SINS OF OUR FATHER

Written by Adrienne Goudy

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INT. CAR - DAY The Carson family drives down the road. GREG, 38, is at the wheel and looks in the rearview mirror at his twin girls. GREG So girls, are you excited to see the new house? CAM, 15 rolls her eyes at her father. CAM (sarcastically) Yeah dad, cant wait. GREG Oh come on, honey. Dont be like that. This is a chance for us all to get a fresh start. Summerville was a great place to grow up when I was a kid. CAM Yeah, well we wouldnt need a new start if you hadnt thrown your career down the toilet. SANDY, 36 moves uncomfortably in the front passenger seat and shoots Greg an angry look. SANDY (out of earshot of the girls but loud enough for Greg to hear) Not to mention trying to tear your family apart with your selfishness. Greg stares straight ahead but looks remorseful. Cams twin sister TASHA, 15 looks up from her book and smiles. TASHA Well I think its great, Dad. I cant wait. I never liked living in the city. CAM (to Tasha) Of course you didnt, bookworm. All you did was sit in the house and read. Tasha playfully slaps Cam on the shoulder.

2. TASHA Shut up. It wouldnt hurt you to pick up a book once in a while. Cam hits her back on the shoulder. The girls start belting each other back and forth. Sandy turns in the passenger seat to face the girls. SANDY Okay girls, thats enough. Cam crosses her arms and Tasha picks up her book. EXT. HOUSE - LATER The car pulls up to the house and they pile out. GREG So what do you guys think? SANDY Well, I think it looks cozy. A perfect place to get a new start. But only time will tell. A brief guilty look crosses Gregs face. The girls seem oblivious to Sandys jabs toward Greg. INT. HOUSE - CONTINUOUS The family enters and looks around. Greg and Sandy stand in the living room looking out the picture window. GREG I really think this is going to be a great new start for the family, dont you? Suddenly the front door slams shut. Greg and Sandy jump. They look at each other after a moment and laugh. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT The family sits at the table surrounded by boxes eating Chinese takeout.

3. TASHA So Dad, what did you do for fun around here in the summer? CUT TO: FLASHBACK - NIGHT We see a creepy looking lake. A fog hovers on the surface. BACK TO: INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT GREG Well, theres a lake. TASHA Is there a library? I want to catch up on some of my reading over the summer. You would. CAM

GREG Okay Cam. (to Tasha) Yeah, theres a library. But you should really try to make it out to the lake and get some sun this summer. Be a kid. TASHA Im just not an outdoors kind of person. GREG Oh come on. I had some great times at that lake when I was a kid. Suddenly we hear a loud THUD on the ceiling above. They get quiet and look up. SANDY Maybe a box fell or something. GREG Probably. Anyway... We hear another loud THUD.

4. CAM Do you think theres something in the house? GREG No. Im sure its nothing. But Ill go up and check just in case. Greg gets up from the table. INT. HOUSE ENTRYWAY - CONTINUOUS He makes his way up the stairs. INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS Greg looks around the bedroom. He checks the closet and finds nothing. The bedroom door SLAMS behind him. He swings around to see it. He walks to the door and opens it quickly. GREG (yelling downstairs) Okay guys, very funny. SANDY (O.S.) Whats so funny? Did you find anything? The door SLAMS in Gregs face again. He feels a chill on his neck. He spins around and comes face to face with a young girl with long brown hair. A ghost. Tell them. GHOST

Greg freezes, terrified. He rubs his eyes in disbelief. When he opens his eyes again, she is gone. Greg takes a deep breath and opens the door again to find Sandy and the girls standing on the other side. SANDY So? Did you find anything? GREG No... you were right. It was just a couple boxes that fell.

