Trent came awake to the sound of a phone call.

He groaned and reached over, grasping his cellphone and pulling it to his ear as he swiped the answer button, not even looking to see who it was.

"What?" he growled.

"Hey, babe…" Mae replied awkwardly. "Um...so…"

"Mae, I love you, but I'm not in the mood. Can you just tell me?" he asked.

"Um, okay. Gregg and I are out by Hunwick and his car blew a tire and, like, we don't have a spare," she said. Trent was silent for a long moment. He felt like shit. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He groaned. "It's fine. It's not your fault. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Um...okay. I'm sorry. I love you."

"I love you too, Mae," he said, and hung up.

Great.

As he generated the will to get up, he heard a groan behind him. Bea. Oh shit, he thought, and everything that had happened last night abruptly came back to him. He rolled over and looked at her. She was facing him and she looked like death warmed over.

"Trent? What...oh my God, my head. Oh my fucking God are you kidding me?" she groaned.

"Shit," Trent whispered.

"Was that Mae? What's...time is it?" she mumbled.

"I don't know." He sat up, groaned, rubbed his eyes. "You need some painkillers, and water. Um...shit. Goddamnit."

"Are you angry? You sound angry...what did I do last night? I can't remember...was my dad here? Oh man, I remember crying…"

"Babe, it's fine, nothing serious happened," he replied, getting to his feet and grabbing his phone again. It was almost two PM. He hesitated as he saw a bottle of water and a bottle of painkillers had been set on the nightstand. "Here, babe. Have these."

He passed her two painkillers, then one more, then the water. She moaned as she took them and drank some water, paused, then drank off half the bottle.

"Oh my God, I'm fucking dying," she whispered. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I have such a headache. And my stomach...did I puke? It tastes like I puked."

"You did, several times," Trent replied.

"Oh man...you're actually mad," she said, opening her eyes. "I can hear it in your voice."

"Bea, I'm just annoyed is all, mostly because now I have to drive out to Hunwick and change a tire."

"Oh shit...I really fucked up. I'm sorry, Trent. I'm a bad fiancee," she said.

"Bea, you aren't a bad fiancee," he replied as he finished gathering his clothes, "you just got too drunk and vomited and...like a lot of other people do."

"And what? You were going to say a third thing," she replied.

"Crying," he said, deciding avoiding it would only cause her more distress. "But it's fine. Seriously. Just drink the water and try to go back to sleep. You're probably going to be hungover for a while."

"Shit…" she moaned. "I'm sorry."

"Bea, it's fine. I have to brush my teeth and take a shower," he replied. "Drink your water."

"...okay," she mumbled.

Trent headed downstairs and found Claire, Melody, and Ann together on the couch.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Ann asked.

"Not really. Bea's awake and hungover. I just got a call from Mae. Apparently she and Gregg blew a tire out at Hunwick and they have no replacement. So I have to take them one," he replied. "Can you guys watch over Bea?"

"Yes," Ann replied, "but someone should go with you."

"Why?"

"In case you need help?"

"Does anyone want to go with me?" he asked.

"I'll go," Claire said.

"All right. Get ready. I need a shower."

He headed back upstairs and pissed, brushed his teeth, then showered. Once he was dried off, he pulled his clothes on and began to head downstairs, then hesitated, then walked back into the bedroom. Bea was still awake, frowning at him.

"Hey…" she murmured.

"Hey babe." He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you, okay? I'm grumpy right now, but I'll be okay. You need to get some sleep and recover. Okay?"

"Okay...I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Bea. See you later."

"Later."

He headed downstairs and found Claire waiting for him by the front door, looking a little anxious. "All right, she's had three of the painkillers and most of a bottle of water. If you could get her another, I'd appreciate it."

"We'll handle it, babe," Ann said. "Go help Mae and Gregg."

He sighed heavily. "Yeah, all right. Let's do this."

