1.

A Fountain of Regret

By Aaron Capes

[email protected]

Copyright (c) 2019 This screenplaymay not be used or

reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes
without the expressed written permission of the author.
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1 INT. HOME - AFTERNOON 1

Wednesday
AARON opens door, sets down backpack and work badge. He
trudges over to the couch and flops down. He turns on
fireplace. He turns on the TV. Sees cat. Gets up to feed cat.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Aaron rolls his eyes but walks over and opens door. DYLAN is
on the other side.
DYLAN
Hey, what you up to?
Aaron lets Dylan in the door.
AARON
(begrudgingly)
Just got home. What do you want?
DYLAN
Just wanted to see how you were
doing, considering what day it is.
AARON

What day is it?

DYLAN
Well, today's the anniversary of the
accident.
AARON

Oh, I didn't even realize.

Dylan looks over, sees an empty medicine bottle.

DYLAN
Sure you're alright?

Aaron notices what Dylan is looking at

 3.

AARON

(a little irritated)
Ya, I'm fine. Hey, I know you just
got here but I'm pretty tired. I had
to go to school and work today. I
think I'm going to do a couple of
chores and go to bed.

DYLAN

(moving towards door)

Alright. I was gonna run by my
parents' place anyway. Sure you
don't need anything?
AARON

I'm sure. Thanks for dropping by.

See ya later.

DYLAN
Later.

Dylan closes the door. Aaron turns around, and we follow him
as he walks through his room and then his bathroom. Aaron
pauses at the mirror. In the background, we can see someone
standing through the partially pulled back shower curtain.
Aaron turns, pulls back shower curtain, and no one is there.
He turns on shower.
CUT TO:

2 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 2

Aaron is playing a video game. He is visibly frustrated.

After a little bit, he throws the remote down.
AARON
Shit!

He gets up, and goes over to the movie shelf. He pulls out
The Shining, stares at it a moment, and then puts it in the
Xbox.

CUT TO:

3 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 3

 4.

Aaron walks up to his bathroom mirror. He opens it up, and we

see three different orange bottles. He pulls out one of them
and puts a couple of pills in his hand. He closes the cabinet
and swallows the pills. He starts to brush his teeth. He
pauses, leans in, and looks at his receding hairline. He
brushes his teeth for a couple more seconds, and then he
spits on the mirror.

LATER - BEDROOM
Aaron is lying in bed. He is starring at his lamp. After a
few seconds, he reaches over and turns it off.

CUT TO:

4 INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING 4

Thursday

Aaron is eating a bowl of cereal and watching Get Up on ESPN.

He gets dressed, grabs his backpack and badge. He looks back
at his cat.

AARON

Another day in paradise.

He walks out the door.

TIME LAPSE:

5 INT. HOME - AFTERNOON 5

Aaron walks in the door. Again sets down his backpack and
badge. He sees movies scattered on the floor. He looks over
at cat, who is in the kitchen area.
AARON

Really? This is shit that dogs do.

He sighs, and moves to start picking up the mess.

CUT TO:

6 INT. KITCHEN - DUSK 6

Aaron is cooking himself an egg. He finishes it, puts it on a
plate, walks over to the bar, sets down, and eats it. He
 5.

looks down to see his cat setting next to his chair. He

sneers.
AARON

Your're not getting any of this.

Aaron continues to eat the egg.

CUT TO:

7 EXT. DRIVEWAY - NIGHT 7

Aaron walks out the door with a trash bag. He walks around to
the trash barrels and throws the bag into the barrel on his
left. In an overhead shot, we can see Andrew hunkered down in
the barrel on the right.

CUT TO:

8 INT. BEDROOM - MORNING (STILL DARK) 8

Friday

ALARM SCREECHING
Aaron reaches over and turns off his alarm. He gets up,
stumbling in the dark. He reaches the living room, grabs the
remote to the fireplace, and turns it on. A humanoid shadow
is partially blocking the flames.
AARON

What the?

He reaches over and switches on the light. The figure is

gone. He looks around confused for a moment. He walks out of
frame for a second. He then walks back into frame and
switches of the light again. The figure is still gone. He
switches the light back on and shrugs.

9 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 9

Saturday

Aaron and Dylan are in Aaron's living room. Aaron is flipping

through pictures of him and Andrew on his phone. Dylan is
looking out the window into Aaron's yard.
 6.

DYLAN
When are you going to haul that
fountain off?
AARON

I don't know. I'll probably wait

till spring. I'll probably need
help. It's a heavy SOB.

