Chasing Sleep Page #11

---

ED:

You put it all on my credit card, right?

SADIE:

Actually, I paid for it. They wouldn't take your card.

ED:

Why not?

SADIE:

They said you hadn't paid your bill, on the phone. They called the credit card people when it didn't go through.

ED:

Damn. Well, I'll pay you back.

SADIE:

It's OK. I charged it to my Dad. I don't even pay the bill.

ED:

No, those pills are expensive. And my insurance will cover it anyway.

SADIE:

Pay me back later, then. Really, it's OK.

ED:

Are you sure?

SADIE:

It's fine. I swear.

Sadie looks at the cuts on his face.

SADIE:

Your face must hurt.

ED:

No. I don't seem to feel anything.

SADIE:

It's nasty.

Sadie takes a closer look.

SADIE:

Here. Sit down.

She sits Ed down at the kitchen table, under a light, and sits across from him, then takes the peroxide and some cotton swabs she bought at the pharmacy and starts to dress his wounds.

ED:

I've never been hit before.

SADIE:

Me neither.

ED:

It's not so bad, really. It's humbling, but I like the effect it seems to have on people. It seems to make them more compassionate. There's a competitive market for suffering in the world. It's difficult to stand out from the handicapped and the homeless and the politically oppressed. Sometimes a little advertising helps remind people that you're a human being.

SADIE:

It does make you look sort of cute, in a pathetic kind of way.

ED:

Sadie.

SADIE:

Are you really married?

ED:

What? You think I just made it up?

SADIE:

I don't know. Some people just say they're married, you know, because maybe they think it's more respectable or something.

ED:

I'm not one of those people.

SADIE:

I didn't mean to imply anything. It's just that you act sort of weird.

ED:

I act weird?

SADIE:

Not weird, really. Worried, I guess. Secretive. Like you're worried I might find out something about you.

ED:

You don't want to get involved with my problems.

SADIE:

Maybe I do.

ED:

Believe me, you don't.

SADIE:

I didn't mean to pry. Well, maybe I did. I'll just put a band-aid on it.

ED:

Would you like a drink? I'm going to have one. 1tt1He finds a bottle of wine.

SADIE:

You're not supposed to mix wine with sleeping pills. It increases the amount of medicine that's absorbed into the bloodstream. 1tt1Ed searches for a corkscrew and starts to open the bottle.

ED:

I need all the help I can get.

SADIE:

It's dangerous.

ED:

It's just wine. I'll only have a glass. 1tt1He offers her some and she nods. He pours her a glass. Sadie takes her glass into the living room. Ed downs his glass of wine and refills it quickly before following her.

INT. LIVING ROOM 1tt1She sits down at his desk.

SADIE:

Are you working on anything new?

ED:

No. I don't write anymore.

SADIE:

Why not?

ED:

I just don't have the time. I have to work all day. Time just slips by.

SADIE:

I know what you mean. There's not enough time in the day.

ED:

Not as much as there used to be.

SADIE:

There used to be more?

ED:

Yes. Before I had to work there was plenty of time.

SADIE:

But you had all that stuff published.

ED:

Sure, but it didn't pay very much. I had a lot of debts from school that needed to be paid off. And then, credit cards. And then I got married, bought a house. Life comes with all these expenses. And poetry just doesn't pay. I thought working at the University would at least give me summers off.

SADIE:

Doesn't it?

ED:

Not really. No. 1tt1There is a knock on the door. The idea that someone else might see them together makes it awkward for both of them. 1tt1Ed freezes for what seems like a long time; long enough for whoever it is to knock again.

ED:

I better see who that is.

SADIE:

Yeah. 1tt1Ed goes over to the door and opens it cautiously. It is Eve's friend, SUSIE.

SUSIE:

Hi, it's me.

ED:

Oh, hi Susie. 1tt1She is about to walk in, when Ed blocks her way. She can see Sadie sitting at Ed's desk holding a glass of wine.

ED:

Eve's not here.

SUSIE:

Oh. She came back though, didn't she?

ED:

No, she didn't.

SUSIE:

Oh no. Can I come in?

EXT. PORCH - NIGHT 1tt1Ed, rather than let her in, pushes her outside and shuts the door behind her.

ED:

No. I'm busy right now. I called the police.

SUSIE:

What did they say?

ED:

They're working on it. You can call them if you want. 1tt1Ed finds Derm's card in his pocket and hands it to her.

SUSIE:

Aren't you worried?

ED:

Of course I'm worried. I'm just working right now. This girl is one of my students. She wanted some help on an assignment. She doesn't know anything about Eve being missing.

SUSIE:

What happened to you?

ED:

George Simian hit me.

SUSIE:

George?

ED:

You know him. It figures. 1tt1Susie starts crying. Ed stares at her helplessly, then goes back inside.

SUSIE:

Wait. 1tt1Ed stops.

SUSIE:

Can I come back later?

ED:

It's late. I just took some sleeping pills. I haven't slept much since this all started. Why don't you come back tomorrow?

SUSIE:

Tomorrow?

ED:

Good night, Susie.

Ed walks back in, leaving Susie standing on the porch.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Ed waits by the door until he hears her footsteps walking away outside.

Sadie stands up, looking nervous.

SADIE 2t2Is that your wife?

ED 2t2No. It was a friend of hers.

SADIE 2t2I should go.

ED 2t2No. Why?

SADIE 2t2You must be tired. Those pills must be working.

ED 2t2I don't think they're working at all.

SADIE 2t2Still. You're married, right?

ED 2t2Yeah, but, please don't go. Please. Time has a way of slowing down when you're around.

SADIE 2t2Really? For me, too.

ED 2t2So you'll stay?

SADIE 2t2If you want me to.

Ed comes over to her and kisses her.

SADIE 2t2Can I ask you something?

ED 2t2What?

SADIE 2t2Do you think my writing is good?

ED 2t2You've done some good work.

SADIE 2t2Yeah. C minus good.

ED 2t2I told you, I was in a bad mood when I graded that.

SADIE 2t2I guess so.

She is unresponsive at first.

SADIE:

(to herself) 2t2What am I doing?

They kiss for a minute, then Ed slips his hand under the back of Sadie's sweater.

She kisses him again.

INT. BEDROOM

Sadie turns the lights off and we can only see by the light coming in from the hallway.

Ed lies on the bed and Sadie lies next to him, under the covers. Ed slips his hand under the back of her sweater and fiddles with her bra while they kiss.

The gurgling sound starts up again, and while Sadie doesn't notice, or doesn't hear it, it becomes increasingly distracting to Ed. He looks to the bathroom where the noise is coming from.

INT. BATHROOM

The camera focuses in on the drain. The water in the bathtub starts rising again.

INT. BEDROOM

Sadie breaks away from him, sits up and takes off her sweater. Ed takes off his shirt.

Ed's kisses move around the side of her neck. As he reaches her ear, he looks up and notices Eve's clothes sitting on the chair.

INT. BATHROOM

The water is rising slowly, but we can see solid stuff (the ashes from the diary are clearly part of the muck) seeping out of the drain with the water. It is a cloudy, dark, disgusting water which probably stinks too.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes