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Entanglement (2017)
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Before we begin, I want you to know that I wish things could be different. But I hope you can understand why I have to do it this way. If you look at anything from far enough away, you can see a pattern. In the universe, in nature, in life... especially even in death. The trouble is, when you're inside the pattern, you just can't see it. So... you have to find a way to get out. Just please know that all these moments, they happen for a reason. Even this one. Ben Layton? Just get you to sign right there, please. Okay... Are you okay, man? I've been worse. Buddy! Hey! Hello! Ben! Ben... Ben... can you tell me how you're feeling? That's kind of a personal question, don't you think? I know you think you're being funny but you're just not. The puppet thinks I'm hilarious. I think you're avoiding the real problem. What do you want me to say? I... I hit a rough patch but now I'm better. It's only been six months and what did we say about definitive statements? You know I started making this collage? It's about my past, about my parents, me being an only child... meeting Claire, losing Claire... I made it out of string. It's very tactile. And why are you doing this? Oh, just trying to figure out where my life went wrong. Can I ask you a question? Do you like yourself? What, as a friend? Or... more of a... friend with benefits? Ben... I'm a child psychologist. You shouldn't even be in here. You're on my hour, Layton. Okay, just... Hi there, Alexa. Are your parents still getting divorced? I don't know, is that guy still having sex with your ex-wife? How did you know that? Everybody knows. Braden F said you're a cry-baby. Well Braden F wets the bed. Are you going to trust whatever he says? You're a cry-baby. How do you like that? Okay, that's enough! Everyone, just... Yeah, you'd better run. Does this look like running to you? Does this? I'm walking away 'cause I have things to do. Who does that? Shoot. Uh.. What, what'd you say? What kind of narcissist wears a shirt with their own picture on it? Oh, uh... yeah I, I bought this at a store. It's, it's not me. Mmm, it really is. It's like a weird, colorful little version of you. Self portrait of a man named...? Ben Layton. Ben. Yeah. You don't get migraines, do you? No. No Imitrex, no Migard, I know. It's, uh... it's for a skin condition. Mmm, I got that same condition. It's a real bitch around the holidays. You should take my number. Paper? Uh... okay. You have messy handwriting. Tough shit. You should call me. Cash or credit? Uh... cash. Don't be mad. - Oh, geez! - I got bored. Tabby, what the hell, what are you doing here? I'm cleaning. I'm being a good neighbor. You're welcome! Did you throw out my plants? They were dying. Well, we're all dying. Usually when I do this you don't even notice. I'm pretty stealthy. I think I need my spare key back from you. Well, I disagree. Okay... all right. By the way, uh... what is this? I hate it. Oh, thank you so much. Uh... that is my life. So I guess you kind of hate my life, that makes two of us. I decided to lay it out visually, you know so I can see what went wrong. Can I just...? No, no, no, no, no, no... But it's a mess. Yeah, I know. I've been reading some books about parallel universes, quantum physics, stuff like that and how every choice we make creates thousands of universes spreading throughout time and space. Okay, uh, well let me give you an example. Okay. So... let's say that this line here is my life, what was supposed to be my life. Like, it's quiet, it's peaceful, it's serene, it's happy... and then something happened here. And now my life is on this alternate reality which is shit and I can't come back from it at all. So, if I just figure what this is... well, then hopefully I can fix it. That's permanent marker, you know? That's not coming out. What? God damnit... is all of it? Shit. Hello? Yes, this is his son. Who's this? He's not dead. Are you sure? Where am I? Sir, you've had a heart attack. Don't tell my son, he's not good in a crisis. Dad I'm here, it's me. Good, listen... I have to tell you something in case I die. You're, you're not going to die, I don't think, right? Is he? Oh, he'll be fine probably. Just shut up for one minute. It's about your sister. Dad, I don't have a sister, okay? I'm an only child. How many drugs did you give him? No, we didn't give him any drugs. Okay, well... well maybe, should you? I mean he just had a heart attack. Do you want to be the doctor here? - No, no, no... - Ben... before you were born, your mother and I, we... adopted. Then after it went through, well, your mother discovered that she was pregnant. So, so... we had to give up the freebie. So... I almost had a sister? Are you sure? Yeah, yes I'm sure. I held this baby in my arms and she was cuter than you! All right, irrelevant, but yeah... okay. Ben... she's out there somewhere. Just