Creative Writing: Shuttered – Pt. 2

By Anonymous

APRIL turns on the radio. The music can now be heard softly—it is slow and instrumental. A
recommended song is Je Te Veux by Erik Sadie. BAILEY is now silent and contemplative,
listening to the melody. APRIL and CHET can be heard again.

     APRIL. Dance with me.
     CHET. (jokingly) I thought you were against the radio? You know, going analog and
everything.
     APRIL. Come on. You know this is my favorite song.

APRIL and CHET sway back and forth, pressed against each other in more of a hug than a
dance. APRIL pulls apart for a moment to make eye contact.

     APRIL. Chet… who is your friend on the radio?
     CHET. You know, he reminds me of you a little bit. His name is B—

The wind rises, and the shutters open once again. The rain and howling gusts drown out
everything else; APRIL and CHET now shout to be able to hear each other. APRIL tears herself
from CHET and positions him in between herself and the window, trembling at both the rain and
the knowledge that CHET knows BAILEY. APRIL believes CHET now knows her past history. 

     CHET. It’s okay! (He closes the shutters extra firmly this time before returning to APRIL
who is curled up on the ground.) It’s okay, April. It’s okay.
      APRIL. Don’t look at me like that.

APRIL starts to scramble away from CHET.

     CHET. What?
     APRIL. (accusatorially) I see that pity in your eyes. Like I’m some broken thing to be
taken care of.
     CHET. (bewilderedly) What?
     APRIL. Is that all I am to you, Chet?
     CHET. April, I—
     APRIL. IS THAT ALL I AM TO YOU?

CHET stares at APRIL, incredulous. APRIL holds her ground for a beat—and then deflates,
seemingly defeated.

     APRIL. I’m sorry, I—I was going to tell you tonight. I don’t know how you do it. They
died in the rain. How can you just move on? How can you smile?
     CHET. (confusedly) The killer? April, that was just a story. (APRIL takes in that CHET
does not know her background.) It was years ago.
     APRIL. A… a story.
     CHET. Just a story.

      CHET slumps back onto the couch, sighing.

     CHET. This is not how I pictured tonight was going to happen.
     APRIL. I’m sorry. (She joins CHET sitting.) I’m not good with the rain, you know,
because…
     CHET. It’s okay, we all have our own nonsense to deal with. You probably have a better
reason than a prank, honestly.
     APRIL. Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.
     CHET. (admiringly) You’re one of the strongest people I know—I’ve never seen you bow
down to fear. You own it.
     APRIL. (astonishedly) Me? That is a bold claim.
     CHET. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone as capable as you.
     APRIL. Wow, where is this coming from? Even if that were true, I—
     CHET. What I’m trying to say is that I love you, April.
     APRIL. Can you say that and really mean it? With no doubt? (APRIL takes a breath.)
What if you don’t fully know me? What if I did something terrible, something—
     CHET. April, I can’t think of a thing you could do that would make me stop liking you.
     APRIL. I… thank you, Chet. Just… thank you for saying that.

     CHET. I’ve never felt this strongly or certain about anyone before.
     APRIL. What do you mean?
     CHET. I know we’re still figuring some stuff out, and I haven’t even met your parents
yet, and this seems sudden but… (CHET gets down on one knee again and opens a ring box.)
     April, will you marry me?
     APRIL. I—Chet, are you sure?
     CHET. (eagerly) As sure as I’ll ever be, April.
     APRIL. Why now? Why not… I don’t know, any other time when we aren’t both scared?
When it isn’t raining?
     CHET. Well, I—I’ve wanted to ask for a while, and I figured… (CHET’s earnestness is
replaced with worry.) I thought this was what we were building towards. Was I wrong?
     APRIL. Maybe, I just can’t believe you thought now was the time to propose.
     CHET. Is that… a no? I mean, the decision is fully—
     APRIL. I’ll marry you, Chet. I’m just giving you a hard time, the rain just… gets on my
nerves. (She takes a beat to plaster on a face of excitement.) Yes, I would love to.

A grin of relief spreads across CHET’s face. He puts the ring on APRIL’s finger, happy. APRIL
has something to say, but holds it in for a moment to allow CHET his contentment.

     APRIL. Chet. You told me I can be honest, right?
     CHET. As I said, always.

APRIL hesitates for a moment, then turns on the radio. BAILEY picks up his journal and starts to
read from it, though he has much memorized after so long working on it.

     APRIL. If we’re going to swear oaths to each other for the rest of our lives, you should
know this about me. My brother planned on talking about it tonight.
    BAILEY. I’ve wanted to share this story with you all for a long time. Get it off my chest.
I warn you, listeners—it isn’t the most upbeat.
     CHET. I should know… wait, you have a brother?
     BAILEY. It involves rain. And, yes, murder.

There is a pause as CHET stares at APRIL.

     CHET. This part doesn’t have to do with you, does it?
     BAILEY. Four years ago on this very day, my sister, my parents, and I were on the car
ride home after our moderately peaceful winter vacation.
     APRIL. (sadly) It does.
     BAILEY. My sister and I loved the rain. When we were younger, we’d run out into
storms just to dance. Just April and I.
     CHET. Oh my god. You’re Bailey’s sister. The Bailey whose parents were murdered.
     APRIL. (tearfully) Yes.
     BAILEY. Our father, on the other hand, despised everything to do with the rain. To be
honest, he got angry at us every time we so much as looked outside at the droplets falling down.
Never told us why. He’d hit us on the bad days, shout on the good ones—but April stood up for
us every time.

APRIL pulls out a pocket knife and holds it innocuously, looking at it. CHET backs away as if it
was held towards him.

     CHET. Why’d you do it? Why?
     APRIL. What?
     BAILEY. (emotionally) They got into a fight on the way home. A bad one. I had rolled
down the car window to let the rain in, and my dad started yelling, and reached back to grab me,
and April—
     CHET. I can’t believe I’ve been dating a murderer. The literal murderer of my
nightmares for almost a year. I just proposed to you! This is why I haven’t met your
parents—you killed them.

The shutters slam open with another gust of wind. The rain grows louder.

     APRIL. No, no, it wasn’t my fault! My dad—
     BAILEY. —April fought back. She had her pocket knife, which she pulled out to stop my
dad.

CHET, now terrified, flees, but pauses at the doorway to glance back once more at APRIL
holding her knife.

     CHET. I thought I knew you.

CHET exits. There is a pause as APRIL collapses to the floor, alone, clutching her knife.

       BAILEY. April wouldn’t hurt a fly—but for me, she would take on the world. She just
wanted to get him to stop. But my dad, in his rage, swerved into the river. Only my sister and I
survived.
     APRIL. Please come back! Please… you promised…
     BAILEY. April has beared the brunt of it—she hates the rain now, and I don’t blame her.
I still remember the desperation, the utter fear as water started to fill the car, trying to get into our
lungs.
     APRIL. (desperately) It wasn’t my fault!
     BAILEY. So thank you, April, for always being there for me. And thank you to my dear
listeners for being with me for this journey. Here, I have found a refuge like no other place. That
will be all for tonight, as I should be heading home. We’re moving out tomorrow for a new start,
and I need to pack—

APRIL rushes out of the door into the rain, her knife still in her hands. She is manic.

BAILEY. —and, well, my sister can’t stand being alone in the rain for too long.

Loud thunderclap and a flash of lightning. BAILEY collects his jacket and leaves. All is quiet,
save for the now-heavy pounding of rain and the shutters slamming over and over from the wind.
The lights go out