5. The girls shrug and head back downstairs. Sandy turns to leave but Greg grabs her arm gently. Sandy pulls her arm away. What? SANDY

GREG Please dont be like this. SANDY Be like what, Greg? Be angry and disgusted with you because you decided I wasnt enough? GREG Im sorry. I messed up. I cant apologize enough. But Im trying to make it up to you. SANDY Oh so thats supposed to just fix everything, right? Im just supposed to act like you didnt sleep with your secretary and that were one big happy family, is that it? GREG No I didnt say that but at least recognize that Im trying. You said you wanted me to prove it that I was going to change. We moved out of the city and out here didnt we? SANDY Yeah well its going to take a lot more than a new house to fix what youve destroyed. I cant trust you. I cant even look at you and I still have to walk around acting like everythings fine for the girls sake because I dont want them knowing how much of a selfish prick their dad is. TASHA (O.S.) Hey guys the foods getting cold. You coming down? SANDY (yelling down to Tasha) Yeah well be right there.

6. CAM (O.S.) You guys better not be making out up there cuz that would be really gross while were trying to eat. SANDY (almost a whisper) Yeah, like theres any chance of that happening. GREG Look, I know I have a lot of ground to cover in earning your trust back, but at least let me try. Giving me shit every second of every day isnt going to make things any easier. SANDY Yeah, whatever. Well see I guess. Sandy turns and walks down the stairs, leaving Greg standing alone. INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Greg sits on the couch reading the newspaper. Sandy and the girls enter. SANDY Hey. The girls and I are gonna go check out that lake. Wanna come? GREG Thats great. But I think Ill just stay and relax a little; Unwind. SANDY Okay, your loss. TASHA Do I really have to do this, Mom? Cant I stay here with Dad? SANDY Your dad is going to have some time to himself; And were going to have fun. TASHA I beg to differ.

7. GREG Oh come on, Tash. Itll do you some good to get out. Maybe youll make some new friends while your at it. SANDY (to Greg) Bye. Enjoy your time alone. TASHA (to Sandy) What? No kiss for dad? Are you guys fighting or something? SANDY No, no. I just forgot. Im excited to get out to that lake. Sandy walks to Greg and gives him an uncomfortable kiss on the cheek and then turns and rushes back to the girls. Sandy and the girls exit. INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER Greg starts to doze off on the couch and finally falls asleep. He begins dreaming. DREAM SEQUENCE - SERIES OF SHOTS - NIGHT A girl with long, dark hair walks down a road. A car slows down beside her. A flash of the lake. The girls face, terrified and crying on the ground. A boys face above her, smiling. The boy rips at her clothes. She resists. Her lifeless body is being dragged into the lake. The boy turns his head toward us but its fuzzy and we cant make out his features. We see a flash of the house. INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS Greg wakes in a sweat as Sandy and the girls enter.

8. SANDY Are you okay? You look like youve just seen a ghost. GREG Yeah... yeah Im fine. Just had a bad dream is all. Greg shivers and rubs his face. GREG (CONTD) So, did you girls have fun? SANDY Yeah. I think we had a great time. CAM Oh my God, Dad. Did you know you bought a dead girls house? GREG What are you talking about? SANDY Some boy told her that a girl that died years ago used to live here. CAM She didnt just die. She was murdered. She disappeared but they never found her body. Legend has it shes in the lake. Hey, you used to live here , Dad. Did you ever hear about that? Did you know her? A look of realization crosses Gregs face. GREG No... no I dont know anything about that. Weird. CAM

TASHA Im never going to sleep tonight. INT. HOUSE - NIGHT Everyones asleep. Suddenly all the doors in the house begin to swing open and slam shut repetitively. The lights flicker on and off.

9. Everyone wakes up. The girls scream. Everything goes quiet. Cam and Tasha run into their parents room. INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS They all huddle up together on the bed. CAM Whats going on? SANDY I dont know, honey. TASHA Its the ghost of the dead girl! GREG Dont be ridiculous. A look of terror and knowing crosses Gregs face. The house goes silent. SANDY (to Greg) You got any other explanation? Because I cant explain what just happened. Greg says nothing. They all sit there huddled for a while until they decide to lay down together. Some time later they finally fall asleep. INT. KITCHEN - MORNING Greg, Tasha, and Cam sit around the table eating cereal while Sandy stands at the sink unpacking a box of dishes. CAM So are we even going to talk about what happened last night? TASHA Id rather not if its all the same to everyone. CAM Well Im not living in a haunted house. Ill pitch a tent outside before I go through that again.

