Trent stopped so abruptly that Molly walked into him. He was trying to assess the situation. Tabby didn't seem angry or afraid, and Chris seemed...weirdly normal, actually. He did look like he was hitting on her, though, and Trent didn't know how he felt about that. They hadn't actually discussed if she was going to be exclusive while she was down visiting. But he was caught between wondering if he should warn her, (she knew something of their history), and maybe just backing off. Mainly just not to cause a scene.

"Dude, what's going on? Why are you just stopping?" Molly asked.

"Oh...shit," Bea whispered.

"Yeah. Let's just back up," Trent replied. "We'll just get out of sight and-"

Tabby looked right over at him, maybe having heard them talking, as they were just in earshot, and she smiled and gave a little wave. Chris glanced over and his entire expression and stance changed in an instant when he saw them. He looked at Trent, who was looking at him and Tabby, then looked back at Tabby, who was now looking a little confused.

"Dude, you-you are doing this on purpose!" Chris snarled in a sudden fit of rage.

"Oh shit," Trent muttered.

Tabby's eyes widened and she took a step back, more out of instinct than anything else. Chris turned fully to face Trent.

"I swear to God, I'm not," Trent replied, and had to fight the sudden insane urge to laugh.

Because it was kind of funny. Not at Chris's expense, necessarily, but in that the universe seemed to conspire to keep introducing Chris to women that Trent had already fucked or been somehow intimate with.

"I don't fucking believe you," Chris said, visibly trying to control himself.

"What the fuck is going on?" Tabby asked.

"You fucked him, didn't you?" Chris asked, looking back at her.

A look of pure confusion, followed by some righteous indignation came onto her face. "Is that any of your business, absolute fucking stranger who approached me out of nowhere in a grocery store?" she asked.

"I-" He grit his teeth, looking rapidly between Tabby and Trent.

"Dude, I swear, I'm seriously not fucking with you. I had no idea you were here," Trent said.

"What is going on?!" Tabby demanded.

"Chris!"

They all looked over and saw Claire stalking rapidly towards him.

"Oh goddamnit," he whispered, shaking his head, his rage seeming to leave him. He looked at Tabby. "I'm sorry for being rude," he said in a way that sounded strained, and then he looked at Claire and said, "I know, you don't want to talk to me, I'm going."

And with that, he turned and stalked off into the liquor department.

"Chris, goddamnit, wait!" Claire snapped, and then she was gone.

Trent, Bea, and Molly walked quickly over to Tabby who, thankfully, looked more confused than frightened.

"You okay?" Trent asked.

"I'm...so fucking confused. Some guy comes up and starts hitting on me, but in a surprisingly not asshole way, and we're talking, but he's pretty hot, and then that happened. Obviously you two know each other. What the hell happened?"

"That's Claire's brother," Trent said. "He's the guy who pulled a box cutter on me, and...in his mind, I 'stole' Bea, despite the fact that I already had two other girlfriends, and then I'm also the guy who fucked his sister," he explained, his voice lowering, "and also happens to be in the company of a super hot chick who happens to be a lesbian. And now, he's talking to you, apparently shooting his shot, and he put together right away that yes, I had also fucked you."

Tabby thought about that for a long moment, then her mouth dropping open. "Holy shit, dude," she said, "that...is an insane coincidence." She frowned and rubbed her chin, looking back into the liquor department. "So, fuck him for attacking you, but I can kinda see his side of things. You're, like, a walking cock-blocker for him apparently."

"I was never going to fuck him!" Bea snarled suddenly.

Tabby's eyes widened. "Uh...sorry. Sore spot, obviously. I'm just saying-"

"Yeah, I know. It's a complicated situation. Just...ugh. What are we going to do?" Bea asked.

"Um...finish buying," Trent replied. "I'm going to see if I need to smooth things over."

"Dude, you're like...his fucking kryptonite. Are you kidding me?" Tabby asked.

