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Back Roads (2018)
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[breathing heavily] [Mansour] So my question to you is, why didn't you shoot her from a distance? You got a nice scope on that rifle. You could have climbed up those hills behind her house and shot her in the front yard and said it was a hunting accident, and no one would have suspected anything, because no one knew there was anything going on between you two, right? Why did you kill her? [turns ignition off] [truck door slams] Did you get my egg roll? Yeah. - Where's Amber? - She's got a date. She said you'd be mad, but I can watch Jody. I'm old enough. [sets bottle down] [rock music blaring faintly] [pounds on door] [rock music blaring continuous] You're supposed to be watching the kids tonight. [turns music off] Misty's 12. She can babysit a six-year-old. They shouldn't be left alone in the house at night. What is your problem? Admit it, you just hate the idea that I have a life and you don't. You're just mad because you have to work. Well, you'd have to work anyways, Harley. I fucking promise you, you're not going to college or doing anything meaningful with your life. Meaningful. Like fucking guys in the back of pick-up trucks? You'd give anything to fuck someone. Why aren't you eating? I'm making my list of things to do. I don't like hot dogs anyway. You always eat hot dogs. Not like that. I like them long now. Esme says cut-up hot dogs are the number one cause of choking deaths among children in the United States. She told me on the bus today. Live dangerously. - I won't eat it. - You have to. I do not. Harley, tell her she has to eat it. I don't care if she eats it. I'll eat it if you fix it. And how am I going to fix it? With glue. [Misty] Eating glue would kill you. [Jody] Then make me another one. - I don't want to. - Make me another one. You can have my last one. There's mustard on it. Wipe it off. Fine. Do you want to hear my fortune? I have to go to work. Can you tell me tomorrow? No, you got to hear it now. "You are the master of every situation." It's for you. Thank you. [turns ignition off] Hey, Harley. Hey. How are you? I'm okay. The girls? They're fine. Jody told Esme that you won't let Amber get her driver's permit. She can get it when she gets a job and she can pay for her own insurance. Oh. It's, like, a thousand bucks. You've really become the full-fledged head of the household. Esme's been bugging me to have Jody over for dinner again. I was thinking Monday. Monday's Jody's night to cook, but I guess we can all pour our own bowls of cereal. [both laugh] This is nice. What do you mean? No kids. I left them at home with Brad. This is nice, shopping by myself. It's the most relaxing thing I've done in weeks. [laughs] It's kind of pathetic, coming to a grocery store for fun. It's not as pathetic as working in one. It's a lot more pathetic. I should finish up. Okay. Well, remember to send Jody with a note on the bus so that she can get off with Esme on Monday, okay? Okay. [sighs] [Amber panting and moaning] [moaning and breathing heavily] [panting] [gunshot] [man] What the fuck? [gunshot] [Amber] Harley, you fucking shit! [gunshot] [Amber] I fucking hate you! Please, don't go. Go back to bed. - [car engine starting] - [Amber] Wait. Harley, listen to me! I fucking hate you, Harley! I hate you. [Harley] Get off me! Go over there! [Jody] What's a lethal injection? Where'd you hear that? Tyler at school. He says Mom's going to get one. Mom's not going to get one. Esme says it's what the vet gives old dogs when they're having trouble dying. She said people don't get them, because they don't need them. They die on their own. She's right. Mom's not going to die, is she? No. I don't want her to die, even if she killed Daddy. I can't talk about this shit while I'm driving, okay? Do you want to hear a joke? Sure. What does a vampire say when you do him a favor? I don't know. "Fangs a lot." [laughs] - [gasps and laughs] - [chains rattle] Mommy, I missed you. Harley, I thought... I thought I wouldn't see you again. Oh, my baby. Hi. You look... different. Where do we keep the extra light bulbs? I think they're in the bathroom, under the sink, to the right. Do we have any? Well, I don't know. It's... it's been a long time. Mommy, look at the picture I brought you. Is that your father's coat? [Jody] He wears it all the time. Look at my picture. Yay. Yippee. That's so pretty. Where's Misty? [Harley] She didn't want to come. Harley wouldn't let