listen to me, damnit. Ben, she's still out there! Uh... okay, uh... what do I do now? Just go home, we'll call you after his surgery... probably. Well, of course we applied for adoption! From what the doctors say, my uterus is pretty much a death trap. Besides, I wasn't getting any younger so it made sense. Okay, then what happened? Well... found out I was up the duff on the same day they brought the baby. You can't adopt if you've got one in the oven. So... if you'd got the baby home a little bit sooner or found out you were pregnant a little bit later... You would have had a sister. Even had a name picked out for her. Would've called her Wendy, after my mother. Wait... I thought this was a picture of me. Okay, uh... so, uh... what happened to the baby? Beats me, probably shipped her off to some other family. So, she's really out there... with this whole different life. She doesn't even know about me, she doesn't even really know about herself! Benny? What's this all about? I could've almost had a sister, do you know how formative that is? I'm going to find this girl and I'm going to see what she's like, I've got to know what I've been missing. But... I don't know, it's never a good idea to mess around in someone else's past. Well... good thing for someone else, this is my past and I'm going to mess around with it just fine. And also, you should call Dad, he almost died this morning. Again? Tabby? Hey, is uh, is Tabby here? Tabby? That guy is here, the one that looks like a sad cartoon carrot. Uh... That doesn't even make any sense. Uh, yeah... Tabby look, look... my whole life is a lie. I'm sure that's not the case. It is. My parent's were going to adopt, but didn't. I almost had a sister! I need you to help me. Okay, but I'm at work right now. Yeah, we're going to leave here. Okay, we're going to go break into an adoption agency and we're going to steal a bunch of files and figure out who this girl is and see if she can fix my life. What the fuck? We are not breaking the law, Ben! Ow, why are you hitting me? Because you're being an idiot. This here, is not rational behavior. No, no, no, it's very rational. Okay? This is the only thing that's left. This is the thing. I find her, right... and then I can figure out where my life went wrong... and hopefully correct everything. And what if you don't like the answer? Then at least I tried. At least I tried. Tabby, I am running out of options here. Okay. Fine, uh... if this is what you need then I guess I can help a little. This is what I need. But we are not breaking the law. Okay. And we're not stealing anything. Sure. And you have to promise me that things are not going to get weird. You know I can't promise you that. Yeah, I guess. Yeah... it's already weird. This all makes sense. My parents were married for like... seven years before me. They probably thought they'd never have a kid. Of course they tried to adopt, of course! What does it matter? Your parents adopted a baby and gave her back. What does it have to do with you? Uh... I don't know Tabby, maybe because she could've taught me so many things. She could've taught me how to talk to girls and cool dance moves. You hate dancing, it's one of the five things we have in common. Yeah, well maybe I would've loved dancing if I had a sister. God, I could've learned a trade skill and lived in a house with a kid and a wife who likes to show her cleavage. Eww! Top of the tits, Tabby. This is never going to work. Okay, that guy's not going to help us. No, we're already here. This was your idea. Okay... What can I do for you? Hi there, uh... well we're looking for the adoption records of a girl that was born, uh, 30 years ago and... we don't have her name but we do have the name of the people who, uh, didn't adopt her. Uh, you also have a photo. Oh yeah, I have a... photo. Okay... my parents had to give her back when they found out they were going to have me and I'm just... trying to track her down so I can know what my life would've been like if I had a sister. So, uh... you want me to hand over the adoption records of a stranger... um, because you're having some kind of emotional crisis? Basically... yes. It's a quest. Yeah, it's a quest. Okay, there is literally no way that that's going to happen. What if I gave you $50? I'm going to need your parents names and the date of the adoption. Yeah, got it. That's also... that's what I also have. I will be right back. Stay here. Yeah. Whoa, okay. Okay, uh, I need to borrow 50 bucks right now. Are you serious? Mmm. Okay, you have to pay me back. - Fine. - Yeah, 'cause it's $50. Sure. Damn, I'm good for it. I had to go to the archives... Okay, well regardless I appreciate it, thank you so much. This means a lot, I mean you're a good man, really. Not really. I hate this place. Okay, thank you. Right on, thank you so much. Thank you. Hey... Ben. You know this isn't going to make you happy, right? I know what I'm doing. You do? You're wearing a button