"Wow, you look, um...worn out," Molly murmured as Trent walked into the living room.
"How'd it go?" Ann asked.
"I think it went well," Bea said from the phone, making Molly and Claire jump a little.
"Sorry, she's still on speaker," Trent said, sitting down on the couch and setting his laptop and the phone on the coffee table. "We're in, more or less. Bea and I are going to get paid to help them with their website and planning, and Colleen is going to provisionally take on Candy and Jacob."
"Paid, like, how much?" Claire asked.
"Not a lot. Three hundred bucks apiece a month, and then a one-time payment for me writing the story," Trent replied.
"That's so crazy. Like...holy shit, you're getting commissioned and paid to write a story about, like, a town. By the town's government," Molly murmured.
"It is pretty crazy," Ann said.
"Is it?" Trent asked. "I mean, it feels like it, but also...fuck, I don't know."
"It's a lot to take in, and you're doing really well, babe," Bea said.
"Thanks. Um...should probably check on Mae. At least to tell her what happened."
"What's wrong with Mae?" Ann asked.
"She's kind of depressed. I think the reality of Gregg and Angus leaving is finally truly setting in for her. She's with them now," Bea replied. "Uh, call me later tonight, babe, we gotta coordinate on this a little more," Bea said.
"I will. Love you, Bea."
"Love you too, Trent." Bea said goodbye to the others and hung up.
He set the phone down, then took in a deep breath, held it for a bit, then slowly let it out. He sat back heavily against the couch and groaned as he put his hands over his eyes.
"You doing okay there, love?" Ann asked.
"Yep, I'm fine," he replied.
"You don't seem fine," Claire murmured.
"I'll be okay," Trent said, dropping his hands. "Just...lot to do, and also that was a really tense meeting."
"Was it?" Ann asked. "Bea said it went well…"
"So, the meeting itself actually went fine, it's just that all that stuff was really fucking heavy. Just so intense. I have to help a town? Like fucking what?! It's just insane. And this is my fault, I'm the one who even put this whole thing together on a fucking whim."
"I mean...sometimes amazing things happen on a whim," Ann replied. "I decided to try talking to the weird girl down the street one day years ago and that directly led me to having a boyfriend and a girlfriend, a safe, happy household to live in, and not having to work a traditional job? It was so worth the miserable journey getting here."
Trent looked at her. "Really?"
"Duh."
"No, I mean, like...you went to prison, Ann. And the divorce, rehab…" They had already discussed this with Molly, so he didn't have to worry about saying anything she wouldn't want him to. "All of it?"
"All of it, Trent. You and Mae are worth all of it. No contest. I finally feel loved, babe. I won't say that was completely missing from my marriage, but it was clearly not there for the most part. I think, in his own weird way, Dennis loved me, but he loved himself so much more, and he just stopped trying at the end. No, this is what it means to be loved. Here, with you, with Mae. With Bea. I didn't really have friends besides Claire, and all this...it's a lot. I'm sorry, I'm derailing things."
"No," Trent replied, and scooted closer to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm fine with that. Honestly I just want to stop thinking about my thing...what's this look you're giving me?" he asked, pulling back slightly.
"Who?" she asked, looking around. "Oh."
"Um, just...I'm not sure. I feel...funny?" Molly replied. "Sorry if I'm being weird."
"It's totally cool, Molly. Given what you went through, I imagine-"
"It's not, um, related to that. I mean...not, like, directly," she muttered, poking her fingers together. Ann snorted softly. Trent looked at Claire. She was trying not to laugh.
"I'm...clearly missing something, what's got you feeling funny?" he asked.
"You're making me feel...certain feelings...that I, uh, only really have felt about...girls. And it's really confusing," she murmured. "I mean, just...I know that sounds weird, because like duh, that's what we've been talking about for awhile now, but like...it's different all of a sudden? I don't know. I'm just confused, is all. Um...so to be clear, you are making me horny. To answer your question. I'm sorry, I'm just really babbling."
"It's fine, Molly," Trent replied. "And I can understand why that would be confusing and disorienting. Um...I don't know what I could do to help."