her come. Why not? They fight in the truck and it drives me crazy. Do you want to know where Amber is? Amber's a big girl, so she probably has plans. She's started dating. Define dating. Harley, what's wrong with you? [sighs] [Harley] You want to be here. That's ridiculous. No. You want to be here. [breathing heavily] Harley. Harley! [wailing] [screaming] [ticking] If you don't trust Amber to watch your sisters at night, what about someone else? How about a relative? I told you before, Mom doesn't have any family. And Dad's family won't have anything to do with us. - Oh, why do you think that is? - Because we're related to Mom. You're related to your father too. Not as closely. What about Uncle Mike? I thought you said he was helping out lately. He's been bringing me cases of Pabst. I guess that's helpful. Cash would be more helpful, in my opinion. Alcohol is not a solution to your problems. I didn't say anything about alcohol. I was talking about beer. [sighs] Let's get back to your mother. This was a big step for you. When do you think you'll see her again? I don't know. You are planning on seeing her again, aren't you? You made an interesting comment about your mother being more concerned about the girls than she is about you. Why do you think that's true? Because they're girls. Why should that matter? Girls can get pregnant. A guy can walk away from it. Hmm. What about you? What if you got a girl pregnant? Would you just walk away from it? I'd marry her. Interesting. Why? Because you answered so quickly. What if you didn't love the girl? I had sex with her, right? Yes. So you're saying you wouldn't have sex with a girl unless you love her. If she would have sex with me, then I would love her. What if a wife and child would interfere with your future plans? If I got her pregnant, it would mean I was being stupid. So, you'd marry her out of responsibility? I guess so. You'd commit yourself to another human being for the rest of your life as a form of punishment. Did you like your father, Harley? Did you respect him? He did everything he was supposed to. Including beating his children? Was he supposed to do that? He thought he was. Good. Why do you think that? I don't want to talk about him anymore. I have to go. We haven't finished your session yet. My apologies to the taxpayers. [Callie] Slow down, little man. - How are you? - [Harley] Okay. I was just on the phone with Misty. I told her I'd drive Jody home for you. That's okay. Well, have you had dinner? Yeah, I ate in town. Well, I have something for you anyway. You want to come in for a minute? In? In the house. Sure. Do me a favor, Harley. Have the last pork chop. Oh, that's okay. Big guy like you can't finish off that little pork chop? What about your husband? He won't want it. He's eating out tonight. Do you want a beer? Sure. You are old enough to drink, right? [bottles clank] - This is great. - Thanks. Jody liked them too. Can we have something to eat? [Callie] Baby, you just had dinner. No. That's it, no more. Did you eat these pork chops? I loved them. But you hate pork chops. I hate your pork chops. They taste like napkins. It's probably just the marinade. I'll give you the recipe. Esme Jane, where are your shoes? - Outside. - It's not summer yet. Go put them back on. Right now. Go, go, go. [girls laughs] Esme's kind of a weird name. Where'd you get it? It was the name of a model and a mistress of one of my favorite artists, a French Impressionist. He paints like Pierre Bonnard. You know who Pierre Bonnard is? Yeah. My mom had these note cards she got from the Art Institute of Chicago. Had one of his paintings on the front. Table Set in a Garden. So you're familiar with his work. I'm familiar with his note cards. I like Impressionists. They don't care about what something really looks like. They only care about how looking at something makes a person feel. It's the definition of Impressionism. You're wearing my shirt. I told you to stop doing that. Take it off. - What are you doing? - You said take it off. Put it back on right now. Put it back on right now. There you go. A purple one. I needed another purple one. You're late tonight. [Amber] I was hoping you finally decided to split, and then I could get my license. [Harley] You're so stupid, Amber. You just don't get it, do you? - What don't I get? - I can't afford it. Which word don't you understand? I understand all of them. I don't make enough money to come up with an extra thousand bucks so you can drive. How did Daddy do it? Dad made good