Free An Almost Perfect Thing by Nicole Moeller Page A

truth requires bravery. When you're ready to be brave—
    CHLOE
    I saved myself.
    GREG
    â€”you know where to find me.
    MATHEW
    Chloe?
    GREG
    If she thinks they don't believe her she'll have to prove it.
    MATHEW
    My head is… groggy… Fell asleep… I fell asleep…
    GREG
    My plan works. But not how I think.
    CHLOE
    Two days later—
    GREG
    I get to work and find a package sitting on my desk.
    CHLOE
    There's a letter in my mailbox.
    GREG/CHLOE
    It's from him.
    GREG
    On the top, a handwritten note:
    MATHEW
    Chloe?
    GREG
    "You say you don't know what the truth is, Mr. Kalowitz. Well, here's the truth. My truth."
    MATHEW
    Chloe!
    GREG
    Pages and pages of writing.
    CHLOE
    One scrap of paper.
    GREG
    Read the first page.
    MATHEW
    Chloe!
    CHLOE
    My love.
    GREG
    "Once upon a time there was a girl. She falls from the sky it seems. Out of nowhere, really."
    MATHEW
    Breathe… five… four…
    CHLOE
    I waited for you.
    MATHEW
    Three… two…
    CHLOE
    Praying you'd come back.
    MATHEW
    One…
    GREG
    "She appears like an angel."
    CHLOE
    I read about you in the paper. My girl on the front page.
    MATHEW
    Turn on the light…
    CHLOE
    I wrote our story. My story. The truth.
    MATHEW
    Downstairs…
    CHLOE
    They'll believe us now, Chloe. They won't say such bad things about you. And it'll be me who's on the front page.
    MATHEW
    The door is… open.
    CHLOE
    But that means I have to go now. My mum was right. You can't make someone love you.
    MATHEW
    Chloe…
    CHLOE
    But in the end—
    GREG
    It's signed—
    CHLOE
    You'll always be my everything.
    GREG
    Mathew Quinn. Name. Address.
    MATHEW
    Where is she?
    GREG
    I have to see him.
    CHLOE
    He has to still be there.
    MATHEW
    She… must… be…
    GREG
    Get in my car.
    CHLOE
    Run.
    GREG
    Drive.
    MATHEW
    Search. Outside. Inside. Under the bed.
    CHLOE
    Legs burning—
    GREG
    Sweat dripping. I have to see the house.
    MATHEW
    Chloe…
    GREG
    Go to the door.
    MATHEW
    She said she'd never…
    GREG
    Be the first to describe—
    CHLOE
    His eyes, his smile—
    GREG
    The way he speaks, holds his arms, everything.
    MATHEW
    Grab my gun.
    CHLOE
    I feel—
    GREG
    I'm on fire.
    MATHEW
    Chloe!
    CHLOE
    The thought—
    GREG
    Of me catching him—
    MATHEW
    Gun to my temple.
    GREG
    Our faces side by side—
    MATHEW
    Metal against skin. Chloe—
    CHLOE
    Mathew—
    GREG
    On the front page.
    CHLOE
    Three.
    GREG
    Two.
    MATHEW
    One.
    ALL
    I see it.
    CHLOE
    Like a piece of heaven—
    MATHEW
    â€”and hell—
    GREG
    â€”all mixed in one.
    MATHEW
    A note.
    GREG
    The house.
    CHLOE
    Home.
    GREG
    Walk to the door.
    CHLOE
    Run inside.
    MATHEW
    Finger off the trigger.
    GREG
    It's partially open.
    CHLOE
    Mathew?
    GREG
    Hello?
    MATHEW
    Lower my gun.
    CHLOE
    He's not here.
    MATHEW
    Pick up the note.
    CHLOE
    It's too late.
    GREG
    Have to go in.
    CHLOE
    Have to get out.
    GREG
    See that face. Look in those eyes. Know that I caught him.
    GREG/CHLOE
    Save myself.
    GREG
    Hello?
    MATHEW
    It's from Chloe.
    GREG
    A piece of paper on the table beside the door. It says my name.
    MATHEW
    "Dearest MATHEW—"
    GREG
    "Dear GREG—"
    MATHEW and GREG both reading notes from CHLOE.
    MATHEW
    "I know you're holding the gun."
    GREG
    "I knew you'd come here."
    MATHEW
    "Put it down. Please."
    GREG
    "I had to go."
    MATHEW
    "You know that."
    GREG
    "I want to. It's my choice."
    MATHEW
    "I had to give myself a chance. At something else. It doesn't mean I don't love you."
    GREG
    "Tell my dad I'm sorry."
    MATHEW
    "Someday, years from now, when everyone has forgotten, maybe we can see each other. Drink black tea and play checkers. Like we always do."
    GREG
    "I left my writing. Now you have my story. And you have his. All you need is yours."
    MATHEW
    "I'll never give them your name. Cross my heart and hope to die. But if something happens, and they start to come after you, I want you to run. Go up to our bridge. Where you feel calm. Way up high. I want you