"I just...I know it's super weird, but he listens to me for some fucking reason."

"Probably because you're banging like four chicks, his sister and his dream girl among them," Molly murmured.

"Actually yeah, that makes sense," Tabby said.

"We'll handle the groceries, I got the spare card so I can pay for whatever," Bea said. "Go...do what you can if you seriously think it's worth it."

"I...don't even fucking know," Trent muttered as he walked into the liquor department. He walked out the exit after showing the guy behind the counter that he had nothing on him and looked around cautiously.

Chris and Claire were talking some twenty or so feet away on the sidewalk in front of the store. Claire had her arms crossed and Chris was talking to her, or trying to. It looked like they were arguing. Trent began to wonder if maybe this was the best idea when Chris looked over and saw him and a new look of rage flashed over face. Claire looked at him too, then back at Chris and started arguing with him more intensely.

They quickly escalated until Claire threw up her arms and walked abruptly away, back towards Trent.

"Claire, wait! Come on!" Chris called.

"Fuck you, dude!" she snapped, flipping him off.

He looked like he wanted to start after her but didn't.

"Claire," Trent said.

"What?" she snapped.

"I...I'm sorry about this."

"It isn't your fucking fault. I can't fucking deal with him when he's like this. When he's so fucking sure he's right, and he's pissed off, and he just wants to fight. I've had a million fucking fights with him and I'll be fucking damned if I'm having another."

"Wait," he said as she began to head back inside.

"What? I left my shit back inside," she replied impatiently.

"Let me talk with him, calm him down...then you should talk with him," he said.

Claire looked at him for a long moment. "Why do you care?" she asked suddenly. "Why are you advocating for him at all? He fucking hates you."

"I...don't know," Trent admitted. "I just...maybe I see something not awful in him? He's trying to change. I think."

"That's pretty flimsy," she said.

"I know, but he gives a shit about you, and you know how fucking awful your parents are, and imagine how shitty his friends probably are to him. Does he have anyone?"

"He did that to himself," Claire growled, but she sounded less certain.

"I know. But he's trying. And if you're really wanting to just cut ties with him completely, I will one hundred percent support that, but if not...now might be a good chance to have a real conversation about some things."

She looked at Trent for a long moment, then at Chris, who was watching them silently.

"Fine," she said suddenly. "Let me buy and bag my shit, and then get it in the trunk. And then bring him over and we'll fucking talk."

"All right. Go find Bea, she's got the money," he replied.

She just pursed her lips, nodded, and headed back inside.

Trent turned fully to face Chris. He took a deep breath and started walking over.

"Go. Away," Chris growled, but he sounded tired.

"I just did you a huge favor," Trent replied.

"Oh did you?! What exactly is that? How many fucking hot chicks do you have lined up that you want to fucking parade in front of me-"

"I'm not doing that," Trent said, and something in his tone of voice, something stern if not dangerous, seemed to snap Chris out of his rant he was clearly prepared to go on.

The two men stared at each other for a long moment.

"Who the fuck even is she?" he asked finally.

"My boss...sort of."

"Your boss?"

"She made a video game that got kind of famous, she agreed to let me novelize it. The first book launched yesterday, she flew down to celebrate. We're hanging out. That's fucking it. But that isn't important, all right? I talked Claire into giving you a chance to talk."

Chris crossed his arms over his large chest, staring at Trent darkly, but saying nothing.

"I get it. You're pissed off and you're sick of the shit and you hate me. And fine, whatever. I can live with that so long as you keep clear of me. But Claire still cares about you, on some level. She's wrestling with whether or not to cut you out of her life. She'll do it if she has to. But I don't want her to have to. Because that will hurt. There are two paths right now, Chris, and you can choose one. The first is where you keep acting like this and Claire cuts you out completely. You're both miserable. She'll get over it eventually, but that will be a scar on her soul forever, and she'll cry over it sometimes. The other path is, you get your shit together, you start acting like an adult, and you be nice to her, and maybe salvage the relationship. She doesn't want to just abandon you, despite everything. And you obviously care about her. She's reaching out to you right now, Chris, and...I don't know if there's going to be a next time if you fuck this up."