money. - [Amber] Driving a cement mixer? - Yeah. So why you can't you drive a cement mixer? I can drive a cement mixer. I just can't get a job driving a cement mixer. Did you lose another tooth? Yeah. I suppose you can't afford a quarter. Harley doesn't pay for my teeth. The tooth fairy does. Except I don't understand why the tooth fairy only gives me a quarter and gives Esme a dollar. Esme's mom brought you a present. [Amber scoffs] I wouldn't call it a present. What are you talking about? Well, she stopped by this afternoon and she brought you some recipes and an art book. Are you turning into a fag or something? What's a fag? I mean, I guess you might as well be a faggot, because you can't get a girl to make it with you. - What book? - [Jody] A giant book. It's a book from the Art Institute of Chicago. Miss Mercer put a Post-it on the front of it with all of the pages of photos she thought you might like. It's too weird and gross, okay? That woman needs to get a life. You should have seen what she was wearing for someone her age. What was she wearing? [Amber] Pink denim shorts that were way too fucking tight for her. You are so jealous of her because she has the exact shorts you want. Shut up. Women like that are pathetic. They think men want to look at them after they hit 30. I can't wait to see you in your 30s. Oh, you won't know me in my 30s. I will be so out of here. [Harley] You'll be living down the road in a trailer with five kids and no husband. You know what, Harley? I was going to do you a favor, and now you can go fuck yourself. The only favor you can do me is get a job. What if I knew someone who wanted to go out with you? I'm not interested. You don't even know who it is. If it's someone you know, I'm not interested. What if she wanted to... Harley, look at me. Look at me. [whispers] What if she wanted to fuck you? [in normal voice] I'm serious. Ashlee Breckway. She has a thing for you. How old is she? She's 16. - Sixteen? - [Amber] Mm-hmm. Forget it. Looking for something? I was just putting it back. I came by the house last week. Did Amber tell you? Yeah. Thanks for the stuff you brought. Did you look at the book? I like the Pierre Bonnard painting, Earthly Paradise. It's supposed to be Adam and Eve, right? Yeah, right. What'd you think? It's pretty accurate. Eve all relaxed, laying in the woods. Adam trying to figure out where to build a house. Why would you say that was accurate? I don't know. I guess women are better at accepting things the way they are, while men are always trying to figure out ways to change things. You're very insightful. Has anyone ever told you that? I'll let you get back to work. See you around. - Uncle Mike. - [Uncle Mike] Hey, Harley. - Uncle Mike. - There's my favorite girl. Hey, sweetheart. [grunts] Oh, you're getting heavy. How are you? - Good. - You want a candy bar? You know where it is? [laughs] You're adorable. All right, get out of here. You look like you're going to kiss me, for Christ's sakes. You... you get a new couch? Yeah, thinking about it. Most people wait till they have the new one before they burn the old one, but... Yeah, all right. Yeah, you... you're going to have to get to that soffit and fascia this year, hmm? And that window trim? You're going to need a new coat of paint on that, or that wood's just going to rot right out of there. You need to fix your roof. Tomorrow. - Hey, Uncle Mike. - Hey there, baby girl. How are you? Good. - How's Aunt Jan? - She's doing great. - How about Mike Junior? - He's doing fantastic. He's just tearing it up there in Ardendale University. You got a minute? Do you want to...? He can run and catch a ball. [chuckles] What's so funny? [Harley] Kill... have intercourse. [Amber laughs] Yeah, I'm going to leave you two to your private joke. Come on, Uncle Mike. We're just kidding. [truck door opens and closes] You know, a lot of people are jealous of Mike's success, and that's how they handle it, they make fun of him. I don't come here for me. [starts engine] Who needs him? I need him. [sighs] [door closes] [beer cans clatter] [breathing heavily] Callie. Callie! Please, help me. Harley, is that you? Are you okay? What's going on? What happened to your face? [Harley] Help me. I can't breathe. [Callie] Are you okay? - Harley. Hey. - I can't breathe. [Callie] Where are you going? Harley. [grunts] Not too hard. You're going to pull me so hard. [both panting] [Harley grunts] [Harley sobs] [whispers] It's okay. It's okay. [birds tweeting] [footsteps] - [gunshot] - Shit! - Why'd you do