He got into his shoes and then headed out. He groaned and squinted in the too bright sunlight. Why couldn't it be rainy? Or at least cloudy? That would've made this easier. Whatever. He got behind the wheel and as Claire got in and situated, he texted Mae: Will you text Claire exactly where you are?

"Mae's gonna text you," he said as he fired up the engine. "I need you to navigate."

"All right, I can do that," she replied.

He pulled out of the driveway and then navigated the jeep through Possum Springs and onto the highway, then aimed them towards Hunwick and settled in.

"So...you seem upset," Claire murmured after a few moments had passed.

"I am," Trent replied.

"I know it might not be the best time, but can I offer advice?" she asked tentatively.

Trent's initial instinct was to tell her no, he wasn't in the mood for it, but besides being rude, he did like fostering communication and she might have something to say to make him less frustrated. "Yeah, I'm listening."

"So I don't really know all of what happened last night, but I know it involves Bea drinking too much, and...I just wanted to say that I went through a 'drinking too much' phase a few years ago, and, like...go easy on her. Alcohol is a...mmm...a weird topic, just a weird thing in general. And if she said something to you while she was drunk, maybe...you know, don't take it too hard," she said.

"Oh. It's not that," he replied.

"Then what is it? Because I don't think I've ever seen you like this."

"You've never seen me pissed?" he asked.

"No, I've seen you...furious. I've seen you annoyed. Irritated. Mad in the moment. But not pissed. Not like this, I don't think at least."

He sighed. "I'm just...struggling a little with the fact that Bea intentionally kept something from me. She admitted that she set out to, secretly, drink specifically too much, and intentionally hid it from me because she knew I would try to stop her."

"Oh. Wow. That's...odd," she murmured.

"It didn't come out of nowhere. Her mom used to drink and-it was a whole thing. I probably would be less angry if it hadn't been so fucking...dramatic." He sighed. "That's not the right word. I don't want to dismiss what happened last night, she was in a really, really bad place emotionally. I just wish it hadn't been so chaotic and intense. And then to wake up to this in the morning. I was up really late last night just...laying there in bed with her. I laid there for hours, in dark silence, basically just doing nothing, not able to sleep because I was so worried about her and I was terrified of her rolling onto her back and vomiting and fucking dying, because she did vomit several times last night, and just...it's a lot. Okay? It was a lot."

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

"Now I'm sorry."

"No, don't be, it's fine. You're right, it was a lot. But it'll be okay. Just try to remember that."

Trent felt himself relax, just a little. She was right. It'd be okay. But...he did need to speak with Bea about that. He could already tell it was the kind of thing that was going to bother him if he didn't. But that was for later. Right now, he had to help Mae and Gregg.

Trent was less grumpy by the time they found Gregg and Mae running around a small field beside the highway, Angus's and Gregg's car leaning awkwardly well onto the shoulder. They both stopped as soon as Trent pulled up behind the car and started slowly started walking towards them, looking down at the ground and appearing extremely similar to kids who had been caught doing something bad and were now marching to their punishment.

"Jeez," Trent muttered, "I feel like an asshole now. I haven't even done anything."

"Just be chill with them, Trent. I know Mae's made a lot of strides in growing up, but there are definitely ways in which she's still young. The same is clearly true of Gregg," Claire replied.

"Yeah, all right, I can handle this," he replied, and got out, wishing he'd taken the time to swing by the Snalcon and grab a Monster Energy. Or at least taken a painkiller for himself, his head was hurting, and now so was his leg. "Hey babe, you both all right?" Trent asked as headed to the back.

"Yeah...you're angry," Mae replied as she approached. "I can tell. I could feel it."

"I'm grumpy," Trent replied as he got the trunk door propped open and began removing the spare donut tire from its little compartment. "But I'm not mad. I'm definitely not mad at you. What actually happened?"

"We weren't doing anything stupid," Gregg said.

"Yeah, it just popped and we had to pull over. We kinda freaked out when we realized we didn't have a replacement," Mae said.