down shirt inside out. Looks to me like you don't know shit. Well, what do you know? Can I help you? Ah... don't... what are you doing? Stop... You. I thought you were going to call me. What are you doing here, do you... do you live here? Have you been following me? Is that your deal, you like, follow girls around? Are you a pervert? Is your dick hard? No, no... my dick is... soft. Like normal. What are you doing here? Is your name Hanna Weathers? That's kind of what I want to talk about. Are you on drugs right now? Look, uh... this is a quest, I'm on a quest. Oh... okay. Then let's talk. You can buy me a chicken fried steak. I know a place close by, grab your bike. All right, uh... wait, did you say, uh... did you say chicken fried steak? Yeah, if you get to say "quest," I can say "chicken fried steak." Okay. It's delicious. What did you want to talk about? Okay... uh... first... off... what do you know about your parents? Yare a serial killer. No, no... no, no I'm not. Okay well, uh... my parents tried to adopt a baby. Uh, they did actually adopt a baby but the day they brought her home, my mom found out she was pregnant. So the agency made her take the baby back and I... You almost had a sister. Yeah, exactly. Um... but the thing is, she might not even know she was adopted. You know? Maybe she does. I always knew. More coffee? Uh... no thank you. Oh, yes please. Thanks. So... Oh, sorry... Your parents give her back and instead of being your sister, this chick, she goes off, she lives another life, becomes someone completely different. Still... Connected, yeah. So I tracked down her file and her name and her address... and... I think I may have found her. So what's the question? Um... if I should tell her or not. You know, if it's worth it... 'cause finding out you're adopted can be heavy and I don't know if it's my place. Well I think if I was her... I would want to know that I had a brother. I would want to know who he was, what he was like... I'd want the chance to look him in the eye. Yeah, that's what I thought. Um... I'll be right back, I'm sorry. Do you know where that girl went? I don't know. You know smoking's bad for you, right? Well this is electric. Oh, is that better? Yeah, I don't get cancer. Would you rather I got cancer? I don't know, I haven't decided yet. Have you ever heard of quantum entanglement. Remind me. Well these special little particles are created together... and then no matter where they go they're bonded... forever. Trippy. I'm the girl. Right? I'm not an idiot. I'm dyslexic and I only read science fiction, but... I got street smarts. Oh yeah. You were almost my brother... but not. Yeah. What do you, uh... what do you think about that? I think there's reason behind anything if you look hard enough. I mean, us meeting... the way our lives turned out... worth exploring. I always wanted a brother. Hey buddy, want a picture? You can come back in a bit, I can put it up. No... I, I don't think so. Just enjoy a second of your stupid life. Fire away! Ben! Are you home? Ben? Ben. So... what happened? What? What happened? Um... she wants to be my sister. She what? I think she wants to be my sister. I heard you. The "what" was just bafflement because of the crazy coming out of your mouth face. She wants to be your sister? Yeah, why... is that weird? Girls don't meet random guys and just agree to be their sister. I don't know, I think it's cool. Why not? Because, it's creepy! She's probably cat-fishing you... or worse, whatever that is. Tabby... do you not know how big of a deal this is? This girl's one day from being in my life forever. One day from sharing every Christmas, every birthday, every Thanksgiving... she could call me on Mother's Day. Why would she be calling you on Mother's Day? To remind me to call Mom, I don't know. Just... look. This is the only thread I have left. I have to pursue this, okay? Please understand. Ben... don't be stupid. I know what I'm doing. If you say so. Hey bro! What's the happs? How do you know where I live? Is that my wallet, did you steal my wallet? Hey, what if I found this and I'm returning it? What if I'm a hero, like Batman? Are you like Batman? 'Cause I stole your wallet? Batman would never do that. Okay, look... this... is super inappropriate. Okay? I don't even know you. Well, I thought we were family. Yeah, well we're not. Okay? It's... look, okay... I'm sure you think is like cute or impish or something but it's not. It's not fun and I'm not fun, so... don't do it again. It was just a goof, I just wanted to surprise you. Well I don't like surprises, okay? I've had too many bad ones. Well, who hasn't? It doesn't mean you stop unwrapping presents. Why are you here? Well I had to give that back... obviously... and I also wanted to see if you wanted to go for a bike ride. Is this your bike? Yes. It's a girl's bike. It's unisex. What do you want to do? I don't know, uh, I guess... brother sister stuff. Like all the stuff we missed. I