that? - What the hell are you doing? I was trying to shoot a rabbit. I figured you'd be happy. You're not allowed to use my gun. - Why not? - Because you're just a kid. So what? I started hunting with Dad when I was eight. Besides, I'm not a kid anymore. I started my period. Fuck. Don't tell me that. Tell Amber. I did. She threw a box of tampons at me. [mutters] Oh, my God. Jody? What is that? What is that? It was Misty's. I found it in the woods. [Callie] Okay, let's go find the car. [Esme] Hey, look, it's Harley! - Hey. - Hey. Come on, guys. Can I help you with your groceries? Oh, that's okay. You don't have to do that. - Well, it's kind of my job. - Oh, yeah. Okay, great. Sorry. Thanks. Come on, let's go to the car. Brad's out of town on business, and I didn't have anyone to watch the kids, so I had them with me tonight. Sorry, you don't care about any of that. All right, come on. Get in the car. Scoot through. Right, there you go. All right. Here, help me with that. Thank you, buddy. Thank you. There you go. Better get them home. I'm sorry for the way that I left. Sorry for everything, really. I'm not saying it wasn't great, just maybe it shouldn't have happened. You were so upset. I just wanted to help. I guess there's better ways to help a person. Or maybe not. It's okay. It's not okay. I'm married. I have two little kids. I'm ten years older than you. When I think about you, I don't think about you being married or how old you are. What do you think about? - Honestly? - Honestly. Your ass, mostly. My ass? Yeah. You think about my ass a lot? Define "a lot". Once a day. Yeah. [kids shouting] - [Zack] Hey! - [Esme] Hey! Guys, all right, I hear you. We're going to go in just a second. It's obviously not a great time to talk about this. If you want to come by after work, Brad's out of town, like I said. Okay. Okay. I'll see you tonight. [kids shouting and arguing] Okay, okay, I hear you. Please, I beg you, please, be nice to each other. [engine starts] [Rick] You have to be firm. If a little girl steals a grape, don't yell at her. Let her have it. Altmyer. What's the deal with your shirttail? You look like hell. Is that it? No, that's not it. You were late today. Am I fired? Jesus Christ, Altmyer. You're not fired. Just don't do it again, okay? Can you do that? One other thing. I got a complaint. I had a customer call. She said you put hair-care product in the same bag with lettuce. What's going on with you, son? Get it together. Don't let it happen again, okay? Now, tuck your shirt in. Be proud. Be Robinson proud. [Callie] Can I take your coat? Want a beer? [Harley] Sure. [bottles clank] You never told me what happened last night. Is everything okay at home? Yeah. No. Everything's not okay. Is there anything I can do to help? You can fuck me again. [bottle shatters] Shit. I'm sorry. [both breathing heavily] Harley? You got to go. I'm sorry. Sorry to rush you off like this, but Zack's already awake. I don't know when I can see you again, between the kids, Brad and your two jobs. I can quit one. [turns ignition off] [Amber] Harley, what are you doing? Where were you? - [snaps fingers] - Where were you all night? We had a crisis. Is Jody okay? Yes. Misty? Yes, they're fine. Where's my gun? I don't fucking know. It's nothing bad like that. You called it a crisis. Maybe it's not a crisis, but it's a big fucking deal, okay? I found a thousand dollars in Misty's room last night. What? She's probably still sitting on her bed guarding the money. It's mine. I'm the one who found it. Give me the money. You can't hurt me. You're my legal guardian. You have to take care of me. I had to take it. She was saving up to take us and leave Daddy. [Harley] It's not yours, it's Mom's. And she doesn't even know you have it. Now give it to me. Okay. Let's ask her and see what she wants us to do with it. She can't have any visitors. You flipped out. She can have calls. Now give me the money. You know I can take that money from you. I might have to hurt you to do it, but I can do it. Now give it to me. [slaps face] [sobs softly] Now I can get my license. Are you crazy? Hmm? You said we need a thousand bucks. Yeah. I need that money for the taxes on the house. What are you talking about? The taxes. They're due in two weeks, and we don't have any of it. Okay, and whose fault is that? Give me the money. Give me the money. I hate you, Harley! You're such a fucking prick! I hate you! [brakes squeal] [turns ignition off] Harley, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work? You said