"Right now? Nothing. Later?...I'll have to think about it some more," she murmured.
"Thinking about it more is good," Ann said. "That being said, Claire and I were thinking about heading out, getting something to eat from that burger place a few exits down the highway. You two want to come?"
"Um...I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm just going to fuck off here for the rest of the day. That took more energy than I realized," Trent replied.
"I kinda wanna stay here," Molly said.
"Okay, that's cool. Call if you need anything," Ann replied.
She and Claire gave Trent a kiss and a hug, and then Ann gave Molly a hug, and then they were gone from the house.
"Ugh," Molly groaned, sitting down heavily on the couch.
"What's up?" Trent asked.
"Just...I wanna get laid! Ann's really good at eating pussy and I want my fucking pussy eaten. She's also got fucking awesome and strong hips and I want to get railed by her with a strap-on! I'm horny! But you're all right that I should take at least some time off from it...fuck."
"Sorry."
"I mean it's not your fault." She frowned and looked at him more closely. "You got a look on your face like there's something you need to do."
"Yeah, I need to call Mae. She's having some trouble, according to Bea, and I want to make sure she's all right."
"Oh, well, definitely do that. Um...I was gonna play GoldenEye. I remember playing it, like, a million years ago and thinking it was cool, but it was only at this one friend's house because no one else had it and then we got into a fight and stopped hanging out, and I always wanted to try it again, but then I forgot about it, until I saw it here," she said.
"Play away, I'll step out back," Trent replied.
"Thanks." He got up and began to head to the back door. "Trent?" He paused, looked back at her. "Thanks for being so...cool. Like about everything. It's just really, really what I need right now, and you, and like everyone else, too, are just so...chill about shit. And I wanted to thank you."
"You're welcome, Molly. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"I will."
He nodded and headed out back. He called Mae, then wondered if he should've texted her instead, because she might be in the middle of something, but she answered on the second ring.
"Hey," she said, her voice a bit flat.
"Hey, babe. Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm...wait, how did you know?"
"Bea said you seemed kinda down, and I got done with the meeting, so-"
"How'd it go!?" she asked, suddenly excited. Trent laughed and gave her the rundown. "Oh man, that's so cool! Although, like...ugh, fuck. People are gonna be looking at us now, like closely. What if I say something stupid on my channel that tanks her chances? Or, like, man, the weed? The fact that we're poly and I'm pansexual and Ann is bi and-"
"Babe, babe," Trent said, "it's...don't worry about it. I mean, like, keep it in mind and maybe give things an extra once-over, but don't let this take over your life. We're going to live our lives the way we want to live our lives, and if it becomes a problem, your mom will tell us. Now, what's on your mind?"
A pause, then a sigh. "Gregg and Angus are going to be gone now. Like, for real gone. I can't just get up out of bed, walk for half an hour, and see them anymore. Even if it's like some kind of big-time emergency, the fastest we could possibly see them is like maybe two hours."
"Why two hours?" he asked.
"Like if they met us halfway?"
"Oh, that makes sense, although I imagine most emergencies would require either us going to Bright Harbor or them coming to Possum Springs…"
"I know, just-ugh. Like I'm okay with it, you know? I've been thinking about it for months now, and it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Like how I feel about it? I mean, I'll miss them, but…" she trailed off.
"But what?" he asked.
"I feel shitty to say it."
"Say it, Mae. You should say it, what's on your mind."
She sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know...I used to get, like, scared of the idea of them leaving. Like really scared. Because...then I'd be alone. I came back and all that was left really was Gregg. Bea hated me, Angus was kind of indifferent towards me, Casey was gone, my parents were...weird. It was just me and Gregg. I got things sorted with Bea and like made friends with Ann and mostly smoothed things out with my parents but like all that shit happened and then I felt closer than ever with Gregg and then Angus and Bea, but then I met you, and all this shit happened, and now I feel guilty because it's like...I'm okay with them going because I've got you and Bea and Ann, and it feels like I don't care about them anymore, but I do!"