think we can do that. Psst! Hey, I found you. What? They're in the trees. Whoa. Oh, what are they doing here? I don't know. Do you remember that part in Bambi where the mom gets shot in the head? What's wrong with you? So... I've been reading on this quantum entanglement stuff... Yeah? Yeah. Okay, so it's like telepathy or something? Like, uh... the two particles, or their spin or whatever, it's like they're two parts of the same thing. Sort of... I could show you maybe if, um... do you have a quarter? Um... yes! Okay. These two particles. Okay. They're created and connected together and they seem almost the same... but whenever one is heads, the other is tails. Why? How? It's just how they are. They're opposition forever. Okay, now flip and cover but don't look. Okay. Without lifting your hand, is it heads or tails? I don't know. That's right, that's uncertainty. See until we observe it, the quarter is both heads and tails. Like, it's still spinning even when it's perfectly still. So what do we do now? We collapse the waveform. Keep yours down. Tails... now what is it? Still both, uncertain? Nuh uh, it's heads. They're always opposite, they're always entangled. That's a trick. Science. It's lucky, at least. Okay well then let's do it again. All right. Heads. Tails. Again. - Again. Tails. Heads. Again. Tails. Heads. What is going on? Some things are just connected. Come on, I have to show you something. So what's she like? Tell me everything. Does she look like me? How can she look like you, Mom? She's adopted. Genetics isn't everything, sometimes people and their pets start to look alike. Yeah, well human babies and pets are not the same thing. You know that, right? You watch your tone! Oh, what do you care? You guys have been divorced for like 20 years. She's still your mother! What is he doing here? Well your father can't live alone while he's recovering from heart surgery. Yeah, well maybe he should've stayed in the hospital. So they could finish me off, huh? You know I almost died in there! Yeah, from a heart attack. Maybe stop eating bacon and grilled cheese sandwiches. Don't talk to me like that, I'm sick! - Why did you keep this from me? - Tell us more about Wendy. Hanna... is her name. Hanna. Well, she... she dances and she steals things and smokes little robot cigarettes. I don't know, she's... not what I expected. You know, I always wished that we had kept that baby. Would've been nice to have someone in that extra chair. Is that the justification for having a baby, to fill an empty seat? Even rooms need balance, Benny. What does a baby have to do with that? Well I'm just glad you met a girl, especially after that last treasure. That has nothing to do with it. Look, we're practically brother and sister, me and this girl. Well then don't get her pregnant. You'll wind up with some weird, inbred kid like your cousin Reggie! Oh my god, what are you talking about? Oh, she's so lucky she didn't get born into this family. You guys would've screwed her up. Are you done being an asshole now? Yeah. Tabby... You own far too many t-shirts. And if you think that anyone is going to believe that this is for dry skin, you're mistaken. How, how'd you get in here? I picked the lock. You can do that? Yeah, I'm a modern woman, I got skills. I thought we had fun the other night. Uh... yeah, but... that doesn't give you the right to break into my apartment. Skills or otherwise. She's pretty... ish. What happened? If you must know... uh, she left me for a man who cunnilingualized her in a sports car. I meant the frame. Same reason. What's this... doodle? Just trying to figure out what my life means. You know where I'm from, what I'm connected to, where I stand in this whole thing. Find out which side of the coin you're on. Yeah. Ben? Oh shit. Uh, you have to... you have to... Ben? You have to hide, hide in the, uh, bedroom here. Why? Because... trust me. Is it a girlfriend? No, not a girlfriend, just a friend. But she doesn't understand this. I'm pushing you because you're resisting here. I'm not going in there! You have to go in there, please. I'm begging you. - Just go in there. - This is being ridiculous. You're making this way harder. Shh! She's coming in. God... oh, god damnit, this door. Push. You push. I'm not pushing it. Can you please get in the closet? Are you okay? Um, yeah... I'm fine. Who were you talking to? No one. Uh... I heard you talking and, uh... I was worried about you. Great. No one's here. No, I know. But I want to meet her. Uh, the girl, your fake sister. What's her name? Hanna... why? Because... I don't trust her. Oh... well you don't really know her. I know her type. Okay, what's her type? Pretty and thin and suspicious. How do you know she's thin? Because you're defending her. No, I'm not. Okay, what's your problem, Tabby? I don't have a problem. Okay, well it seems like you do Tabby, so... what is it? You... you loved her so much. Claire... before she left I used to watch the way