"Oh," Trent said.

"Oh what?" Bea asked cautiously.

"Are you okay?" Mae asked, stirring in his lap.

"Yeah, I'm goooood," Trent replied, grinning.

"Oh, he's feeling it," Bea said.

"You're such a fucking goof when you get stoned," Ann murmured affectionately.

"Yup," he replied, then laughed.

It had been a weird few hours. They'd ordered Taco Buck, pizza, and had convinced a delivery guy to drive all the way from Briddle with a big order of Chinese food for a seventy dollar tip. Candy had made a small batch of those brownies, six altogether, in about an hour.

He had eaten one and a half of them.

He'd almost eaten two.

The girls had wanted to stop him, including Jessica, but he'd told them you more or less can't OD on weed, and he needed it right now. So he'd done it, and they'd let him with reservations. He had started to get worried because it was taking awhile to kick in, but that worry evaporated.

"What did you mean by 'medically induced coma'?" Molly asked.

"What? Oh. Um...you know the show House?" he replied.

"Yeah. I watched a few episodes. It seemed cool."

"It was so fucking cool. But like, when he got the thing that made his leg...bad, they tried to fix it using his instructions, since he's the genius doctor, but it fucked him up pretty bad and didn't go right. He kept saying that he just needed more time to get through the pain and it'd sort itself out, and finally had himself placed in a medically induced coma to get through it."

"Oh...that makes sense. How you feeling?"

"Wavy."

Mae snorted. "Wavy?"

"Yep. Wavy."

"How did you two meet?" Jessica asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't want to talk to you about that," Mae growled.

"...sorry," she murmured.

"Hey, Mae, no, come on. You have to relax," Trent said, hugging her to him. It seemed that everyone else had calmed down, but Mae was holding onto that anger.

"I...can't!" she replied. "I'm still so fucking angry about it! I've seen so much fucked up shit in my life, and heard so much more, and just...the idea of it happening to you, after seeing how badly you react to this memories, the panic attacks and the crying and just-agh! I hate it! And she's here and she did it, too, and just-"

"Mae," he said, fighting for control as the weed kept coming on. "I have to say this quick, but like all the bad shit? She's responsible for like...five percent of it. Like seriously, I had flashbacks about everyone but her, okay? She was a kid, and you heard her. My mom basically told her 'be mean to your brother or he'll go to prison forever,' how was she supposed to react? I know it hurts, Mae, and don't get me wrong, I appreciate your feelings for me, and you wanting to protect me. But...you have to let it go. You have to admit to yourself that she isn't the one, she doesn't deserve to be punished for what my father, my mother, and my brother did. She's suffered enough. Any punishment that should come to her has come and gone. So...just...for me? Please?"

Mae stared at him, stubborn and angry, tears in her eyes. "This is so hard," she whispered finally.

"I know. I really know. I know I'm not asking something easy. But I am asking."

"You are." She kept staring at him, then she stood up and turned to face Jessica, who was still in the recliner. She seemed to shrink away from Mae. Mae sighed heavily and walked over, then offered her hand. "Peace offering," she said.

Jessica stared at her, then tentatively reached out and shook her hand. "I want peace," she murmured.

"So does Trent, and...some of me, too. But...some important part of me knows that Trent is right, and I need my own time and space to...process this. And I'm just a really emotional person. You missed...everything, but thug notes version: I'm pretty fucked in the head. I'm getting it under control, and I'm a lot better, but I'm still fucked up." She looked over at Trent suddenly. "How the fuck do you do this? How the fuck do you forgive people who come at you or fuck you over? How do you forgive someone who comes at you with a boxcutter?"

"Wait...what? A boxcutter?" Jessica asked. "Someone tried to stab you?"

"Yeah. Almost did it, too. When I went for my walk a few hours ago? I sat and talked with that dude for awhile. We're...kinda cool now," Trent replied.

"...are you fucking with me right now?"

"No, he's being serious," Bea said. "And trust me, it's as complicated as it sound. That motherfucker kept asking me out and wouldn't take no for an answer, and the dude is like six four and jacked, so it was terrifying. Trent and Mae defended me when he finally really started pushing. And I know that sounds fucking fucked, and it was, but...Trent's trying to rehabilitate him. And it's actually like working. He saved Trent's life."

"I have so much to catch up on," Jessica whispered.

"I have a lot of empathy," Trent said, then blinked a few times. "I mean, uh, that's how I do it." He paused. "Oh shit, that isn't to say, um, like, you all don't have it…"

"No, you're right," Mae said. "You have so much more empathy than me."

"She's right, you might have more empathy than all of us," Bea said.

"Oops," Trent said, then giggled.

"Oh boy, we're losing him," Ann murmured.

"Yeah...um...Ann, can I like, put my head in your lap? And you, like, run your fingers through my hair?" he asked.

"Yes, sweetheart," Ann replied.

They had already got the foldout set up, which was where they were all sitting, Candy and Claire included. Everyone got up, though, and made room. Ann sat down and Trent gratefully rested his dizzy, swimmy head in her lap.

"Oh my God, your thighs are so thick," he whispered.