Chris was silent for a long moment. Trent waited. It was obvious he was struggling.

"Fine," he said at last. "Where are we going to talk?"

"By my car. Come on," he said.

As they started walking together across the lot, Trent was struck by the insanity of the situation. He'd never really had an enemy before, outside of his immediate family. He'd had bullies before in high school and middle school, but it rarely felt personal with them. They didn't single him out, he was just one of a few they fucked up with consistently.

"Any advice?" Chris asked.

"Not much beyond 'be nice and listen'," he replied, then he reconsidered that as they reached his Jeep. "Okay, actually, yes. I do. It's going to sound like I'm fucking with you, but I'm seriously not. Get Netflix if you don't have it. Binge Stranger Things. It's got two seasons. Pay special attention to the character Steve."

"...you're right, I think you're fucking with me. Stranger Things? Isn't that, like, about kids or something?"

"It's about some kids, and some teens, and some adults, who have to fight monsters in their small town. That isn't important. Steve is important to you."

"Why?"

"Because he's like you. He's an asshole and he thinks he's the shit. And then he realizes that maybe he isn't, and maybe he's been a huge dickhead, and feels bad about that, and starts trying to change. Just-trust me."

"...whatever," he replied.

"Also, there's a character in the second season, Billy. If you find yourself looking at him and thinking 'I wanna be like this dude', then you still have a lot of redeeming to do. If you find yourself thinking 'I am this dude', and being proud of that? You've got a lot more work to do."

Chris just looked at him for a long moment, then shook his head and turned away, pulling out a cigarette. Trent waited awkwardly around, watching the front entrance and texting Bea about the situation so that they could all stay in the loop. This felt beyond awkward, and it was just getting weirder with each passing minute.

Finally, Claire emerged with a grocery cart full of paper bags, looking annoyed. She walked quickly over to the Jeep. Trent popped the trunk.

"I'll put these away. Try talking to him," he said.

"I don't see why I'm doing this," she muttered.

"You still care about him. He still obviously cares about you. If you want to tell him to fuck off, I'll support that, but I think you want to at least try to fix things, and so does he. And...if you have that chance, I think you should take it."

She looked at him for a long moment, then slowly looked over at Chris, who was waiting and smoking a bit in front of the Jeep, not quite looking at them. She looked back to Trent.

"You're way too patient, you know that?" she replied.

"Am I?"

"Yeah. This isn't even your...he pulled a knife on you. Tried to kick your ass, like, what, three times? Why are you helping him?"

"I don't know," Trent replied. "I keep getting asked that and I don't know. The best I got is what I told him, actually: I want to help you, but also...maybe, at my core, I respect what he's trying to do. I mean, if we don't give people who are trying to redeem themselves a chance, then what's the point of redemption? What's the point of trying to get better?"

She was silent for a long moment, then sighed heavily. "I guess you have a point. Fine, I'll talk to him."

She walked over to join her brother and Trent left them alone, putting the groceries away. He kept an ear open for raised voices, but got through putting the groceries away and then putting the cart away and got back to the Jeep without any kind of problem. Bea and Tabby and Molly emerged not much later, pushing a pair of packed grocery carts. They hesitated as they saw Chris and Claire, but he just nodded them over.

"What's going on now?" Bea murmured as they started putting the groceries away.

"They're talking," he replied. "Fuck's sake, you think you got enough?"

"Quit bitching," Bea said.

"Sorry if I got too much…" Molly murmured.

"No, it's fine, I'm just giving Bea shit," he said. "How are you two doing?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, I've seen way worse and more socially awkward situations," Tabby said.

"Yeah, same," Molly replied. "I'm honestly still kinda...figuring things out from my wine mishap." Trent began to reply but she interrupted him. "I know we talked about it and you all forgave me, but I just...am still kinda weird about it. I don't usually keep hanging around people after so thoroughly embarrassing myself."