you were together. You'd tuck her hair back behind her ear or kiss her cheek... and I thought everyone deserved to be loved like that. Yeah, well... that love wasn't real. You know? Yeah. I should go. Okay. Hanna? Bah! Whoa, jeez... oh my god! Oh my god. That was kind of awkward. Uh, yeah... yeah it was, sure. Can we, can we go please? Sure, where do you want to go to? Anywhere you want. Hmm. Oh my god. That was for no reason. Is that your way of holding hands? Whoa... what are we doing here? Hey... whoa, what are you doing? What are you doing? Ah... shit. Oh no... We could get caught. I took swimming lessons here as a kid. Really? Me too... until I almost drowned. Do you think we knew each other? You were probably in love with me. I was pretty hot for a 10 year old. Oh, that's disturbing. If you want disturbing I can tell you about getting my first period on a water-slide. No, thank you. This is crazy. You know, we're almost siblings and we grew up, like, just miles apart from each other. It turns out we even went swimming in the same pool... what are you doing? We're at a pool. Yeah, okay but we're not going in. Yeah, Ben. Come on! Come in, the water's so nice. Ben! Ben! Ben! Okay. Your ex-wife hurt you bad, huh? Why'd she do it? I don't know why, I don't... really know why. I don't think she meant to. I hope not. But... I can be pretty tough to be around sometimes. And there were a few months in particular, medication-wise, that were pretty bad for me and that's, you know that's stressful for anyone. I don't blame her though, I mean, people like calm waters. Know what I mean? Yeah, I got a pretty good idea. Things... things unravelled for me pretty hard for me when she left. I didn't really know who I was anymore. And I started to hear voices... and they were just yelling at me and screaming at me for blood and just... stop and just be quiet. Sorry, that's like probably really intense to hear, I'm hearing voices. The thing I don't understand is... how can you love someone, like really love someone for so long and so, like... real... and then just stop? Man... when you start talking, you don't shut up, do you? Hey! What are you doing? Run! I saw your face, you punk! I think we lost him. That was crazy. Why did we do that? Because it was fun and you need more fun. I need something. And you don't see anything wrong with you kissing this girl? Not really, no. Even though you only met because your parents nearly had you sharing a crib? So what? We're not actually related; she's pretty much just a stranger. You should be happy that I'm dating. At best, you have to admit that your feelings about this woman are confused. I think you're hurting... deeply. And at some point the drugs are going to stop working and you'll find yourself confronting something inside you. Something I can't even imagine. So please, just be careful. Okay? I'll see you next week? All right. She's right, you know. Stay out of it. You think you've got it all figured out, but you don't. What do you know, huh? You're just a puppet. See that's what you don't get, Benjamin. We are all puppets. Hmm? You suck. Just one left. I'm going to let him live, he earned it. That's not really how the game works. You can take it. Do you think what we're doing is wrong? What do you mean? Well, I mean like this... like, us... the situation that we're in, you know? No! It's not wrong... we're just connected. It doesn't matter that we were almost siblings or who raised me. Who did raise you? Uh, my parents... and Judy Bloom books. What were they like? They were like crack for people with vaginas. Not the books, your parents. I know, I'm... I always kind of had the feeling that I was their second choice. Like, I don't know, maybe they had buyer's remorse or something. Like I remember my mom, she caught me kissing this boy, Cody something, behind the store by our house... and she slapped me, hard. And then she says, I wish I knew who'd given birth to you so I knew who to blame for this shit. And then this look crossed her face like she meant to think that and she accidentally said it. And that's how I found out I was adopted. You know how sometimes you think something's not right you suspect it? And all the evidence has just been there staring you in the face, like a word or a thing... or something was missing, or hinted at. Maybe you just thought it was something else and then all of a sudden, like... a phone rings and... the whole world stops turning. What's up, girl? What do you want, Layton? Well, uh... what's the deal, are you running away? None of your business. Okay. My dad moved out today so this is like a cry for help. Right. It's kind of desperate, don't you think? You should talk. I just don't like change. I feel you. I don't like change either, change sucks. Hey, high five for no change, right? Keep things simple. All right, not the time, cool. That's my mom, I should go. Oh... okay, well you forgot your book. You can keep it, it's for