ACT THREE
FADE IN:
INT. MCPHERSON LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Richard presses up close to Sam, a gleam in his eyes that's
somewhere between mean and insane, while keeping his hold on
her throat.
RICHARD
That wasn't very nice, Sammy,
trying to keep me out.
Sam is gasping for air and futilely trying to pry his hand
away. Finally she manages to get a hand up and into his face;
he responds by slamming her head back against the wall, dazing
her again.
RICHARD (CONT'D)
Still a little firebrand, aren't
you? I think it's time we taught
you some manners.
He grabs her by the hair and drags her across the room,
throwing her over the coffee table and onto the sofa. He
advances on her menacingly, slapping his hands together.
RICHARD (CONT'D)
I think by the time Jane gets home
I'll have smacked some sense into
you.
As he leans over her, she tries to kick him in the groin, but
only manages to graze his leg. Growling, he backhands her
across the face as she's trying to squirm her way off the
sofa.
SAM
(looking back towards the stairs)
HELP! CLARENCE!
Startled by the notion of someone else in the house, Richard
looks up at the stairs himself. He doesn't see anyone; but
Sam takes advantage of the momentary distraction to grab the
lamp off of the endtable and smash it over his head, sending
him tumbling to the floor, unconscious.
As Sam lays on the sofa, gasping and shuddering in shock,
Clarence comes over to her.
CLARENCE
I think you should call the
police.
After a moment, Sam nods dazedly, and reaches for the phone
CUT TO:
EST. MCPHERSON HOUSE - LATER
Two police cars with lights flashing are parked at the curb.
CUT TO:
INT. MCPHERSON LIVING ROOM
One police officer has Richard upright, his hands cuffed
behind his back, while another has his wallet in his hands.
Meanwhile, Sam is standing off to the side, still shaken.
POLICE OFFICER #1
Now, then, Mr...Jenkins, is it?
Richard struggles in the grasp of the second officer.
RICHARD
(belligerent)
Get your hands off me! I have a
right to be here!
POLICE OFFICER #1
We'll see about that. Miss
McPherson?
And Clarence is standing—unseen by everyone else—behind Sam.
CLARENCE
(over Sam's shoulder)
Psst. Endtable drawer.
SAM
(glancing back)
What?
The police officer, of course, thinks she's talking to him.
POLICE OFFICER #1
I said, do you know this man?
Instead of answering, Sam hurries over to the endtable and
opens the drawer. Inside she finds a thick, folded packet of
papers. Without looking at them, she hands them to the
officer. Richard, meanwhile, has decided to try to placate
the officers.
RICHARD
(hastily)
Look, this is all just a
misunderstanding. I'm sure we can
work it out...
POLICE OFFICER #1
(reading the papers)
Uh-huh...this is a restraining
order, prohibiting Richard
Jenkins—that would be you—from
approaching within five hundred
feet of Jane McPherson, or her
daughter, Samantha.
He takes a pointed look at the distance between Richard and
Sam.
POLICE OFFICER #1 (CONT'D)
So...I guess this was just an
accounting error.
Richard glares past the police officer, at Sam.
RICHARD
(growling)
You! You'd better look scared,
you little bitch! You can't keep
me away!
POLICE OFFICER #1
(irritated)
Now you're making threats in front
of the police? How dumb ARE you?
He gestures to his companion.
POLICE OFFICER #1 (CONT'D)
Get him out of here.
As Richard gets escorted out, the officer turns back to Sam
and hands the papers back to her.
POLICE OFFICER #1 (CONT'D)
I know tomorrow's Christmas—but
if you could come down to the
precinct house and give a
statement...
SAM
(numbly)
Oh...sure...
He reaches out and pats her shoulder reassuringly.
POLICE OFFICER #1
Don't worry about him, Miss.
We'll keep him locked up.
(pause)
If you'd like, I can stay until
your mother gets here...?
SAM
(shaking her head numbly)
No...it's all right...
POLICE OFFICER #1
(reluctantly)
All right. But you stay safe,
okay?
Sam does her best to nod and even smile a bit. She walks the
officer to the door, and makes sure it's locked behind him.
Then, shaking again, she collapses onto the sofa. Clarence
sits carefully on the armrest.
CLARENCE
Maybe you should call your mother.
Sam buries her face in her hands.
SAM
(shakily)
I can't deal with her.
She looks up at him.
SAM (CONT'D)
Who WAS that?
CLARENCE
That...was your mother's ex
boyfriend.