you were going to call me. Why haven't you called me? - I didn't get a chance. - Bullshit. You could have called me anytime. You could have said you wanted to speak to me about Jody. Don't you have two jobs? Yeah, so? So, the problem isn't when can I call you, it's when are you home for me to talk to you? - I usually come home for dinner. - Oh, dinnertime, that's great. That's when I'm cooking and feeding two hungry kids while my husband bitches about his day and has a drink. Should I interrupt him and say, "Hey, babe, I need to call the neighbor kid and see if he wants to come over so I can fuck his brains out"? Is that what I should do? Yeah, that's exactly what you should do. Zack is right here. - Let's go inside. - I can't. I ca... [both panting and grunting] [both breathing heavily] Here you go, bud. I found this in Esme's backpack. She and Jody send notes back and forth all the time. But this one kind of concerned me. I thought you should have it. I asked Esme about it. She said Jody was just trying to gross her out. But if this is true, it's disturbing. You might want to talk to Misty about it. When can I see you again? I don't know. Do you know the abandoned mining office by the railroad tracks? I thought we could go there. Okay. How about... Wednesday? I think that's the first time I can get away. Sure. [Callie] I want to ask you something. And I want you to be honest. Okay. Was I your first? First what? Woman. Was I the first woman you've ever had sex with? Harley, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't know at the time. I hope it was memorable. I remember it. This was a good idea. We could do it every Wednesday night. - Yeah. - Would that make you happy? [sighs] [breathing heavily] Callie? [Harley]I have something I want to talk to you about. It's a hypothetical question. Go on. Can a kid think it's okay to get hit? Did you think it was okay for your father to hit you? This isn't about me. You can still answer the question. I didn't think it was okay, but... I thought it was normal. [pen scratching] What about sexually abused kids? Can they think it's okay? You talking about Misty? What do you know about Misty? I don't know much about her. We only had a few sessions together. But in the few we did, I had the feeling she was in a very unhealthy relationship with your father. Who was sexually abused, Harley? No one. What about Amber? Amber. She was never alone with Dad. She hated him. Yeah? How do you know? I was there. I saw. How did you feel toward Amber when you saw her being hit by your father? What do you mean? Did you want to help her? I wanted to make her feel better. And how do you think she felt when she saw your father hit you? I don't know. I guess she didn't like it. Did she want to make you feel better? It's okay, Harley. Harley, please do not walk away. We need to talk about this. - Harley. - [door opens] [door slams] [turns ignition off] - Who the fuck are you? - Who the fuck are you? Amber's running away. I asked you who you were. I'm a friend of Amber's. You must be her brother. The bag boy. Don't hurt him, Harley. - Hurt him. - Hurt me? [Jody] Just make him go away. I think you should leave. Come on, let's go. I'm leaving you! Don't touch me! You're disgusting! I don't want to live with you anymore. Don't go, please. I'm sorry, Jody. I don't want to, but I have to, okay? So be mad at Harley because it's Harley's fault! What did I do? You know exactly what you did. Now can you get out of the fucking way? [engine starts] Why did you let her go? - She'll be back. - No, she won't. Yes, she will. That boy only wants one thing from her, okay? And when he gets it, he's going to dump her in a parking lot somewhere. Does he want her pillow? Yeah, he wants her pillow. Will you get her in the parking lot? I will, I promise you. Promise? I promise. This is all Misty's fault. Why do you say that? She told Amber something today, and it made her really mad. What did she tell her? I don't know. They went in her room and closed the door. It was about you, though. I heard your name a bunch of times. I asked Misty to tell me, but she said it was a secret. Misty keeps secrets better than anybody. She said I won't be able to keep it, but I keep lots of secrets for her. Like what? I can't tell you. They're secrets. You know, when Misty tells you you can't tell anyone, she's not talking about me. Yes, she is. Did Misty ask you to keep a secret about that shirt of hers you found? No. But you know something about it and you won't tell me. Why? Mm... Where