Season 1, Episode 4

Love and Loss

[Inside a local coffee shop. Day. Christine and Victor are sitting at a table. The faint bustle of the cafe can be heard]

CHRISTINE

Thanks for agreeing to meet with me. Even if you’re insisting on recording it.

VICTOR

Well, you texted asking if I wanted to get coffee even though I never gave you my number, so I'll admit I was a little hesitant. 

CHRISTINE

A girl's gotta have hobbies. Also the internet exists. 

VICTOR 

...That doesn't exactly reassure me.

CHRISTINE

I'm sure not much does nowadays.

VICTOR

…What do you want from me?

CHRISTINE

Nothing. But I think we both have some questions. 

VICTOR

Yeah, absolutely. 

CHRISTINE

I'll go first. Tell me about Erik.

VICTOR

...Who?

CHRISTINE

Right, you probably don't know him by that name. Let me rephrase it. Tell me about your son.

VICTOR

[Clearly knowing exactly what she’s talking about]

I-- I don’t know what you’re talking about.

CHRISTINE

Please, Victor, I know what happened. I just wanna hear your side of it.,

VICTOR

...How much do you know?

CHRISTINE

Just what he told me. The experiment, the fire. That you left him.

VICTOR

Listen, that’s--

CHRISTINE

That’s what, Victor? You abandoned him, you left him to die, you--

VICTOR

I was scared, okay?! I was nineteen, I-- I was a kid! In case you haven’t figured it out, I wasn’t exactly the picture of perfect mental health! I set fire to a public fucking building! That alone ruined my life, forget about what happened after!

Did it tell you about that?

CHRISTINE

Yes, he did.

VICTOR

Then forgive me if I’m lacking in empathy. My friend, my boyfriend, and my family are all dead, and the only other person I have has been in a coma for almost a year. Maybe I handled the situation wrong, but it has taken everything from me.

CHRISTINE

What’s their name?

VICTOR

What?

CHRISTINE

Your friend in the coma. What’s their name?

VICTOR

...Henry.

CHRISTINE

How did you meet?

VICTOR

...We were in the same class in first grade. There was this kid who would always ask for my lunch, and I was too nice to tell him no. So after recess one day, Henry put a pocketful of worms in his desk.

CHRISTINE

Solid strategy.

VICTOR

It worked. I never had a problem again, and Henry and I were inseparable ever since.

CHRISTINE

And what’s your favorite memory with him?

VICTOR

Look, this is sounding suspiciously like a therapy session, and I don’t think--

CHRISTINE

Please, just humor me. Tell me something about him that you can hold onto when things get hard.

VICTOR

...We were twelve. I was asleep, but… you know in those bad romance movies, when the guy will throw pebbles at the girl’s window to get her attention? That’s what he did. I didn’t have my glasses on, so I could barely tell that it was him. But after I let him in, I… I could tell he’d been crying. And… you know, Henry’s always been so sure of himself. See… his parents, they’re... they’re good people, they really are. But they’ve always had plans for him. His dad owns a garage downtown, he always expected Henry to take it over. Not to mention, that was when he started to realize he wasn’t completely straight. That’s not a secret nowadays, he’s very open about it. But in middle school, that might just be the biggest taboo in the world. Not so much nowadays, but we’ve come a long way since then. It got to be too much, he got overwhelmed.

I didn’t know any of that until then. He’d never opened up to me that much. I’m not good at that sort of thing, at… comforting people. But I did what I could. I listened, I sat with him, I told him that it would be okay. I let him stay the night, and before I knew it, he was feeling okay enough to start joking around again. Nothing was the same between us again since that night, but not in a bad way. We were more open, we could tell each other anything. He’d always been the strong one. But now he didn’t have to be.

...I know how that sounds, and it’s not the fact that he was upset that makes it my favorite memory with him. Obviously. It’s just… that was the moment that we really connected. More than just a couple of kids who liked to hang out after school. That was the moment that I really understood him as a person, and-- And I knew that if I ever needed someone, he’d be there for me. And you know what? He always was. After the… after the fire, once I was out of the hospital, he drove the six hours to make sure I was okay. He stayed with me for two weeks. Sat with me during my trial, helped me choose a therapist when they told me I had to in order to stay out of prison. I think he would have stayed longer if I hadn’t insisted he go back. He had school, after all, and his classes were starting up for the semester. I didn’t want him to miss any time for my sake. Elliot offered to come up, too, but he was working, and leaving would have upset his boss. Plus, explaining the reason behind it wouldn’t have helped his situation. So… it was just me and Henry for those weeks. I-- I didn’t tell him what had happened, I….