Sam throws her hands down, frustrated.
SAM
You're trying to tell me that just
because she doesn't end up with
Mike, she starts dating psychos?
That's not fair!
CLARENCE
It's—not exactly a direct
connection, Sam. It's just the
way it worked out.
Sam gets up suddenly, pacing back and forth in front of the
sofa and running her hands through her hair.
SAM
I need to get out of here.
Clarence hops up.
CLARENCE
Oh, I can handle that. Friendly
Angel-slash-Travel Guide. Where
do you want to go?
The thought of instant travel seems to make Sam slightly
queasy, though.
SAM
I don't know. Can we just...walk?
Without waiting for an answer, Sam heads in the general
direction of the front door. Clarence obediently follows, as
she opens the door of the coat closet and pulls out a jacket.
CLARENCE
Sure, if you don't mind walking
down the street talking to the
empty air.
CUT TO:
EXT. MCPHERSON HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER
The front door opens, and Sam steps out—only to stop short at
the sight of a shiny compact car sitting in the driveway.
Clarence appears at her side.
CLARENCE
Or, you could drive.
Sam pokes a thumb at the car.
SAM
My car?
CLARENCE
(nods)
Sweet, isn't it?
Sam's expression indicates that she's not quite as thrilled
about it as she might have been before.
CUT TO:
EXT. A SUBURBAN STREET - LATER
Sam's car cruises along the deserted, darkened street.
CUT TO:
INT. SAM'S CAR - MOVING
Sam and Clarence are driving along in silence.
SAM
Clarence?
CLARENCE
Yeah?
SAM
I'm sorry you died.
CLARENCE
(shrugs)
Happens to the best of us. But
look at the radical job I got now.
And it's for all eternity.
Sam throws him a dubious look.
SAM
"Radical"?
Clarence does a quick mental calculation.
CLARENCE
Sorry, wrong decade. You know,
when your perspective is eternity,
it can be hard to keep the slang
straight.
Sam decides to move on.
SAM
So...you're an angel.
CLARENCE
Yep. Wings and everything. Well,
I'm a junior angel—the
probationary period is five
thousand years. Then I'll get
real wings.
Sam lets that digest for a few moments.
SAM
What's heaven like?
CLARENCE
(considers)
It's not bad. Weather's always
nice. You can eat whatever you
want.
SAM
No lie?
CLARENCE
(reproachfully)
Angels never lie, Sam. It's
against the rules.
CUT TO:
EXT. A SHOPPING MALL - LATER
The mall is dark and deserted, the parking lots empty as Sam's
car passes by.
CUT TO:
INT. SAM'S CAR - MOVING
Sam looks out through the side window at the empty lots.
SAM
The mall's closed.
CLARENCE
It's Christmas Eve. Everything's
closed.
Sam thinks for a moment.
SAM
Oh—I know what's open. There's a
Christmas Eve Midnight Movie at
the multiplex.
Then she treats Clarence to a suspicious glare.
SAM (CONT'D)
There IS still a Christmas Eve
Midnight Movie at the multiplex,
right?
CLARENCE
(shrugs)
As far as I know.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE MULTIPLEX PARKING LOT - MIDNIGHT
There are indeed bunches of cars in the theater's parking lot.
Sam pulls in and parks her car.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE MULTIPLEX - CONTINUOUS
There are a couple of dozen people milling around the front of
the theater complex as Sam makes her way through the parking
lot. She stops, though, when she spots a familiar face:
George is standing by the theater doors. She is about to
wave—but then Brooke appears, and as Sam looks on, shocked,
she wraps her arms around George and kisses him.
Then, from behind her:
CARMEN
Sickening, isn't it?
Sam spins around to see Carmen, standing there, seemingly the
same as she ever was.
SAM
Carm!
Impulsively, she hugs Carmen, who seems a bit overwhelmed by
the greeting.
CARMEN
Hey...are you okay?
Sam backs off a little.
SAM
Sure...fine.
CARMEN
You sure? I mean, I know you've
been stressed and all, and it's
almost been a year since...you
know.
Sam doesn't know; she's starting to get lost again. But she
does her best to cover it up.
SAM
I'm all right, really.
Just then, though, Carmen catches sight of the deepening
bruise on Sam's cheek, and reaches out for it.
CARMEN
(shocked)
Sam! What happened?
SAM
Oh...um...
She drags the name up from the depths of her memory.
SAM (CONT'D)
...Richard.
CARMEN
HE did this to you? When? How?