"That's my fault, I guess. I didn't think about it, I figured Angus probably had already thought about it…" Gregg said awkwardly.

"It's fine," Trent replied as he rolled the tire over to their car and then came back to grab the jack and the tire iron and walked back. "These things happen. And fuck knows we've been busy enough to overlook things." He paused. "Gregg, would you check your glove compartment for your vehicle owner's manual?"

"Yeah all right," he said.

"So you aren't that mad?" Mae asked.

Trent sighed softly. "No, Mae, I'm not mad. God, I am not your guys' dad."

"You kinda are," Mae said after a moment. "I mean, like, not in a weird way."

"She's right," Gregg said as he sat in the passenger's seat and rooted around in the glove compartment. "It used to be Angus, we even talked about it. I asked him, like, a few days ago if it felt weird that you were kinda the most competent one in the group now and Angus said it was a huge relief. He doesn't really like people relying on him."

"Yeah, you're always taking care of us, and doing the hard stuff. Also you spank Bea sometimes," Mae said.

"...wow," Claire murmured.

"Okay but that is not related to being a dad," Trent replied.

"Found it," Gregg said.

"I mean it could be," Mae replied. Everyone looked at her. She sighed and crossed her arms. "Okay what, am I really the only one here who thinks incest is kind of hot?"

"...I plead the fifth," Trent replied, setting up the jack.

"Yeah, it's...it can be, under the right circumstances. Although I'm fucked there, since I hate my brother and my dad and the rest of my family...not that I would, like, do them if I liked them!" Claire said.

"Hey, if you're bouncing on your brother's dick behind closed doors it's not my business," Mae replied.

"Ew, no. He's such a douche," Claire groaned.

"What am I looking for?" Gregg asked.

"How do you feel about it? How have we never talked about this?" Mae asked before Trent could reply.

"It does nothing for me, but I don't judge," Gregg replied with a shrug.

"How in the name of God did we get to talking about incest of all things?! Whatever, nevermind. Gregg, start looking through the manual for anything related to tires. We need information on what kind of tire your car takes," Trent replied as he got the jack into position and started working it.

"Why?" Gregg asked.

"Jeez, you're strong," Mae murmured.

"This is a lot easier than it looks. As for why, well, for one: I want my tire back, for two: you need a new tire to replace the broken one, and three: I think I can get us a tire pretty quick," Trent replied.

"Oh. Okay. That makes sense."

A few minutes passed in silence as Trent finished getting the car jacked to an appropriate level and then got the flat tire off. He set it aside and then went about attaching the donut tire.

"Hey, I got it, I think. There's, like, numbers and model names," Gregg said.

"Perfect. One minute."

Trent finished securing the donut and then lowered the car back down.

"Holy shit, you did that like it was nothing," Mae murmured.

"I've put up with it before and honestly it's a really simple process once you know what to do. If I was feeling less like shit warmed over I would've used this as an opportunity to teach you. Guess we'll have to do it later. Gregg, could you open the trunk?" Trent asked, standing. "And pass me the manual?"

"Yep, here, this page," he replied, giving him the booklet and then getting the trunk open.

Trent tossed the tire into the trunk and slammed it shut, then pulled out his phone and called up Jacob. As the phone rang he studied the information on the page Gregg had found. It looked like what might be needed. He didn't really know, but Jacob seemed like the kind of guy who would.

"You got Jacob," he said, answering, "what's happening, Trent?"

"Can you get me a new tire based on a picture of an owner's manual page describing the tire?" Trent replied.

"Probably, yeah. It's kind of a crapshoot, but I've access to more tires than most people. You got a flat?"

"Gregg and Angus's car does."

"You need help towing or changing? I've also got access to a tow truck."

"We're good. I just finished doing the change, we're out near Hunwick. We should be able to get back to Possum Springs just fine, I just figured it'd be nice to get the tires swapped out."

