ACT TWO
FADE IN:
DREAM SEQUENCE - B&W
INT. A BEDROOM
A large man with a belt and a clenched fist is advancing
menacingly on a battered little girl (about 8) huddled in the
corner of the room.
MAN
I'll teach you not to run around
this house, you little snot!
GIRL
(cowering)
I won't, I promise, Daddy...
Please don't hit me again...I
swear I'll be good...
The man reaches down and swings his fist, and—
CUT TO:
INT. JOSH AND LILY'S BEDROOM
Lily bolts upright in bed, screaming. In an instant Brooke is
there, arm around her protectively.
BROOKE
(soothingly)
It's all right. You're all right.
LILY
(blinking)
Brooke?
She looks around uncertainly.
LILY (CONT'D)
What are you doing here?
BROOKE
Josh called. Well, he called
looking for Sam, but...I came.
LILY
Josh...
Her eyes widen slightly, and she pulls back to look at Brooke.
LILY (CONT'D)
Did I...say anything?
Brooke purses her lips sympathetically and nods.
LILY (CONT'D)
Please, don't tell Josh.
BROOKE
I won't, I promise. But, Lily...
LILY
I know.
BROOKE
Do you...want to talk about it?
Lily shrugs morosely, settling into a sitting position against
the headboard. Brooke pulls her legs up, sitting cross-legged
across from her.
LILY
My father...he wasn't a very nice
man. And he was an alcoholic.
BROOKE
He hit you.
LILY
And my mom. Domestic violence—
America's dirty little secret. We
were a statistic.
BROOKE
God, I'm sorry.
(delicately)
Did he...?
LILY
No. He just couldn't control his
temper.
BROOKE
Why haven't you told Josh?
LILY
I don't...I don't want him to feel
sorry for me. PLUS I don't want
him to think he has to walk on
eggshells around me.
BROOKE
Lily, you can't keep something
like this from him. You guys are
married. For better or worse.
LILY
I think this is a little worse
than "worse".
BROOKE
I know he loves you. He'd do
anything for you. You just have
to trust him.
The conversation hangs there for several long moments, each of
them wrapped up in her own thoughts. Then Lily looks up.
LILY
Did you say Josh called you?
BROOKE
No, I said he was looking for Sam.
Something in Brooke's face betrays her; Lily peers at her more
closely.
LILY
What?
Brooke just looks away, shaking her head.
LILY (CONT'D)
Something happened? Between you
and Sam?
Brooke lets out a rueful little laugh.
BROOKE
I've... Any chance Sam and I
ever had for any kind of
relationship...it's ruined.
Forever.
LILY
It can't be that bad.
Brooke looks up at her.
BROOKE
Yes, it can.
DISSOLVE TO:
MONTAGE
EXT. CITY STREET
In the heart of the city, Sam aimlessly wanders the streets,
holding herself, alone amongst the crowds. The sequence ends
as her eye catches the sign on a building across the street:
"L.A. National Trust Bank". Taken by a thought, she cuts
across the flow of traffic.
CUT TO:
INT. THE BANK
Sam steps up to one of the teller windows.
SAM
McPherson, Samantha? Five-three
nine-one-eight-six-six-three.
The teller taps some keys.
TELLER
What can I do for you today, Ms.
McPherson?
SAM
I want to take money out of my
savings account.
TELLER
And how much?
SAM
All of it.
The teller looks up sharply.
TELLER
Are you certain?
SAM
Yes.
TELLER
I see... And would you like—?
SAM
Cash.
TELLER
Please, wait just a moment.
The teller scoots back in her chair.
CUT TO:
INT. CARMEN'S BEDROOM
Carmen has been pacing the room despondently. Finally she
plops down in front of her computer and begins to work on it.
A moment later the room fills with the sound of the modem.
INSERT: THE COMPUTER SCREEN
as she enters a romance chat room.
She relaxes and a grin spreads across her face as she begins
to type in earnest.
CUT TO:
INT. THE BANK
The teller is counting out a spread of bills in front of Sam.
TELLER
...six hundred, seven hundred,
eight hundred, twenty, forty,
fifty, fifty-two, and thirty-seven
cents.
Sam sweeps up the bills and the change and tucks it all away.
SAM
Thanks.
CUT TO:
EXT. MCQUEEN HOUSE - LATER
Harrison approaches the front door and rings the bell. He
waits, shifting impatiently, for a few moments, then knocks on
the door.
HARRISON
(calling)
Sam? Sam!
No response.
HARRISON (CONT'D)
Sam, are you in there?
(pause)
Brooke? Anyone home?
He tries to peer in the front window, but then gives up and
walks away. A few seconds after he disappears, Sam comes out
from behind a bush and quickly goes inside.
CUT TO:
INT. MCQUEEN LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Inside, Sam looks all around, almost a bit lost, or as if
she's seeing the room for the first time. After a bit of
this, she shakes herself out of her reverie and heads up the
stairs.
CUT TO:
INT. JOSH AND LILY'S BEDROOM
Lily and Brooke are sitting on the bed in the midst of a sober
silence.
LILY
Wow.
BROOKE
You hate me now, too, right?
LILY
Brooke...
BROOKE
I mean, of course you hate me.
How else could you feel? How else
could anyone feel? I don't blame
you for hating me.