DYLAN

Hmm.
Dylan takes a couple of steps back and looks around. He
notices a Christmas decoration on the wall.
DYLAN

You know Christmas was last week

right?
Aaron looks up and sees what Dylan is looking at.

AARON

I know. Andrew made that one when he

was in the first or second grade. I
just haven't felt like taking it
down yet.

Dylan nods and looks towards the kitchen.

DYLAN

You got any ibuprofen? My head is

killing me.
AARON
Ya, up in the medicine cabinet. let
me get it.

Aaron starts to get up, but Dylan walks past him.

DYLAN
Nah I can get it.

Dylan opens the medicine cabinet to find two orange medicine

bottles. He pulls one down. He sits and ponders for a moment.
DYLAN
 7.

(still looking at the

bottle)

Were you high when it happened?

AARON
What?

DYLAN

(looking up)

I said, were you high when it

happened?

AARON

When what happened?

DYLAN

When you wrecked the damn car!

AARON
I wasn't high! I didn't wreck the
damn car! That old bitch pulled out
in front of me!
DYLAN
Maybe you'd been able to stop if you
hadn't been baked!
AARON
I said I wasn't fucking high!

Both of them pause for a moment.

AARON
I think you need to leave.

DYLAN
Fine. I was going anyway.

Dylan walks over and opens the door. He pauses.

AARON
You got something say or are you
just gonna let all the warm air out?
 8.

DYLAN
See ya around I guess.

AARON
I guess.
Dylan slams the door shut. Aaron is visibly upset. The camera
remains focused on the door as Aaron walks off screen. We
hear him open a bottle and rattle some pills around. We hear
him slam the cabinet shut.
CUT TO:

10 INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON 10

Aaron is setting on his couch with a piece of paper in his
hand. Camera zooms in. It is a police report of the accident.
Camera focuses on line that reads:
"At 2:05 p.m., Mrs. Garcia pulled out of the parking lot of
the strip mall with the intention of turning left into the
westbound lane. She claims that she was forced to stop in the
middle of the eastbound lane because another vehicle turned
right out of the opposing parking lot at the same moment.
While stopped in the east bound lane, Mrs. Garcia's vehicle
was struck by Mr. Capes's vehicle on the driver's side."
Camera cuts briefly back to Aaron, who is visibly upset. The
Camera returns to the report, focusing on a couple of lines
down that reads:
"Mrs. Garcia claims that Mr. Capes had plenty of time to see
her and stop. I was not able to substantiate these claims."

Aaron looks up, with tears in his eyes.

CUT TO:

11 INT. LIVING ROOM - DUSK 11

Wednesday
Aaron is on the phone with Dylan. We are looking down on him
from directly above.
AARON
Hey, I'm sorry for the other day. I
was being a total douche.
 9.

Camera rotates around the room once. No one but Aaron is

there.

AARON
Are you still coming over Saturday?

(pauses)
How about Adam?
Camera spins around a second time. Aaron is still alone.

AARON
Ya 3 sounds good. I should be home
by then.

Camera spins a third time. Andrew is on the opposite side of

the room. Aaron has his back to him.
AARON

Alright sounds good. See ya then.

Camera spins a fourth time. Andrew is gone again. The camera
settles back on Aaron. He is hanging up the phone.
CUT TO:

12 INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON 12

Friday

Aaron is vacuuming his living room rug. Behind him is a movie

shelf where he has set a book. The book begins sliding by
itself to the right. As soon as he shuts off the vacuum, it
falls off. Aaron jerks around and notices the book on the
floor. He walks over and picks it up. We linger on the cover,
I Am Legend, for a moment. He sets the book on top of the
fireplace.
AARON

Stupid cat.
He looks over and sees the cat wondering around on top of the
kitchen counter. He gets a concerned look on his face.

LATER - NIGHT (LIGHT ON)

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Aaron, with a broom in his right hand, flops down on the

couch. He tosses the broom to the floor. A shot of his left
side establishes there is no one on the other side of the
couch. We cut back to a forward facing shot. He turns on the
TV. We cut back to his left side, where Andrew is seen in the
background between the wall and couch. Blood is running down
is right arm. Aaron jerks his head that way, but Andrew is
gone. He looks forward again, with a concerned look on his
face.
CUT TO:

13 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 13

Saturday
Aaron, Adam, and Dylan are setting around Aaron's living
room.
ADAM
(through laughter)

And she fell right on her face! She

got up and said "I'm never f-ing ice
skating again!"

AARON
(obviously not amused)
The youth pastor's girlfriend said
the f word?

