22: The Trip

At Pete and Maggie’s pool, Gus keeps his distance, leaving January uneasy. Back at the house, the drive is strained; when Gus ambiguously invites her to the New Eden trip, January pushes for clarity and commits to going despite his evasiveness. She spends the Fourth writing, watching fireworks, and feeling isolated.

The next morning a violent storm breaks. After texts about gear and expectations, Gus picks January up. They drive, talk around yesterday’s tension, and hike through rain-soaked woods to the charred remains of New Eden. The devastation rattles January; Gus documents the site while urging her to wait in a tent they pitched nearby.

January initially insists on witnessing the scene with Gus but eventually yields when he pleads, retreating to the tent, hurt. After hours, Gus returns, having mapped and photographed the site. January demands explanations.

Gus clarifies the disruptive phone call came from Kayla Markham, his lawyer and old friend, about delays in his divorce from Naomi. He explains he tried to keep January from the grim trip to spare her, not to push her away. January challenges his mixed signals from the cookout and afterward.

Pressed, Gus confesses he has long been drawn to January since college, misreading her aloofness then, and now fears he’ll hurt her. He describes feeling like a “wreck” amid therapy, medication, quitting smoking, and the stalled divorce, worrying he can’t be the partner she deserves.

January asks for simple honesty: what he wants. Gus admits he wants her—dates, ordinary joy, all of it—but fears losing her. January counters that she doesn’t need perfection; she wants him. They soften, kiss, and choose to continue together.