did all that blood come from? From Daddy, I guess. But Misty was at the mall when Daddy got shot. You were the only one home that night with Mommy and Daddy, remember? Misty was at the mall. I know. Mommy drove her there. When did Mommy drive her there? After she shot Daddy. - Who shot Daddy? - Mommy. Everybody knows that. Did you see it happen? You know I didn't. I was in my room, I heard a bang, and I went out and I saw Daddy on the floor, and I went and hid in the woods. But Misty was there? She was hugging Daddy. And then you saw Mommy drive away with Misty. Yeah. What did Mommy do when she got back? She got a shovel and went in the woods. I thought she was going to bury Daddy. But she buried Misty's shirt instead. Yeah. Why didn't you tell the police Misty was home that night? They didn't ask me. They just asked me if I saw Mommy shoot Daddy, and I didn't. [answering machine beeps] [Harley, on answering machine] Hi, Betty. This is Harley Altmyer. I'm sorry to call you on a Saturday, but I really need to see my mom. The problem is I'm not allowed to see her anymore. I thought maybe you could get me in. Maybe you could tell them it would be good for me. How is everything at home? Nobody's shot anybody, if that's what you're asking. That supposed to be funny? It wasn't. What's wrong? Hmm? You look sick, baby. I'm fine. You're not taking care of yourself. When was the last time you slept or changed your clothes? Did you know Misty took your money? The thousand dollars you had saved up. Did you know she took it? Amber found it last week. Did you know about it? I thought your dad had taken that money. He didn't. Mom. Mom, the money. Well, I guess it'll come in handy. Fine. Don't talk to me, but then I'm done. What do you mean? I'm done. Done taking care of your fucking kids. I'm packing up my shit and I'm leaving. You would never. You'd never leave the girls. Why not? You did. What are you talking about? I didn't leave anyone on purpose. Look around you. I'm in prison! You fucking like it here. Hmm? You're talking stupid, okay? I don't love them. I don't feel any obligation to them. It's not my job. Okay. Okay, Harley. [shushes] Okay. Misty took the money. What do you want me to tell you? I was... I was saving it up and I was going to leave your dad, okay? I was. What was going on between Dad and Misty? I don't know what you mean. Please, tell me the truth. You owe me. I don't... I don't. I don't owe you anything. Fucking tell me. Fucking tell me. I never saw anything. Did you ask Dad? - Hmm? - I don't... How do you ask? How do you ask a question like that? You asked Misty. What? If he what? How do you ask anybody a question like that? So, you never knew anything for sure? I found her shirt. - I know she was there. - What? I know she did it. I know Misty killed Dad. I don't get it. You didn't have to take the blame. Nothing would have happened to you. - You don't understand. - She's just a kid. You don't understand, Harley. She wouldn't have gotten in trouble. She would have gotten help. - She needs help. - You don't understand. Were you embarrassed? You didn't want anyone to know? Misty didn't want your dad dead! Is that why you said you fucking did it? She... She was aiming it at me! She was jealous of me! She was trying to kill me and he got in the way! You're fucking crazy. You're crazy. I'm not the crazy one! I'm not! You're fucking hiding in here. You're fucking hiding in here. Why did you leave me? - [guard] That's it. - I'm not hiding! - [guard] Come on. - [sobbing] I just want my mom. I want my fucking mom! [door slams] [sniffles] [Jody] Hi, Harley. Amber came back. This is temporary. I'm not going to live with you anymore. I'm moving in with Dylan. Did he do that to your face? Hmm? Why do you give yourself to assholes like that? You don't even make them work for it. They want me. [thunder rumbles] [breathing heavily] Let's get something straight, Harley. You don't ever come to my house when Brad's around. I came to pick up Jody. You didn't come to pick up Jody. Brad took Jody home hours ago. You came to make a scene. And what do you want me to tell Brad when he asks why I had to come out here, why you had to talk to me, why I had to sit here in your truck? And don't tell me to tell him the truth. [breathing heavily] - Where'd you go today? - I went shopping. - Where'd you go Thursday? - To the fucking library. What is this? Why are you asking me where I've been? Where I go is none of your business! I wanted to make sure you weren't mad at me. Mad at you