10. GREG Dont be ridiculous, Cam. Theres probably a good explanation for what happened. CAM Yeah, the house is haunted by the girl that lived here. SANDY Okay, all this ghost talk is getting out of hand. Lets just try to forget it ever happened, okay? So what are you girls planning on doing today? TASHA Good idea, Mom. I was thinking about heading down to the library and -GREG Tasha what did I -TASHA And then reading something down at the lake. See, Dad? Everyones happy. I get some sun and get to read at the same time. SANDY (shrugging to Greg) Cant argue with that logic. Greg exhales loudly in surrender. CAM Well I thought Id go find somewhere to hang out that isnt full of nerdy bookworms. Tasha shoots Cam a glare. SANDY (to Cam) I was going to go in town and see what kind of shopping theyve got around here. Wanna come? CAM Not sure that were gonna find anything worth buying around here, but maybe I can pick up a few numbers.

11. SANDY (scoffing with a smile) Cameron Marie! CAM What? If Im going to be stuck here at least I can find a boyfriend right? Tasha rolls her eyes. TASHA What about you, Dad? What are you going to do today? SANDY Yeah Greg, what are you going to do? GREG Well I get to go out and look for a job before our savings runs out so were not all out on the street. SANDY (sarcastically) Oh my hero. TASHA And on that note, Im leaving. Tasha gets up from the table and takes her bowl to the sink. TASHA (CONTD) Ill see you guys later. Tasha exits. SANDY Yeah we should get going too, Cam. CAM Ready when you are. Cam and Sandy exit. Greg snaps the paper in front of him running his finger down the help wanted ads. INT. HOUSE - LATER Tasha walks in the front door. TASHA Hey guys Im home.

12. The house is silent. TASHA (CONTD) Anybody home? Nothing. TASHA (CONTD) Must not be home yet. Good. Maybe I can get some peace and quiet around here for a while. She walks upstairs. INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS Tasha flops on her bed with a book. She opens it and starts to read. A few minutes go by and she hears a THUD. She looks up for a moment then looks back to her book. Another THUD. She looks up again and another THUD follows. Its coming from the closet. Tasha puts the book down and slowly gets off the bed. Another THUD. She walks slowly toward the closet as we hear another THUD. She jumps and stops only for a moment. She continues walking followed by another THUD. She reaches the closet door and pulls it open quickly. There she sees a mirror on the wall of the closet. In the mirror appears scenes like a movie. SERIES OF SHOTS - NIGHT A girl with long, dark hair walks down a road. A car slows down beside her. A flash of the lake. The girls face, terrified and crying on the ground. A boys face above her, smiling. The boy rips at her clothes. She resists.

13. From the girls point of view we see the boy on top of her with his hands around her throat. Her lifeless body is being dragged into the lake. A flash of the boys face is clearly shown. END SERIES OF SHOTS Tasha stands staring at the mirror in disbelief. INT. KITCHEN - LATER Sandy stands in front of the kitchen table unpacking a box of kitchen stuff. Tasha enters. SANDY Hey, honey. How was your day? TASHA Um... okay. You? SANDY Well besides having to control your sisters hormones, we had fun. Tasha laughs. SANDY (CONTD) Hey, listen. Im going to need you and your sisters help unpacking some stuff before dinner. We really need to get a move on getting this house together or were going to be living out of boxes forever. Cam enters. CAM What am I helping with? TASHA Mom needs help unpacking. Yay. CAM

TASHA (to Sandy) Well start out in the living room. Come on, Cam.

14. INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS The girls enter and each grab a box and open it. As they unpack the boxes Tasha looks at Cam. TASHA Hey, Cam. Can I tell you something? CAM That depends. Am I going to care? TASHA Im serious. So am I. Forget it. CAM TASHA

CAM Oh dont be so touchy. What is it? TASHA Well I was reading in my room earlier before everyone was home... Figures. CAM

Tasha shoots her a look. TASHA Anyway, I heard a thud coming from the closet. When I opened it, the mirror was like... I dont know, like showing me something. CAM What on earth are you talking about? TASHA The mirror turned into this creepy like movie screen and I think... I think it was showing me how the girl who lived here died. CAM Come on. You really expect me to believe that?