"That wasn't that embarrassing, girl," Tabby murmured.

"At this point, I'd rather deal with being embarrassed or annoyed than some of the other shit I've put up with," Trent said.

"Like what?" Tabby asked.

"Well, for one, getting shot."

"Wait...you were actually shot? Like with a gun? I thought you were joking about that?" she replied.

"You didn't see the scar? It's on my outer thigh," he said.

"I was...distracted," she replied. "Who the fuck shot you?"

"Hunter. We think," he lied. "It was more of a graze, really. A bad one. But me and Mae were out in the woods a few months back and shot just came out of nowhere. Never found who did it." He shrugged. "Be right back."

He put the carts away and then came back. He studied the two siblings as he approached. Claire looked still a little guarded, and so did Chris, but they were both relaxing. They didn't look angry at least. He was asking her something and she then she was responding.

"This is weird," Bea muttered.

"This is healthy...probably," Trent said.

"You really should, Chris," he heard Claire said, a little firmly, followed by a loud sigh from Chris.

"Fine, fine…" he muttered, looking back at them. "Uh...Trent. Bea. Can I talk to you? Just for a minute?"

Bea crossed her arms, giving him a hard look.

"Come on," Trent said.

She sighed and they walked over. Tabby and Molly hung back.

"Yes?" Bea asked curtly.

Chris stared at them both, his mouth pressed into a flat line. He seemed to be steeling himself. "I'm sorry, Bea. For...harassing you. And not taking no for an answer...and I guess just generally being a dickhead."

Bea stared at him for a long moment, her arms still crossed, her stance still very hostile. "I...accept your apology," she said finally, "but I don't know if I forgive you."

Chris tensed, looking frustrated, but he shot a quick glance at Claire and relaxed with a sigh. "All right," he said. Then he looked at Trent. "I'm, uh, sorry for coming at you with a box cutter. And trying to kick your ass in Claire's apartment. And being an asshole."

"I accept your apology," Trent replied. He could feel Claire's and Bea's eyes on him. "And...I forgive you."

They all looked surprised at that. Chris looked...weirdly humbled, and somewhat vulnerable, and uncomfortable. "Thanks," he murmured awkwardly. "I...should go."

"Yeah probably," Bea said.

Trent sighed. "Bea."

Now she sighed. "Yeah...sorry. Fine. I'm...getting in the car."

"Same," Trent said. "Also, I'm actually serious about Stranger Things. Binge it. Consider it a lesson." He paused. "Uh, not like in a demeaning 'I'll teach you a lesson' kind of way, but more in like the more genuine use of the word?"

"Uh...yeah, fine," Chris replied. "I guess I'll see you later, Claire."

"Chris...wait," she said. He looked at her. "I...we could hang out sometime soon. Get a meal at the Clik Clak next time you're free, if you wanted."

"Um...yeah. I'd-that'd be good. Tomorrow for lunch?"

"Sure. I'll text you."

"All right...bye."

"Bye, Chris."

They parted ways and he and Claire got into the Jeep.

"Why'd you do that?" Bea asked.

"What?" Trent replied as they drove back through Possum Springs.

"Why'd you, like, accept his apology?"

Trent sighed. "I knew you were gonna ask this."

"It's a legitimate question," Claire replied.

"Yeah, dude pulled a knife on you," Molly said. "I...don't think I could forgive that."

"I'm not a hypocrite," Trent replied.

"How would you be a hypocrite? I thought I heard you saying at least once that no one has to forgive you," Bea said.

"Yeah, but I also believe in people redeeming themselves, or at least trying to better themselves, and I'm...tired of hating. I spent a long time hating. And I think he's actually trying. A lot of people fall into douchebaggery," he replied, "but it's not always their fault."