for what? You left. When? Wednesday? You knew I had to leave. Do you think we could do it sometime when you didn't have to leave? Why did you really come here? Did you really think I was going to come out here and give you what you wanted while my husband and kids were sitting inside? I'm not going to fuck up my family. I'm not going to do it. Do you understand? Do you understand? But I love you. Let's just... stick to the mining office like we planned. Okay. [cries] I'll see you Wednesday. Altmyer. Man, do not come back here until you take a bath. Oh, God, Jesus. Whoo. I was going to leave you a note, but I thought it was a big enough deal that I should say bye to you in person. Who's watching Jody? Fuck you. I'm standing here telling you I'm never going to see you again, and all you care about is who's watching Jody. Misty's watching her. I don't like Misty watching Jody. Well, that's too fucking bad, because that's all you got anymore. Where are you going? I'm moving in with Dylan. I'm serious. He's way different from all the other guys. Why? Because he hits you? Is that what you want? Someone to hit you? I don't get it. You didn't like it when Dad hit you. Or did you? You're sick. Would you stay if I hit you? Well, do you want me to stay? If you want. Well, are you asking me to stay? Till you figure things out, sure. Well, Dylan will be really mad if I stay. For Christ's sakes, Amber. Tell him I won't let you. Really? You want me to tell him that? Yeah. Okay. [starts engine] [turn signal clicking] [engine starts] [breathing heavily] Fuck. - Fuck. - [Amber] What's wrong? Fuck. Put some fucking clothes on. You were liking it. Put some clothes on. You said you wanted me to stay. Get off me. Get off me. Fucking get off me! What's wrong with you? [sobbing] You thought it was her. You thought you were fucking her. [sniffling] I know all about it! I know all about you and her in that fucking shed! [cries] She doesn't love you. She doesn't love you! She could never love you. Amber used to touch me when we were kids. I remember. She used to come into bed with me and touch me. Where did she touch you? You need to say it, Harley. You need to say it in order to confront it so it can go away. It's not ever going to go away. It can fade to almost nothing. It can, I promise. She touched you where? My penis. Did you touch her? No. She was behind me. She came into my bed. Why do you think she came into your bed? Hmm? [sighs] Think about it. She was afraid of Dad. [sniffles] And you let her stay? - Why? - I was afraid of him too. I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harley. You are not a bad person. There is nothing wrong with you or Amber. You were children reacting to abuse the only way you knew how: by turning to each other for comfort. What made you remember? Do you know? Did something happen? - I can't. - Yes, you can. - You can. - No, I can't. You can. What happened? She was in bed with me and I was sleeping. When? Last night. Did she touch you? I don't know. I was sleeping, and she... she didn't have any clothes on. How did you react? What do you mean? What kind of question is that? I'm not... I'm not sick. I am not implying you are. I'm thinking about Amber now. I'm concerned about how she might be feeling. This was all her fault. She was the one who wanted to do it. No, she didn't want to do it. - She did. - Harley, try to understand. Your sister isn't the villain here. She is suffering just as much as you are. Where's Amber right now? I don't know. It doesn't matter. She can take care of herself. Right now, you're feeling shame and guilt. Amber is feeling all that, but she's also feeling rejected. I want you to lie down on the couch here and get some rest. My jobs. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. [sighs] [clock ticking] I heard your fight with Amber. What did you hear? I heard you screaming at her and telling her to put her clothes back on. Look, I don't care what you and Amber do. We're not that different, you know. The way we think. We're both sort of weird. I'm not really the way a girl's supposed to be, and you're not really the way a guy's supposed to be. What do you mean? I mean, you hate sports and you keep that art book in your truck. There's nothing wrong with a guy liking art. And there's nothing wrong with a girl liking to hunt. Nobody said there was. Dad thought there was. Dad loved taking you hunting. No, he didn't. He took me because I wanted to go. But he always wished that I was you. He loved you. No, he didn't. He