LILY
Brooke—
Brooke swings her legs out, stands up, and steps towards the
door.
BROOKE
I'm just gonna go now, 'cause I'm
sure you don't want to be anywhere
near me...
LILY
BROOKE!
Brooke finally stops and turns her head to look back at Lily.
Lily smiles encouragingly and pats the bed next to her—
something she has to do twice before Brooke returns and
perches on the edge of the bed. Lily reaches for and takes
her hand.
LILY (CONT'D)
Of course I don't hate you.
Brooke shakes her head, utterly confused.
BROOKE
Why?
LILY
Well, first of all, hatred is an
extremely negative emotion, which
ultimately poisons the hater as
well as the hated.
Brooke gives her a very strange look. Lily chuckles, and
starts over.
LILY (CONT'D)
Brooke, I'm not going to judge
you. Look at me—I am the last
person to tell anyone what to do
when it comes to love.
BROOKE
But—you and Sam are, like, best
friends, and I've...
(covering her eyes)
Oh, God, what have I done?
LILY
You didn't just go after Harrison
to hurt Sam, did you?
BROOKE
(shocked)
What? No!
LILY
Then you followed your heart, and
it took you somewhere completely
unexpected.
(shrugs)
I DO know a little something about
that.
BROOKE
Will you stop being so
understanding? How can you be so
understanding?
That gets a laugh out of Lily, before she turns serious again.
LILY
All right... Yes, Sam is my
friend, but...I'd like to think
that you're my friend, too. And
I've learned that when your
friends are fighting, the best
thing to do is to not get
involved. So I promise, right
now, that I won't choose sides
between the two of you. No matter
what.
Brooke leans over and hugs Lily.
BROOKE
I don't you suppose you have any
idea how I can fix things with
Sam?
LILY
Sorry—you're on your own there.
BROOKE
(ruefully)
She's going to kill me. How am I
supposed to live with her after
this?
Lily shrugs helplessly. Brooke refocuses.
BROOKE (CONT'D)
So, what about you?
LILY
I think I oughta call Josh and get
him back here.
Lily reaches for the phone.
CUT TO:
EXT. MCQUEEN HOUSE
Josh walks up to the front door, rings the bell and then
pounds on the door.
CUT TO:
INT. MCQUEEN KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS
Sam comes down the kitchen stairs, duffel bag slung over her
shoulder. At the bottom of the stairs, she hears the banging
at the front door.
JOSH (O.S.)
(from outside)
Sam? Are you in there?
After a moment, she turns and quietly slips out the patio
door.
CUT TO:
EXT. MCQUEEN HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Josh is still standing on the stoop when his cell phone rings.
He pulls it out.
JOSH
(into the phone)
Hello?
LILY (V.O.)
(over the phone)
Josh?
JOSH
Lily! Are you all right?
LILY (V.O.)
I'm fine, Josh. Can you come
home?
JOSH
(relieved)
Sure thing, baby, I'm leaving
right now.
Josh puts the phone away and rushes off.
CUT TO:
INT. JOSH AND LILY'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
Lily hangs up the phone.
LILY
You don't have to stick around.
BROOKE
Uh-uh. I promised Josh I'd stay
with you till he got back. As
long as you're sure you can stand
to be in the same room with me...
LILY
(laughing)
Stop it.
BROOKE
(sighs)
Besides, I'm not exactly looking
forward to going home.
Lily makes a sympathetic sound and pats Brooke's hand.
CUT TO:
INT. LIBRARY - LATER
At a table of computers under a hanging sign that reads
"Internet", Sam is sitting at one of the terminals, typing
away. After a few mouse clicks, she stands, picks up her
duffel bag and walks off.
CUT TO:
INT. JOSH AND LILY'S BEDROOM
The two girls are still sitting on the bed.
LILY
You know—I wonder why Josh didn't
call Carmen.
BROOKE
Oh—he did. He said the line was
busy.
LILY
Hmm...
Lily reaches for the phone and dials; a moment later she hangs
it up again.
LILY (CONT'D)
Still busy.
(pause)
That's funny—I thought she and
Sugar Daddy were going out today.
BROOKE
(shrugs)
I don't know.
From outside the room there is the sound of the front door
opening and closing. Brooke stands up, and a moment later
Josh appears in the doorway.
JOSH
Lily?
LILY
(waves)
I'm sorry I scared everyone.
He rushes to the bed and hugs her tightly.
JOSH
Baby, I couldn't stand it if
anything happened to you.
LILY
I'm going to be fine. Really.
Brooke steps away.
BROOKE
I'm going now.
Lily holds out her hands, draws Brooke to her and hugs her.
BROOKE (CONT'D)
Good luck.
LILY
You too.
BROOKE
(rolls her eyes)
Yeah.
She brushes Josh's shoulder.
BROOKE (CONT'D)
(to Josh)
You—take good care of her.
With that, Brooke walks out. Josh throws Lily a questioning
look.
LILY
Later. Right now, what's
important is us.
JOSH
Lily, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—
LILY
I know, you didn't mean anything.
But there's some things, things
about me, that I haven't told you.
Things I've kept from you. I
thought that was for the best, but
it's not, and now we have to talk.
JOSH
I love you, Lily. You can tell me
anything.
LILY
(smiling)
I know.
As Josh settles on the bed—
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT TWO