"...yeah," Claire murmured quietly. "Our parents were really shitty to us. And I do remember that throughout elementary school, he did get fucked with a lot. I'm not excusing what he did, but it didn't come out of nowhere. Pain makes pain. Like they say, hurt people hurt people."

"I guess so," Molly murmured.

"This is so...strange," Tabby said. "This is not at all what I expected when I came down here."

"What'd you expect?" Trent asked.

"Closer to what I experienced the first night. You are such a weird dude, Trent, and I mean that in a nice way." She paused. "I'm fucking horny, can we have sex?"

"Yeah," he replied, "although, I was wondering…"

"If I was gonna hook up with him?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Ew, God," Bea muttered.

"I mean certainly not now, now that I know who he is. But no, for the record, I wasn't going to. I was going to politely let him down. He wasn't being terrible, though. He's...got some charm."

"Fucking vomit, as Mae would say," Bea said.

"I can see why you'd feel that way. Honestly I do too, now, I'm just being objective. And I do think that some of it is coming from the fact that I'm still feeling...sensitive, about my chubbiness, it's nice being hit on by a rando."

"Can I be honest?" Trent asked.

"Always," Tabby replied.

"Your chubbiness is such a turn-on for me."

"For real?"

"Yeah. For real. I'm not sure what it is, precisely, but it's like...it just looks so fucking good on you. Your fucking thighs...you just look awesome. And your tits are great."

"They really are," Bea murmured.

"I've got a gut now," she grumbled, "I hate it."

"I don't want to tell you how you should feel about your own body," Trent said as he pulled into Mae's parent's driveway, "but I think you shouldn't. I mean, for obvious reasons of you shouldn't hate your body, but also because it seriously does look good. It just seems...right? I don't know. You're so hot."

She grinned suddenly. "You just like my chubby gut because you want to get me pregnant."

He laughed awkwardly. "That's not-no, it isn't that. And for real, I'm not just trying to cover up for myself."

"So you do want to get me pregnant," she said.

"I mean duh."

"But not for real?"

"Of course not."

"You guys are so fucking weird," Claire muttered. "Help me with groceries."

They helped her get her half of the groceries into the house. Mae's parents were both out and at work by now. Once they put the groceries away, Trent looked up the stairs. "Can I see your room? I'm kinda curious how it turned out."

"Oh, yeah," Claire replied. "Sure."

"Why don't you drive the Jeep back home and unload the groceries?" he asked, looking at Bea.

"Oh yes sir," she replied.

He turned her around and smacked her ass. "Be a good girl."

She sighed. "Uh-huh. Come on, ladies."

The look she gave him before leaving meant she probably thought he was sticking behind to fuck Claire, though that wasn't what he intended. Bea, Molly, and Tabby headed out and he let Claire lead him upstairs.

"Just in case you were hoping, I'm not, like, in the mood…" she said as they headed into Mae's old room.

"That's not what I'm lingering for," he replied, looking around.

It looked completely different. It held a lot of Claire's stuff now and probably the biggest change was that it was actually clean and very well-organized. He took it as a very good sign. Depression manifested in a number of ways, but one of them was definitely a messy, disorganized home. That she was taking care of it, combined with her general demeanor nowadays, seemed to indicate she was feeling better.

"But you are lingering for a reason...not that I'm complaining," she said.

"I am. I mainly just wanted to ask how things went with you and Chris."

"Oh. Well...surprisingly well. I don't know what you said to him, but he talked to me like a normal person. Shit, he was even remorseful. And it was pretty authentic."

"Was apologizing his idea or yours?"

"His, actually. Well, more like, he said that he probably should apologize to Bea at some point, and I told him he should probably do it, like, now, and also to you, too. I'm surprised he did it."

"Me too. Does he seem like he's making real progress?"