babies anyway. The rabbit looked up at her and it seemed to him that he had seen her face before but he couldn't think where. I am the nursery magic fairy, she said. I take care of all the playthings that the children have loved. When they are old and worn out and the children don't need them anymore, then I come and take them away with me and turn them into real. Keep going. Wasn't I real before? Asked the little rabbit. You were real to the boy, the fairy said. Because he loved you and now you should be real to everyone. My, you look so scared. You should probably know that it's been a while since I've done like anything. By anything are you talking... intercourse? Intercourse... are you sure you want to say intercourse? Why, what's wrong with intercourse? I don't know. It's pretty hard to make intercourse sound sexy. I want to have intercourse with you. Why did you do it? Um... well a lot of reasons. You know, the divorce, my job was useless, my meds were trailing... I didn't have anything else to do that day. Awesome reasons. Well, what do you want me to say? I was alone, pretty much always alone. Bullshit. Someone saved you, someone loved you. If you were alone, you'd be dead. Mmm, I got lucky. You answered the door. Why did you do that? What do you mean? I mean you slit your wrists, the hard part's over. So why answer the door? You could've just left it. Literally on the brink of death and the doorbell rings right when you need it. And you call that luck? A billion trillion particles working in harmony across the universe... think about it. A teenager steals your car. Your ex-wife at the post office. Delivery guy catches a light. His cell phone is charged. Traffic is clear. The paramedics are close. Tabby is there for you. Ten thousand obstacles just vanish from your path. Like smoke. And you call that luck. I, uh, thought... I thought Claire was at the door. I thought maybe she had come back to see if I wanted to get back together. Is that pathetic? That, uh, that I would've taken her back. Yes... it is. Yes? Can I help you? Hi, uh, I'm looking for Hanna Weathers. I'm Hanna. I'm a friend of Ben's. Oh, and look, I know you two have been spending, um... anyway... I, uh, just wanted to say take good care of him... and I don't want you to worry about me, because we're just friends... barely friends, I just helped save his life once is all. Anyway, uh, point is... he seems happy. Okay. Hang on, hang on. Who is Ben? Sorry, um... I think... I think someone made a terrible mistake. Thanks. Okay. Hey Tabby. Yeah. Yeah sure, I'll be right there. All right. We need to talk. Wait, I owe you money. Okay, it's not about the money but I'll take it. It's about the girl. Uh... Tabby, did you get that from my apartment? Yeah, why not? I paid for it. Tabby, you can't keep breaking in to where I live. Okay wait, would you just listen for a sec? No, no. Why are you messing with my life? Listen, your new girlfriend, whoever she is, she is not your sister. Yeah, I know that. I've been trying to tell you that the whole time. No! She is not not your sister. Ben... she is a fake. I went to the house on January road... and the woman who lives there, this woman... she has never met you. Hanna Weathers is a single mother who has no idea who the hell you are. You're being conned. But, Ben... she's not the person you were looking for. Right. Yeah, okay. I'm just trying to figure out who I had sex with last night. I don't know. But... she's not who you thought she was. Okay. Ben! Hey! Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. How were you supposed to know she's some kind of criminal? Well, uh, she stole my wallet, she shoplifted, she broke into my apartment and a swimming pool so there may have been some signs. Well, we can go to the police. With what? We don't know anything about her. You could post her photo online. Maybe she did this to someone else. All I have is that stupid baby photo, that's it. Actually, uh, that wasn't her. Right, god damnit. Okay. She's a pro, she's professional. Hey buddy, you want a picture? You come back later, I'll put it up. Uh... excuse... excuse me. Hi. Hey. I knew you'd be back. You want your picture? Uh, yeah. 15 bucks. Sure. Seriously? Come on, I'll pay you back. I promise. Thank you. Here you go. Thanks. I'll be right back. Yeah, sure. Thank you. Hey, look at this. - Hey, it's Ben. Leave a message. You know how sometimes you think something's not right, or you suspected it? And all the evidence has been right there staring you in the face. Like a word or a thing... or something was missing or hinted at. Maybe you just thought it was something else and then all of a sudden, like a phone rings, the whole world stops turning. Ben... what's going on? Uh... I gotta go. I gotta go. Ben? Looking for something? She must've left something behind. Like a trace or something? I told you this wasn't going to make you happy. Didn't I? Wait, what's going on? You already know. No, I don't