[He takes a moment to gather himself]

Look. I don’t know what you’re trying to do. But Henry got lucky. There’s still a chance that he’ll be okay. But he is the exception, not the rule. I-- I don’t know why it told you everything, but if it suspects for a second that you and I are close, then-

CHRISTINE

You don’t need to worry about that.

VICTOR

Yeah? And why’s that?

CHRISTINE

[Matter-of-factly] 

Because he’s in love with me.

VICTOR

[Laughs, then realizes that she’s serious]

Oh. Oh. W-- Wait, then-- Then you two are--

CHRISTINE

No, we’re not. Homicidal tendencies are a big turn-off for me.

VICTOR

...That’s fair, I guess.

CHRISTINE

Also kidnapping.

VICTOR

[Audibly chokes on his coffee]

I’m sorry? Did-- Are-- are you okay?

CHRISTINE

Yeah, I’m fine. Maybe a little traumatized, but.

VICTOR

Yeah, I can imagine. Listen, I-- I am so sorry, I--

CHRISTINE

Stop.

VICTOR

What?

CHRISTINE

You don’t need to apologize. It wasn’t your fault.

VICTOR

Isn’t it?

CHRISTINE

Literally no. You weren’t even there. I don’t even know whether or not you were still in the state. You had nothing to do with it. 

VICTOR

...Okay. I told you my part. Your turn.

CHRISTINE

Where do you want me to start?

VICTOR

How did you meet it?

CHRISTINE

He found me while I was working on a show. I was still living in Maine, still trying to find a decent job after graduating Ingleside. You know that theater downtown, across from the library?

VICTOR

No.

CHRISTINE

Well, it’s there. And they do a holiday show every winter. It was September, so we were just starting rehearsals. I’d done shows there all through school, so I was familiar with every inch of that place. Or… I thought so, at least. After rehearsal one night, I realized halfway home that I forgot my music booklet. Luckily, I made it back before my director left, and she let me go in to grab it. 

I knew I’d left it in the basement, which isn’t as creepy as it sounds. That’s where the bathrooms are, the dressing room, all that. It’s nice, honestly. 

I remembered leaving it in the corner. So when I didn’t see it there, I figured that maybe someone took it with them to give it back to me tomorrow. But I still looked around, just in case.

That was when I heard a voice. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from but… [Audibly smiling, almost dream-like] Victor, it was beautiful. And… familiar.

CHRISTINE (Cont.)

You see, the theater is old. I’m not sure when it was built, but old buildings in New England always have ghost stories, I’m sure you know that. This was no exception. But over the past few years, “activity” had increased. Mostly it was props and costumes going missing, which honestly could have been chalked up to careless actors or stagehands. I probably would have thought the same thing if I hadn’t had reason to believe otherwise.

I’ve been alone there more than a few times over the years. Helping clean up after shows, changing between scenes, you name it. And sometimes, I would hear this faint, distant voice. Humming, singing. Crying sometimes. It broke my heart, if I’m being honest. 

So of course I knew who was talking to me that night, telling me that my voice didn’t deserve to be “chained to such uninspired drivel”. But that was the first time I actually saw him. Or, sort of. He covered his face, but he was standing there behind me all the same. And yeah. Maybe it was stupid. I know it was. But when he asked me to go with him… of course I did. I was intrigued, this was the adventure I’d always dreamed of. 

CHRISTINE (Cont.)

I didn’t know that there was another room, let alone a sub basement. I’m not sure anyone did. The door that led to it was small and hidden behind the dressing room mirror. If you didn’t know what you were looking for, even if the wall was bare, you might even mistake it for just another panel. But he opened it, and he led me into the dark.

We did this every week for months. He would bring me to the forgotten part of the theater he’d made his home. And we would talk, sing, compose. He’s a genius, you know. The songs he writes, they’re unlike anything I’ve ever heard. 

Then he told me his story. Your story, too, I guess. And I saw his face. The scars that the fire left him with. It was a shock, but I was willing to look past it. I’m not an asshole.

[A phone notification dings]

CHRISTINE (Cont.)

You can get it, it’s fine.

[A long pause, Victor lets out a shaky breath]

Something wrong?

VICTOR

I-- No. No, nothing, I-- I’m sorry, I-- I h-- I have to go. It’s-- It’s Henry, he-- Henry’s awake, he just opened his eyes.

CHRISTINE

Oh my God, yeah, go!

VICTOR

Right, yeah, I-- Thank you, I’ll-- I’ll keep in touch, I-- I want to know more.

CHRISTINE

I’ll keep an eye out. Stay safe.

VICTOR

I’m gonna pretend that wasn’t ominous.

[The sound of a bell as he leaves the building, and the recording ends]