didn't love me like he loved Mom. That's a different kind of love. He never hit her. Did you ever think about that? He never touched her. That's probably why she didn't care that he hit us. She cared. Then why didn't she try to stop him? [Harley] I know what you did. I know the truth. [sniffles] Don't you have anything to say? You're the one that should have done it. [phone rings] [answering machine beeps] [Betty, on machine] Hi, this is Dr. Parks. It's Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. I'm at my home office. Amber. Amber? If you're there, please, call me back. [breathing heavily] [sniffles] [sobs] [cries] I didn't know what else to do. What about me? Who's going to take care of me? [horn blaring] [Mansour] So, this woman. How do you know her? She's a neighbor. Jody plays with her kid. Is Jody the little one we found hiding in the woods the night your daddy was shot? Yeah. She's the little one. I want to make a call. We're not done yet. I get one phone call, and I want to make it now. All right. Go ahead. Make your phone call. [phone line rings] [Uncle Mike, on phone] Hello? Uncle Mike? It's me, Harley. I want to talk to Jody. Jody? Jody's in bed asleep. What are you doing calling here? I get one call. [sniffles] This is your one phone call? [sighs] Yeah. Jesus, Harley. They might give you the death penalty for this. [sobs] Right. I know. You get one phone call, and you call a six-year-old little girl. Uncle Mike. Uncle Mike. I'm sorry. I can't wake her. [phone line disconnects] [Mansour] You know much about guns, Harley? Some. Enough to know how powerful that rifle of yours is, and the damage it can cause at close range? So, my question to you is, why didn't you shoot her from a distance? You got a nice scope on that rifle. You could have climbed up those hills behind her house and shot her in the front yard and said it was a hunting accident, and no one would have suspected anything, because no one knew there was anything going on between you two, right? Her husband didn't know. Did you tell him? No. But I did talk with him when we retrieved the body. And he said you liked her, and she was fond of you. I want to go to jail. Fair enough. I just have one more question for you. - Okay. - Why did you kill her? What do you mean? You loved her, right? Yeah. Well, I'm not saying people that love each other don't kill each other, but they usually think they have a pretty good reason for doing it. I wanted her to leave her husband and she said she wouldn't. So you killed her? Okay, let me see if I can get this straight here. You... you're going to meet with her to have sex with her, and you decide to kill her. Then you throw up next to her body, and you fold her hands peacefully across her chest, you drive yourself to the police station and give us a nice, neat confession. And then you call your baby sister to see how she's doing. Is that about right? The only problem with that is, is you're talking about two people. One is a cold-blooded psychopath and the other is a decent kid that's just had a shitty life. Can you explain to me how you could be both? I have a split personality. And that's why you see the shrink. I want to go to jail now. [door buzzes open] Are you ready, ma'am? [chains rattle] [door opens] Hi, Harley. How are you doing? Good. Are you sleeping? I'm fine. How are the girls? They're adjusting. Did you get Jody's letter? I came to see how you were doing. I hope that's okay? Is it still part of your job? No. No, I guess it isn't. Then why are you here? Because, Harley, truthfully, what you are doing is sacrificing yourself for someone. Am I correct? Because I have reason to doubt the account that you gave in your statement. And because I believe that even though you have been through more than most, you are not a murderer. Is there anything you want to tell me, Harley? Anything at all? I thought you came to see me because you cared about me. That's the truth. I do care about you. But I can't help you if you won't let me. Then I'm sorry I've wasted your time. I know who you are. You don't belong here. Yes, I do. No! [no audio] [knock on door] [door buzzes open] Harley! Harley! [sobbing] [chains rattle] [door buzzes] [door closes] [Jody] Dear Harley, how are you? I am fine. Amber and Misty are fine too. Uncle Mike let me bring all my dinosaurs to his house. Amber has her own room. I still have to share with Misty. I hope you will come back soon. I miss my life. Your sister, Jody. [music] |
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