know. Yes you do... because I know. And if I know, you know... and so does she. What does that mean? That means that you're talking to your own reflection, asshole! You're hearing shit and seeing things. Puppets, deer, jellyfish, magic fucking coins. What the hell did you think was going on? Uh, I don't know... I mean I guess I thought it was like whimsical. That is the dumbest shit I've ever heard. You are losing your mind, man. None of this is real. Not me, not her... nothing. But, you know... did... I thought we... You made love? Welcome to the suck, my man. Surprise. That's not funny. Well, how do you think I feel? Do you feel? Everything you do. Okay, uh, Hanna, I... this isn't going to work out anymore, okay? Are you breaking up with me? Yeah, yeah... I mean you're a figment of my imagination. So what, what the hell is anything? I mean you don't have to actually touch things, you just get signals sent to your brain. It's physics, it's not reality. Well I need reality, okay? I need more than this. You want this. You understand that? You don't know what I want. I know how you wanted her back, I know how you wanted to end it all and I know how you're so filled with doubt you can't even look people in the eye. I know you, Ben. No you don't. You don't know me. Because you're just a part of me, you're not the whole thing... you're not me. I can hide. I can bury myself so deep inside you, you're never going to get me out. We're always going to be together and you'll never know where I begin and you end. Hanna... get out of my head. I'm not even here. Wait, no! Hanna. Hanna, wait. Aren't you tired yet? What are you doing? Are you just going to run away forever, is that the big plan? You don't have to chase me. What are you talking about? I'm dying, I'm out there drowning in a fucking river. Fine, give up! No. No! You don't control me. Okay? And I'm done with this. Why did you make me? Because I wanted to be awake again. I was alone. If you let me stay, I'll be good. I can't keep you in here forever, okay? I can't spend the rest of my life looking for you around every corner, okay? No. That would drive me nuts. Hanna... thank you for everything, really. I'm not going to forget you, okay, you helped me. Well let's just get this over with. All right. So what do we do now? Just let go. Just let go. Just let go. Ben... what's the matter? Put that meat away when you're done, huh? That's good salami. Oh, real nice. What did I do? You keep that up, you're going to wreck his heart for good. What about your heart? What do you mean? I'm fine, I just... I lost my keys. What's wrong? Mom, what's wrong? They call me at 2:00 in the afternoon to tell me that my son had tried to kill himself... slashed up his arms... my little boy almost bled to death. I'm fine now Mom, okay? I raised you better than this. I don't care if you never had a sister, you lost your wife, or some woman that I've never even met. Benny, look... you think you're all alone in the world? You let someone see you at your worst and you watch if they stick around. I... I think I just remembered where my spare keys are. You really captured the moment. Where have you been? I called you. You leave a picture with no one else in it and then you run off into the night? You can't do that! You can't be this selfish jerk and... Just let me talk for a second, please. No! No, all you do is talk and I listen and I nod and I try to make sense of it and I'm done... okay? Okay. You have to stop treating people like we don't count and stop looking for things you don't need... because... because you have friends. And there are people who... because... What? When you almost died, I almost died... and I hate that. I'm really sorry. I'm trying... just... things are a lot different now. Can we get better? Or can we at least try? We'll see. So who's who? So... there you have it. That's my story... and now that you've read it, I hope you understand why I don't think we should meet. But I know that you and I are connected. I think that we're all connected... in ways and through circumstances, by staggering coincidences we'll never understand... because I think that's what life is. It's kind of like a tapestry, woven and dyed a million different ways... and we are all these threads, tangled and alone. But the lucky ones... the best of us have been tied up in knots from day one, we just can't see it. Hello there. I have a delivery for a Hanna Weathers. Mom! Are you Hanna Weathers? I'm... yes. Just, uh... yeah, just right there. Okay. Thanks. You have a good day. So, for now... goodbye and good luck. Sincerely, your almost but not quite brother, Benjamin Layton. I was fucking adopted. I heard that. Go to your room! So... what is a chicken fried steak anyway? All I know is it is the official meal of the state of Oklahoma. Sounds like you made that up. Thank you. No, I didn't. It's a classic dish, plus it's delicious. |
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