SAM
He...got in the house.
CARMEN
Oh, my God.
Sam takes hold of Carmen's hands reassuringly.
SAM
It's all right. The police got
him. He's in jail.
CARMEN
Well, good. He always gave me the
creeps.
Then Carmen refocuses her attention over Sam's shoulder. By
the time Sam turns back around, Nicole has appeared, with
another jock-type on her arm. They form a group with George
and Brooke.
CARMEN (CONT'D)
(sighs)
The quarterback and the head
cheerleader. You know, it's
amazing. Josh Ford quits the
team, and George Austin steps
right in. He even inherited the
girlfriend.
(shaking her head)
Some things never change.
Sam just shakes her head in confusion as she watches the
foursome enter the theater.
SAM
But—but, George isn't like that!
CARMEN
Huh?
SAM
(backtracking)
Uh, I mean...it doesn't seem like
George would be like that.
CARMEN
(laughs)
Are you kidding? With that
article you wrote last year, about
the shallowness of athletes?
There was enough venom in that to
drop half the school!
By this time, Sam is completely out-of-sorts again.
SAM
Ah, well...maybe I was...hasty.
CARMEN
(curious)
This isn't like you, Sam. Are you
sure you're okay?
Sam tries to be reassuring.
SAM
Oh...yeah.
Carmen makes a move towards the theater, expecting Sam to
follow. When she doesn't, Carmen stops and looks back.
CARMEN
Coming? The movie's gonna start.
Sam makes another decision.
SAM
Um...no. You go on. I think...
I'm going to see Harrison.
At the mention of Harrison's name, Carmen's expression
instantly turns to concern again.
CARMEN
Oh.
SAM
(puzzled)
What—you think it's too late?
CARMEN
(covering)
No..no. It's just, sometimes I
worry about you.
(laughing it off)
You know me, Miss Worry-wort.
SAM
You wanna come with?
Carmen smiles, a curiously sad little smile, and shakes her
head.
CARMEN
I know you like to be alone when
you're with Harrison.
(pause)
So I'll see you tomorrow, right?
At Lily's?
SAM
Yeah...sure.
CARMEN
Okay.
With that, Carmen turns and heads for the theater, while Sam
walks back towards her car.
CUT TO:
INT. SAM'S CAR - MOMENTS LATER
Sam gets back into her car, where Clarence is still sitting.
She looks over at him.
SAM
I like to be alone when I'm with
Harrison. Now that's more like
it.
She starts the car.
SAM (CONT'D)
If I have Harrison...this'll all
be worth it.
CUT TO:
EXT. JOHN HOUSE - LATER
Sam's car pulls up to the curb, and Sam climbs out and starts
up the walk. Even in the darkness, though, she senses that
something is wrong, and she cuts across the yard to one of the
front windows, all of which are curtained. Pressing her face
up next to the glass, she finds a crack in the curtains and
looks through.
INSERT: THE HOUSE INTERIOR - SAM'S POV
From somewhere within a light is on. Even in the dimness,
though, Sam can see that the house is completely empty,
vacant.
For a few long moments Sam just stands there, looking in,
seemingly paralyzed. Then, finally, with nothing else to do,
she hikes back across the front yard to her car, where
Clarence is standing on the sidewalk next to the passenger
door.
SAM
All right, why is no one living in
Harrison's house? Did they move,
too?
Clarence ponders that silently, apparently unsure of exactly
how to respond.
SAM (CONT'D)
Come on! You said angels don't
lie—so, where is Harrison?
Don't tell me he's living with
Mary Cherry, or something totally
weird like that.
Clarence just shakes his head mutely. But his reticence, the
strange mood and all of the previous events of the evening are
finally pushing Sam towards her breaking point.
SAM (CONT'D)
Fine, then, just do your angel
thing, and take me to Harrison!
CLARENCE
Sam, maybe we should talk—
SAM
(on edge)
I want to see Harrison NOW!
Finally, Clarence hangs his head, and without any fanfare at
all, snaps his fingers.
CUT TO:
EXT. A CEMETARY - CONTINUOUS
Clarence and Sam are standing on a low rise, surrounded by
headstones.
It only takes Sam a moment or two to register her
surroundings; and she looks back at him, a horrified
expression sweeping across her face.
SAM
(choking up)
No. No, no, NO!
She begins to blindly run away; yet somehow she runs in the
right direction, for after a few steps she trips over her own
feet and goes sprawling to the ground—face-to-face with
Harrison's gravestone.
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT THREE