"I can do that. Also, it might be prudent to just swap all four of them out. Typically speaking, it's the better idea. And if you'd be willing to hand over the three intact tires, I can get you a pretty steep discount," Jacob said.

"Lemme talk with Gregg and Angus about it for the four of them, but we will at the very least definitely take you up on the offer for one of them," Trent replied.

"Sounds good. Send me the pic and I'll get to work."

"Thank you. Seriously, I appreciate this." He paused. "Also, um, there's something you and I need to discuss. In person. Today, preferably."

"Oh...um," Jacob suddenly sounded...nervous? "What's it about?"

"The city council."

"Oh." Now he sounded relieved, but that quickly turned to confusion. "Wait, what? Why?"

"It's complicated and better spoken of in person," Trent replied.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Okay...what did you think it was going to be?"

"Um...hmm. How to put this...I thought it might be about Candy."

"...what? Why would I want to talk to you alone and in person about Candy?"

"Well, to be honest, I thought perhaps you might want to set some boundaries, mark your territory a little. I was twenty two once myself-"

"Wait what the fuck are you talking about? Mark my territory? With Candy? What?"

"...you and her aren't fucking?"

"What!? No! Why-"

"Shit, nevermind then. Just-uh-shit, just pretend this last part of the conversation never happened. I'd really appreciate that."

Trent sighed heavily after a long, confused moment. "Okay, fine. I have to go."

"Yep. Bye."

"Goodbye, Jacob." Trent took a quick picture of the page in question and texted it to Jacob, then groaned and leaned against his jeep, deeply grateful for the fact that his tendency to wander away from people when he was on the phone had applied here and, ideally, no one had heard that conversation. He sighed heavily and put his phone away, then walked back over to Gregg's car.

"Everything okay?" Mae asked.

"Yeah. Germ's dad is gonna try to find us a replacement tire. Now, unless we have other business, I'd appreciate you two getting into Gregg's car and finishing your drive home," Trent said.

"What are you gonna do?" Mae asked.

"Text Ann to make sure everything is going fine with Bea, then follow," Trent replied.

"Aw man, I'm a shit friend, I got so worried about getting in trouble that I completely forgot to ask if she's all right."

"You aren't a bad friend, Mae. She's fine. She's hungover. She made it through."

"Are you mad at her?" Mae murmured.

"...no, but we need to have a serious conversation," Trent replied.

"Aw man…"

"It'll be fine, Mae. I promise. Now please go home and wait for me there," he replied.

"All right...I love you."

Trent walked over and gave her a hug. "I love you too, Mae. I'm glad you're all right. Did you have fun mini-golfing?"

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun," she replied, smiling a more easy and genuine smile. "It was like the old days but, like...better? Because we're adults and we can just drive ourselves. Or, well, Gregg can drive me."

"We'll get you your license babe," Trent replied.

She frowned a little. "You know, I'll be honest, I want to get it, but I don't actually really want to drive that much anymore. I think I'll be pretty good to just have people drive me? Which I know is fucking mooch territory, but like...it's actually occurring to me that driving is, like, scary, and also...I can't reach the pedals of most cars? I'm really short."

"That...is a problem I've considered," he murmured. "And honestly, Mae, if that's how you want to do it, then that's fine. It'll be great to be able to drive, both the literal knowledge and practice, and the legality of a license, but not really driving if you can avoid it is a completely legitimate way to be."

"That's a relief," she said. "Okay, I love you, thanks again for saving our asses. And thanks for coming out to help, Claire."

She laughed. "Well, I came for moral support, but you're welcome."

"See you at home!" Mae said, and scurried off to get into Gregg's car.

Trent and Claire got into his own car and then he thought for a moment. Where was Angus in all this? Had they called Trent first or second? Suddenly he remembered Angus saying he had work today. Well, that made sense. He almost called him then and there, because they were going to have to discuss the tire situation, but then he figured he might as well give Jacob more time and just go see Angus at his job.

He quickly fired off a text to Ann about Bea, then he started up the Jeep and began driving.