15. TASHA Im serious! I knew you wouldnt believe me. I dont even know if I believe me. CAM Youre really serious. Yes. TASHA

CAM Okay so what did you see? TASHA I saw this girl and she was walking down a road at night and a car pulled up next to her. Then all of a sudden I was seeing her at the lake and I think... I think she was being raped. He had his hands around her throat-Who? CAM

TASHA I dont know. I saw his face but I dont know who he is. CAM And youre sure you didnt fall asleep reading and dream all this? Tasha gives Cam a look. CAM (CONTD) Its a valid question. So what makes you think it was the girl that lived here? TASHA Who else would a freaky haunted mirror in this house be showing me? CAM Yeah, I guess. Cam and Tasha continue unpacking boxes in silence. Tasha picks up a box and opens it. She pulls out a stack of old papers and books. In the pile is an old yearbook that reads Summerville High.

16. TASHA Hey, Cam. Look what I found. Its one of dads old yearbooks. Cam stops what shes doing and walks over to Tasha who is opening the book. CAM Oh we have got to see how nerdy dad looked in high school. The girls flip through the yearbook and scan through the senior class pictures until they find their dads name and the picture above it. Suddenly Tasha drops the book and takes a step back. Cam looks confused. CAM (CONTD) Whats wrong with you? Tasha looks stunned. CAM (CONTD) Tasha what is wrong? Its Dad. TASHA

CAM Yeah, weve established that. He looks bad, but geez. TASHA No, its Dad. The boy I saw in the vision in the mirror... Its Dad. CAM What? No way. TASHA I couldnt forget that face, Cam. Its burned into my memory and its Dad! Dad killed that girl! CAM Okay, shh. Keep it down. Are you sure? TASHA Ive never been more sure of anything in my life. Sandy enters.

17. SANDY Whats all the commotion about? TASHA Mom, Dad isnt who we think he is... Sandy has a look of knowing. SANDY Look girls-TASHA No, Mom. I saw it. Dad killed her. SANDY Wait, what? What are you talking about? TASHA In the mirror. I saw it in the mirror. The girl who lived in this house was raped and murdered and this is the boy who did it. Tasha picks up the book and points out Gregs senior picture. Its Dad. TASHA (CONTD)

SANDY I dont understand. Greg enters. CAM (to Greg) Youre a monster! GREG Whats going on? What are you talking about, Cam? SANDY Is this true? Did you kill that girl all those years ago. Gregs face goes pale. Suddenly all the doors in the house begin swinging open and slamming shut over and over. The lights begin to flicker. The CLICK of all the doors and windows locking echoes through the house.

18. The girls and Sandy huddle together. The ghost of the girl appears in front of the family. The girls and Sandy scream and back away. Greg cowers in fear. CAM (whispers) Its the dead girl. GHOST Its time to tell your family what kind of man you really are, Greg. GREG That was a long time ago. The floor splits apart to reveal a fiery hell. The twins and Sandy scream again. GREG (CONTD) No! Im sorry! I was only 18. I was stupid. I made a mistake. GHOST A mistake? Is that what you call raping and killing me for sport? Just a mistake? Tasha stands with a newfound but unsure bravery. TASHA So its true then. You killed her! GREG No... yes, but it was a mistake. Sandy stands with Tasha. SANDY No. The mistake was ever thinking you were something more than a monster. Youre disgusting. Cam stands and the three hold hands. CAM Who are you? GREG Im your dad. I love you guys.

19. CAM No. Our dad died the minute we found out who he really was. GREG It was terrible, and wrong, and Im sorry. I tried to put it behind me. But I guess your past comes back to haunt you. Sandy boils over with anger and launches forward, pushing Greg. Greg stumbles. He loses his balance. His arms flailing, he tries to catch the air. He falls right into the pit of hell. The floor closes up. The doors and windows all unlock with a CLICK. The ghost, looking less ominous now, vanishes with a smile. EXT. LAKE - DAY Police lights flash. Divers surface from the lake. A black body bag is loaded into the back of a coroners van. Sandy and the girls stand close by, watching. FADE TO BLACK. THE END.