Demon oscillated between withdrawal and brief relief as he attempted to follow Coach’s order to cut back on Percocet and stop Oxy, hoping to heal for next season. He tried tapering, then caved to stop the sickness, watching the prescription dwindle toward late December and refusing to ask for more.

Dori became his refuge. He spent time at her farmhouse, navigating Jip’s hostility and Vester’s decline, hearing Vester’s history of asbestos exposure and the failed hope of a settlement. The house’s oddities—plastic horse on the roof, a preserved “dead mom” upstairs—framed Dori’s isolated life and responsibilities.

Seeking a meaningful place to be together, Demon took Dori to the old stripping house at Creaky Farm, his former hideout. They made love and lingered, Dori drifting into whimsical questions, and they shared wine by funeral candles. To keep Demon from vomiting during withdrawal, Dori provided small hits—benzos or a touch from Vester’s morphine patch—while Demon reflected on pill culture and the OxyContin coating tricks he’d only just understood.

Through the holidays, Coach assumed Demon was off pills and rehabbing; Angus pressed for normal traditions. Demon avoided them, while Dori brought gifts to Coach’s household. He fretted over finding a worthy present for Dori and ran her errands, including picking up prescriptions.

At Walgreens, amid observations about locked-up Sudafed, Demon ran into Tommy. Tommy reported modest success at the newspaper and invited him over, revealing he rented a garage from the McCobbs and helped with their children. Demon recognized his former foster family, cautioned Tommy about Mr. McCobb’s Wate-O-Way venture, and learned Tommy had already invested, leaving Demon worried but unwilling to puncture his hope.