Chasing Sleep Page #5

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SADIE:

She wouldn't mind.

ED:

No.

SADIE:

I bled so much.

Ed gets up to give her some room.

She slips out of her sweater and puts the other one on.

Sadie looks at a picture next to the bed.

SADIE:

Is this your wife?

ED:

That's my mother. That picture is older than it looks.

SADIE:

She's so pretty.

ED:

She was young when that was taken. She died a few years ago.

SADIE:

That's awful. How'd she die?

ED:

Cancer. It was quite an ordeal. She died very slowly.

SADIE:

That's so sad. I better go, huh?

ED:

It's getting late.

INT. LIVING ROOM

Ed walks her to the door.

SADIE:

I'm sorry about everything.

ED:

Don't be sorry. I'm glad you came.

SADIE:

I'll see you tomorrow.

ED:

Tomorrow?

SADIE:

In school. You'll be there, right?

ED:

Oh, yes. I'll be there.

SADIE:

Bye.

Sadie kisses him on the cheek and then leaves.

Ed locks the door after her.

INT. BATHROOM

Ed looks at the tub in the bathroom which is full of water.

He sticks his finger deep into the drain, trying to free whatever is in there. There is another tuft of hair, and again he throws it into the toilet.

The gurgling sound that he heard before has come back, resonating through the soapy water from the drain.

INT. BASEMENT

Ed follows the gurgling sounds into the basement.

He takes a flashlight from behind the basement door and shines it at the pipes that lead from the bathtub drain. He can hear the gurgling sound running through them. It sound like they ate something they can't digest. He reaches up and touches the pipe. It seems to be leaking a little, or maybe it is condensation.

Ed traces the noise to a larger sewage pipe that runs down into the basement floor. He watches the pipe, but slowly, his attention is drawn to the shadow next to the pipe.

As he stares intently into the darkness of the shadow, a figure begins to emerge in the distance. The darkness begins to change into a long hallway. A small figure is walking towards Ed and his footsteps echo in the distance.

Ed watches, mesmerized.

The basement fades into the blackness, and now, the hallway becomes more clear.

INT. HOSPITAL

It is a very long hospital hallway, and the figure walking toward Ed is a doctor, carrying a clipboard.

DOCTOR:

Mr Saxon.

ED:

Yes.

DOCTOR:

There's nothing we can do for her now except to alleviate any pain she may be feeling. We have her on a morphine drip and we'll keep increasing the dosage as she shows any signs of pain.

ED:

I see. Can she understand me?

DOCTOR:

At this point, probably not. She has so much morphine in her, I doubt she can even recognize you. But you never know. Actually, in cases like this, where the end is inevitable, I recommend that we increase the dosage on the morphine drip at an accelerated rate. There's no point in making this last longer than it has to.

ED:

Whatever you think is best.

The doctor nods, then walks into the hospital room where, we see now, Ed's MOTHER is lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a digital IV. She is old, but looks older - she's been through chemotherapy and radiation and they have all taken their toll.

She stares at Ed with confused and desperate eyes. It is hard to tell if she is looking at him or not.

The doctor, at the door, has a few words with the NURSE, who then looks into the room.

Ed sits next to his mother and takes her hand. She stares at him.

The nurse comes in and pushes a button on the digital IV. Ed watches the LED numbers on the digital IV go up. The nurse smiles an attempt at comfort, then leaves the room.

Mother reacts to the higher dosage of morphine. Her eyes get wider and more delirious. She sits up a little and tenses her muscles. She lets go of Ed's hand and starts moving her arm up and down.

She starts shouting something. At first, it is completely unintelligible, but slowly, it becomes clearer.

MOTHER:

IT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL! IT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL! IT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL!

Ed stands up and backs away. He backs out of the hospital room as his mother continues to scream.

Ed backs into the hallway, which is now blackness.

As he backs away, another noise starts to echo around him. A banging. A loud banging is coming from upstairs.

Ed backs away and then runs upstairs.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

As Ed opens the basement door, he sees that it is bright daylight again.

INT. LIVING ROOM

Ed opens the front door and before he can react, a fist hits him hard in the face.

Ed falls to the ground, next to a pile of letters that has been dropped through the slot in the door.

GEORGE SIMIAN walks in, wearing a track suit. George, 35, is a stronger man than Ed. He is better looking, too, or, at least, younger. He has a genuine honesty about him, like a big boy. It is this boyish quality that makes his anger seem uncontrollable.

GEORGE:

You son of a b*tch. Get up.

Ed staggers to his feet. He tries to get a swing in at George, but George grabs him by the collar, hits him again, then throws him over the coffee table. Ed hits the phone and the answering machine on the way down.

GEORGE:

EVE!

When Ed doesn't say anything, George starts searching around the house.

GEORGE:

(O.S.)

EVE!

Ed can hear George searching around in the other rooms.

He gets up and sits on the couch, nursing his wounds.

After a minute, George comes back into the living room.

GEORGE:

What have you done?

ED:

Don't hit me again.

GEORGE:

You son of a b*tch.

George sits down on a chair across from Ed.

GEORGE:

You son of a b*tch.

ED:

What did you think would happen? Nothing?

GEORGE:

You did something.

ED:

I did what I always do. I woke up, went to my shitty job, came home and cooked dinner for my wife, who was too busy bouncing up and down on your bedsprings to cook it herself. Not exactly what I had planned for my life. The same boring sh*t as always. Why don't you leave?

GEORGE:

I love her. I'm sorry. I know she's your wife.

George is crying. Ed, despite himself, is moved.

ED:

What? Am I supposed to feel sorry for you now? Well, I won't. People think they can just carry on. They don't think that there might be consequences to their actions. You won't find sympathy here. Why don't you just leave?

GEORGE:

What did you do?

ED:

I didn't do anything. She didn't come home after work.

George gets up and starts to leave.

ED:

Don't come back here again.

George stops when he hears this and turns towards Ed with and angry look on his face. He grabs Ed's collar, picks him up from the couch and slugs him hard across the head. Ed lands on the floor, stunned and not moving.

GEORGE:

I swear. If I find out you did something to her, I'll kill you.

Ed watches George leave and stays lying on the floor as George's car can be heard driving away outside.

The telephone is lying on the floor, knocked off its cradle, just out of Ed's reach. Ed stares at it for a few seconds. It is making that beeping noise that phones make when they are off the hook too long.

He slowly gets up and limps into the bathroom.

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