Ann giggled. "Yes, they are. I'm glad you like them, dearest."

"I do. I love them. Oh man. Ohh, Ann, that...your fingers through my hair is like...sex." They all laughed at that. He looked at his sister. "Um, you are probably wondering why the fuck there are so many women sleeping with me."

Jessica immediately looked guilty and for a moment he wasn't sure why, but then he made the connection. That's what she'd teased him mercilessly the most about.

"Oh, hey, no," he said, raising one hand, "it's not-that wasn't a shot at you. It's just that this situation is kind of insane."

"I...am really curious," Jessica murmured cautiously.

"So, I met Mae here immediately. Like, almost literally as soon as I got off the bus. She pretty much jumped me. She walked me back to town and into this house and asked 'wanna do it?'." He laughed, then paused and laughed harder. "She also dropped my Xbox on the floor."

"I said I was sorry!" she complained.

"I know! It's fine, babe. I...whew boy, I'm fading. So, Mae jumped me and we had sex. And then she introduced me to Ann here, and Bea. And both of them just could not help themselves as soon as they met me. They jumped me."

"He isn't lying," Ann murmured.

Bea frowned and crossed her arms.

"Well, Queen Bea?" Trent asked.

"Well what? You stoned little...mmm...fine, yes. I couldn't keep my hands off you."

"But...you were already with Mae?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah. I'm not jealous, and I had sex with him, and it was amazing. And Bea and Ann were both really sad because bad things had happened to them, and that was true of me also, and while the sex didn't cure the problems, it did make me feel super good. So I figured it'd only be fair to help my friends by hooking them up with my new hot boyfriend, and also help him too by hooking him up with my hot friends."

"They are super hot," he muttered.

"Yeah, so Claire there is Ann's good friend. She was depressed, and Ann thought a safe, comfortable date with a guy she could trust would help," Trent continued.

"It did. Like, a lot," Claire murmured. "But it was more than the sex. Trent basically saved my life."

"He literally saved my life," Mae said. "But we don't talk about that."

"Yep. And Molly there...well, we haven't had sex."

"We have…" Mae murmured with a big grin.

"We've been intimate, Trent. And I'm not just talking about what we did yesterday. I mean before that," Molly said.

"I know."

"This boy drove six hours at the fucking drop of a hat to help me after my apartment burned down with all my stuff in it. Like, last week. He and Mae and Bea all hopped in a car and drove straight out the moment I called them and told them what had happened. I'm crashing here right now because of that. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life now, but they are letting me figure it out. Trent...is probably the first guy I've ever really, truly, genuinely trusted. Like...to give you an idea of how much I trust Trent, I am a lesbian, and always have been, and I'm going to have sex with him. Without protection. Because I've always wondered what it might be like with a guy, but I've never trusted a guy enough to try it with. Until I met him. I love this boy...I just wanted to say that."

"I love you too, Molly," he murmured.

"This is the first I'm hearing of this," Candy said with an amused grin. "But I'm so glad. There should be more love in the world, and not just romantic love, but friendly love, too."

"Strong agree," Trent murmured. He looked at her. "Um…"

"Cat's already out of the bag there, Trent, might as well spill the tea. Respectfully, of course," Candy replied.

"Okay. So, this is Candy. She is Mae's mom. We, uh...hooked up last month, because she…"

"Wanted that young dick," Candy murmured.

"Uh, heh, yeah. And I wanted that mature pussy," he replied, then started laughing. He lost control of himself there for a moment, but slowly got himself back under control.

"Are there others?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah. There's a rich girl up north, Melody. I think I mentioned her earlier. There's a college girl who's a friend's cousin that wanted simple, safe sex...and there's a cougar in another town I hooked up with kind of at random. And also my boss."

"Wait, who's your boss? What's your job?" she asked.

"Holy shit, we have so much to catch up on. You missed so much. I'm a writer now. Like, I got a contract to novelize a video game. A series of video games."

"Holy fucking shit, is that what all this was about?"

"Um...oh yeah, I guess I didn't ask what actually got you all out here. But...I'm fading. Like for real. I won't remember if you tell me...I think. Or will I?"

"Hey fucker, that's not what you told me!" Molly cried.

He laughed. "I took more than that one time!...mmm...Tabby's got such a fat ass."

"Oh yeah, he's zoning," Molly murmured. "And so do I."

"Yeah but I haven't been in your ass."

"Oh wow! You fucked your boss in the ass?! Man, how many guys can say that!?" Molly cried, laughing.

"Yep," he replied, then yawned. "Oh man, I'm tired. And full of food. I think, um, I need to sleep."

"Yes you do, dear," Candy said.

"Hey, um, like, make sure my, uh...sister, like, if she needs anything…"

"Don't worry," Candy replied, "we'll take care of her. Just rest, dear. You've been through so much."

"Yeah...goodnight, everyone. And thank you so much for taking care of me," Trent said, yawning as he climbed slowly and awkwardly under the blankets.

"We love you, Trent," Bea murmured, running her fingers through his hair.

He put his head on the pillow and that was the last thing he remembered, then he was out.