"Mae...I get what you're saying, but it's okay to let someone go. Like, someone exiting your life doesn't have to be a bad thing. And I know Gregg and Angus aren't going to be offended by you suffering less because of their departure. They want you to be happy. Not happy that they're gone, but not unhappy that they're gone either. It's like...grieving. It's okay to grieve a friendship and move on, Mae. And, I mean, we'll get back to them at some point, right? Even if it's a few years down the line, it's not like you're just abandoning them. And you'll still talk to them online or texting or on the phone, and play games, shit we can even have watch parties. Don't feel bad about having grieved, Mae."
She was quiet for a long time. The moment seemed to stretch on into infinity and he wondered if he'd really said the wrong thing. He heard the faint sounds of traffic from her end, so he knew they hadn't gotten disconnected.
"You're right," she said finally. "I had to think about it and sort it but...yeah. That all makes a lot of sense." She laughed suddenly. "Man, you've gotten like mad good at making me feel better."
"I had a lot of practice," Trent replied.
She laughed again. "Yeah, I guess so. Hopefully I'm good at it, too...am I?"
"Yeah, I'd say so. What are you doing right now?"
"I'm actually standing in front of the hotel. I just got done hanging out with Angus and Gregg and they dropped me back off. They got stuff they gotta do already. Their apartment is pretty cool. It's bigger than their other apartment. It's got two bedrooms, so Angus is going to have like his own real office! And the living room is bigger, the kitchen, too. It's really cool...I guess I should go see Bea, let her know I'm okay."
"Probably," Trent agreed.
"Oh yeah! Is Molly okay? We've been texting, but I want to be sure."
"She's better. She seems happy," he replied. "I'm keeping an eye on her."
"Mmm."
"What?"
"It's like you're always keeping an eye on us, it feels weird that we don't really do that for you."
"I mean...you do."
"Yeah but like...not the same? Whatever. I don't even know what I mean. I need to see Bea. So...we good?"
He laughed. "Yeah, we good, Mae."
"Kay. Bye."
She hung up. Trent chuckled and put his phone back in his pocket, then rejoined Molly in the living room.
"How's Mae?" she asked.
"She's better now. She was having some...complications in her emotional processing process and I helped smooth them back out."
"You are weirdly fucking good at that for a boy." She paused. "Sorry, that came out bad."
"I get it," he said. "And...I don't know why I am."
She shrugged. "I think some people just are. Like I don't know why I've got huge fucking knockers, I just do."
Trent laughed and began to get more settled into the couch. Molly had indeed fired up GoldenEye. She was already through the Dam and Facility, and was almost done with Runway. He found himself wanting to watch her. Maybe he'd just settle in and call it a day, get a little high, just relax...but if that's what he was thinking, then why this bad feeling?
Something was wrong.
Even as he thought that, he heard a car door close in front of his house. Then three more. He sat up, looking at the front door.
"You...expecting company?" Molly asked, a little nervously.
"No," he replied.
There was suddenly a sharp knock on the door. His whole body went cold the instant he heard that knock. He swallowed.
"What's wrong?" Molly asked softly. "You look like you saw a ghost."
"I'm...not sure," he said, trying to get ahold of himself. He made himself stand up and walked over to the front door. "Probably just a fan."
Trent opened the front door, eager to get this over with.
Horror filled his universe as he saw his father. Everything seemed to drift away as it felt like the floor had been removed from beneath him in a nanosecond and he had just begun to fall.
"Trent, it's about goddamned-" his father began to say, that old annoyance in his tone already, that frustration in his expression, the warning signs he'd tattooed on his soul, warning him that the worst thing in the world was incoming…
"No," Trent said, taking a step back.
Something seemed to not just snap but utterly give inside his head, like a cargo ship abruptly vanishing into the great black depths of the ocean, hardly a wave to show it had ever been there. His sanity went down, and deep, and then deeper still.
"No! No! NO!" he screamed and slammed the door hard enough that the little glass window in it shattered.
The last thing he remembered was hearing broken glass.