like genuinely. And it's not just because you and Bea and Mae are dating me and fucking me. I knew so many people who just didn't give a shit, or who were pieces of shit, who just lied their asses off, or got angry over everything, or used everyone they met. So many selfish assholes. And everyone I've met here that I'm making friends with are just so...real. Honest. I don't care that it's difficult, it's worth it. You and Mae and Bea are absolutely worth it."
"That's probably one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me," Ann replied after a moment. "I appreciate that...how about we lighten things up and play some Mario Kart until my defrag is done or until you get tired of getting your ass beat."
"You're fucking on," Trent replied, grinning and grabbing one of the controllers.
They played for an hour, and then Trent again felt the call of responsibility.
He checked on the laptop and found that the defrag had run its course. It ran better, but he could tell it was far from optimized.
"If you bring me your stuff, I'll start reading and editing it right now," Ann said when he brought her the laptop.
"All right, cool. I'll grab it for you. I should probably also check on Mae."
He headed upstairs and walked into the bedroom, where Mae was still out cold. He considered how to handle that for a moment, then decided to see if she wanted something to eat. It took a few minutes, but he finally managed to coax her awake.
"What's happening?" she mumbled, her voice so thick with sleep he almost couldn't understand her.
"Nothing, everything's okay," Trent replied. "I just wanted to see if you wanted breakfast...or lunch, I guess."
"Um. Uh. Shit," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Wow, I haven't felt like this since I got wasted in the woods and then woke up the next morning. Jeez I didn't even drink...right? No, I mean I remember last night, I just feel like shit. I got a really bad headache. Fuck, dude. Um. Let me go to the bathroom and then we can talk."
"Okay."
She got up and he was a little concerned she might need help walking to the bathroom from the way she stumbled twice, but she made it. After a few minutes she came back, seeming mildly more coherent, and got back into bed.
Mae stared off into space for a moment, then focused and looked at Trent. "Okay, love, I'm going to be fucking real with you: I cannot tolerate interacting with people today. I'm blue-screening. Like, not even you. And I love you, I just...can't today. I can hardly leave this room. I can hardly leave bed. I think I had too much activity yesterday, like it was an overload...will you give me my laptop and then leave and close the door and not talk to me for awhile? I'm really sorry. I'm not trying to be a bitch I'm just trying to be honest."
"I totally get it, Mae," he replied. "I will get you your laptop and leave you alone."
"I love you so much."
"I love you too, Mae."
He remembered her laptop was downstairs and he went and grabbed it and brought it up to her. "If you need anything at all, how about you send me an IM over your laptop?"
"I will totally do that but it'll be awhile...thank you. For real."
"You're welcome. Good luck recovering."
She just nodded.
Trent left the bedroom and shut the door, then headed to the office where he'd thankfully put his own laptop and spent a moment pulling his five short stories and two novels that he'd actually finished from his laptop and putting them onto a USB stick and gave them to Ann.
"I'll get on it. And like I'm not bullshitting about the editing, I'm actually really good at it. And, um...so, like, how do I put this…" she murmured, hesitating.
"You're trying to think of how to ask me if I'll lose my shit if you tell me parts of my book are crap or need improvement?" he asked.
"Basically," she replied with an awkward smile.
"Just be real with me. I can handle it, and I trust you."
"Okay, good, because like it wouldn't be like 'you're a bad writer' it'd be 'here's where you can improve'."
"I'll appreciate any advice you can think of," Trent replied.
"Okay, cool. Um...I'll get to it, then. I'm honestly super curious about what you wrote. I took a peek at that fan fic you wrote for Mae and even from just a few paragraphs I can at least tell you've got really good prose. It's not everything, but...good prose is like a good start. I've read books that had stupid or almost nonsense plots but I was sucked in because the prose was just so good."
"Well, hopefully it's enough," Trent said.
He left her to it and went upstairs to his office where he fired up his laptop, fired up some music, and then got to work actually researching how to self publish.