ADAM
She didn't actually say it.

DYLAN
(attempting to break the
tension)

Did you go to her house for

Christmas?
ADAM
Ya.

DYLAN
How was that?
 11.

ADAM

Not gonna lie, her dad is kind of

intimidating. At one point when we
were alone in the room he started
like interrogating me.

DYLAN
Are y'all going to take the church
kids ice skating?

ADAM
Nah. Sarah and me decided that
there's too many kids to keep up
with at an ice skating rink. Someone
would probably get hurt. We'll
probably just take them to a movie
instead.
AARON

(rolling his eyes at another mention

of Adam's girlfriend)

Sarah and I.
ADAM
What?

AARON
Sarah and I, dumb ass.
Everyone pauses for a moment.

ADAM
What did you do last night for New
Years?

AARON
I went and drove around the lake to
see the Christmas decorations before
they took them down.
ADAM
I bet they're prettier when your
stoned.
 12.

AARON
I wasn't stoned!
ADAM

Really, I didn't know you drove

sober.
AARON

Ya well at least I'm not embezzling

money from a church!
ADAM

What?! What do you mean embezzling?

I work there and they pay me! You
know what, I'm not putting up with
this. I'm leaving.

Adam starts to get up.

AARON
(sarcastically)

Did I hurt your feelings?

ADAM

(opening the door)

I hope you drop dead.
AARON

What a christian thing to say!

Adam slams the door shut. We can hear him start his car and
leave.

DYLAN
That went well.
AARON

Uh huh.
DYLAN

Did you really have to start in with

him like that?
 13.

Aaron ignores him.

DYLAN

I mean he was just---

AARON
I think this house is haunted.

DYLAN
What?

AARON
I know this sounds crazy, but I've
being seeing and hearing things. The
other day---

Dylan jumps up out of his chair and marches over to Aaron's

medicine cabinet. He pulls down two orange medicine bottles.
DYLAN

(angrily)
How many of these had you taken when
you 'seen' and 'heard' these things?

AARON
None! You know what, forget it.
DYLAN
Ya, I think that's best. I'm gonna
go.

AARON
Fine.
DYLAN
I think you really need some help.
AARON

I'm not the only one.

DYLAN
Whatever. See ya later I guess.
 14.

AARON
I guess.
Dylan leaves. We linger on Aaron for a moment.

LATER - BEDROOM
Aaron is lying in bed, staring at his lamp. A hand reaches
out from the darkness behind the lamp. Aaron raises up,
startled. The shot lingers as Aaron catches his breath.
CUT TO:

14 EXT. YARD - DAY 14

Sunday
Aaron is picking up pecans in his front yard. He walks past
the fountain in his yard. He pauses, noticing something, and
walks back to it. Setting in the fountain is a red liquid
(blood). Aaron dabs his fingers into it, and stares at them.
LATER - KITCHEN
Aaron is standing at his kitchen sink. He is staring at the
blood on his hands. Eventually he turns on the faucet and
washes it off.
CUT TO:

15 INT. KITCHEN - DUSK 15

Aaron is setting at his kitchen bar with his laptop open. We
can see on his screen he is getting ready to pay for his next
semester of college. He has a dejected look on his face. He
pays the bill and walks over to the couch. He sets down and
grabs the remote. When he turns on the TV, Andrew is in front
of it, with obvious wounds on his body. And quickly snaps off
the TV. The camera lingers as Aaron sits there, breathing
elevated.
LATER
Aaron is on the phone with his mom. He is pacing around the
room as they talk.

AARON
Mom, I know it sounds crazy, but---

(pause)
 15.

What? I haven't taken anything!

(pause)
Okay, maybe one or two but that
doesn't have anything---

(pause)
Can I just come stay over---

(pause)
I haven't taken any of Dad's meds!
I've never stolen any---

(pause)
It doesn't matter where I got them!
Listen, I just need some---

(pause)
Mom just wai---
Aaron's mom hangs up. He looks down at his phone for a
moment. Finally he throws it to the ground. He quickly walks
over to his medicine cabinet. He pulls out three orange
bottles. From a low angle, we see him drop three empty
bottles on the cabinet one at a time as he downs them.

NOW IN BEDROOM
We see Aaron shuffle into the bedroom with an expressionless
face. He turns off his living room light as he walks by the
switch. He lays down in bed and closes his eyes.
KITCHEN
A drawer is slowly pulled open by an invisible force.

BEDROOM
We see Andrew come up to the side of the bed opposite the
direction Aaron is facing. He raises up the knife.
CUT TO BLACK
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THE END