She sighed and sat down suddenly on her bed, thinking about it. "I...think so," she replied. "I mean, I feel like he's actually trying for real. And...I'm gonna say yeah. I guess I was just wishing he was doing a better job of it, but that's not fair. It's a lot that he's seriously trying, and he's actually doing it. I just wish it wasn't such an obvious struggle for him. He's still got his new job. From what my friends tell me, he hasn't lost his shit on anyone. He mentioned he was thinking about sharing an apartment with a friend...what?"

"What?" Trent asked.

"You've got some look on your face. Some worried look. What's wrong?"

"I just...so, I guess I was thinking that it was interesting that he was hitting on Tabby."

"How's that interesting?" she asked.

"Two ways. The first way was that I think he got obsessed with Bea for awhile there. To the point that he wasn't going after anyone else. Which I personally think was a good thing. He needed to just stop trying to date, for his sake if not everyone else's. So maybe it means that he's not obsessed with Bea anymore and is also feeling not shitty enough to hit on a rando at the store. But the second thing is that it was working."

"Yeah. Does it bother you?" she asked.

"My own personal feelings on the subject of not just someone like him, but him specifically, hitting on a woman I'm currently hooking up with, and she was kind of into it...are complicated. I don't know precisely how I feel about that. I'm more concerned about the fact that he was doing it well enough that he didn't immediately turn her away. It means one of two things. Either A) he's actually getting better and turning into less of a dickhead, or B) he's learning how to hide his dickheadedness better and will be more effective at abusing some poor girl in the future."

"Oh...jeez," Claire muttered. "That's...an ugly thought."

"Yeah."

They were both silent for a moment.

"What do you think?" he asked finally.

She sighed again. "I...don't know. I think he's getting better, like I said, but that could change. Fast. He might just decide 'fuck this' and go back to being a shithead. I just...hope not." She paused. "What was that shit about...what, Stranger Things? That TV show?"

"There's a character not far off from him that has a redemption arc," he replied. "I figured it might help frame the path he should be on in a better way. Narratives, especially familiar narratives, have a way to getting us to understand things really well."

"Oh...I guess that makes sense. Yeah. But it's really outside of what he normally watches."

"What does he normally watch?"

"Marvel Movies and shitty action movies."

"Well...it might not be a total miss for him then." He shrugged. "Just a shot in the dark...what?" Now she was the one with the look. She was staring at him hard, though he couldn't quite read her expression.

"I just…" Claire pursed her lips. "I don't get you, but I was also thinking that maybe I don't get you because the answer's right in front of me and I'm just passing it out of hand."

"For what?" he asked.

"Why you're doing this. Everyone has motive, if not motivation."

He sighed. "Everyone keeps asking that."

"I know. It's because it's really damn weird. But I think it's because we all try to overlay our own motivations and wants and reactions over everyone else. Which makes it weird. Most of us would have just told my stupid brother to fuck off in your shoes. And truly, you have every reason to. And what I think is throwing everyone off is that you're doing it because...you're nice. But not in a passive, bland way. In a more persistent, genuine, authentic way. Why do you look uncomfortable with that?"

"Everyone keeps telling me how nice I am. How genuinely, truly nice and selfless I am, and I'm just worried that I'm going to let everyone down at some point."

"That's...a fair concern. But I also think that you are generally kinder and more...true to yourself? Than most people."

"True to myself?"

"Maybe it's not the best way to put it. I guess it's more like...you will do the right thing even if it hurts you."

He frowned. "Is helping your brother the right thing?"

Claire sighed. "I...don't know. I'd like to think so, because I'd hate for all this to amount to nothing." She stood up suddenly and hugged him. "You're doing well, Trent. And if you fall, we'll be there to catch you, okay? Trust me, I'm not going to suddenly decide you're a piece of shit if you're kind of rude once or make a more selfish decision. Everyone fucks up, and sometimes it's okay to be selfish. Now, go home. You don't keep a woman like Tabby waiting when she's horny."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I know so." She kissed him quickly. "Go. And thank you, again, for...just, fucking everything you've done to help me."

"You're welcome, Claire."

He headed back downstairs and headed through the backdoor.