The Rape. Aftermath

Later, HOLLY sits up on the bed, shocked, numb. She crosses her arms at her chest, feeling her upper arms, where the sleeves have been ripped. She looks at ROGER, now in the foreground. ROGER'S tie is loose, and he is drinking, and staring at nothing. He looks nauseated. As HOLLY walks around him, still clutching her arms to her breasts in a futilely protective gesture, ROGER finally looks at her. Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he says quietly . . . ).

ROGER: It didn't have to be this way, Holly.

The tone has surprisingly little self-justification in it, much shame, but not enough knowledge . It sounds more like Roger has just recognized that something has gone horribly wrong, and he's not quite sure how or what, but knows that whatever it was, it shouldn't have happened. Still, he is in denial about what he really did, and as Holly goes slowly towards the door, he asks, in a strangely solicitous tone . . .

ROGER: Where do you think you're going?

HOLLY: (murmurs) I have to get Chris . . .

ROGER: You're not going anywhere looking like that. I'll pick Chris up.

HOLLY: I'll go now.

ROGER: Look, Holly, I know that things got out of hand here, but, I mean, let's not make it . . .

HOLLY: You forced me. You had no right to do that.

ROGER: All right. Look, uh. . . . C'mon. Why don't you sit down and have a drink . . . huh?

ROGER touches her arm, but she jerks away, fleeing out the door .

HOLLY: You'll have to hit me before you'll stop me!!

Scene: Cedars Hospital. As HOLLY, her coat pulled close to her, walks in a daze along the hall, the hospital seems cold and ugly, with particularly unpleasant gray cinder-block walls. Cut to an examining room. HOLLY sits on the table, leaning close to ED.

HOLLY: Ed, he . . he raped me!

ED: (shocked) He raped you?

HOLLY: He was crazy! Oh, God! Why did I ever marry that guy?! (She bends down on her knees, crying. ED, taking it in, looks horrified.)

ED: Roger, that . . . ! (ED pulls HOLLY to him, and cradles her.) Honey, sssh! It's all right. It's all right! We'll take care of you.

As HOLLY clutches his lapel, her wedding ring shows vividly.

HOLLY: (crying) What am I gonna do?

ED: I'm here, Holly. I'm gonna help you, okay?

HOLLY: Roger! . . .

ED: You're safe from him. Don't worry about it. You're safe from him from now on. We're not gonna let him hurt you ever again.

HOLLY: Christina . . . He kept saying how he cares about Christina . . . You know, cares!? As if, as if he could CARE about anybody!!

ED: (turning HOLLY to look at him) You're gonna need protection, and help. There may be some legal ways. Will you let me call Mike?

HOLLY: Yeah.

Scene: Some days later, at the Bauer House, where Holly is staying. As HOLLY is pulling on a sweater in an upper room, ROGER runs up the stairs into her room. HOLLY'S right eye, and, indeed, much of the right side of her face, is bruised.

HOLLY: (pleading) Roger, get out of here!

ROGER: (closing the door, holding up one hand) Holly, I just want to talk to you.

HOLLY: Well I don't wanna talk to you. Now get out of here! Please stay away from me!

ROGER: Look!! Sssh Sssh Sssh . . . (holding up both hands in what is meant to be an appeasing gesture)

Cut to downstairs:

BERT: (whispering in her own house) Roger's here.

MIKE: Roger??!! Where?

BERT: He's upstairs with Holly.

MIKE: Is she all right?

BERT: Well, he's been here only a minute, but I don't think he'd dare to . . .

Cut back to upstairs:

ROGER: Whatever you may think I care very much for you and Chrissy. You are my family. Please come home with me!

HOLLY: Roger, I said no!!

ROGER: We can work it out, dammit!! Why won't you listen to me?!

MIKE joins them upstairs.

MIKE: Roger, what are you, what are you doing here?

ROGER: I'm talking to my wife!

MIKE: (to HOLLY) Are you okay?

HOLLY: (nods) Yeah.

MIKE: What is this?

ROGER: I, I said I'm talking to my wife. I wanna take her home with me!

MIKE: (to HOLLY) Do you wanna go home with him?

HOLLY: NO!!

ROGER: (to MIKE) Will you stay out of this?! Look, I've never seen so many people in my life make so much out of so little!

MIKE: She's not going any place with you, Roger!

ROGER: Look, I'm not harassing my wife, I'm just trying to talk to her. That's all.

HOLLY: Look, will you please just go downstairs?! I'll finish getting dressed.

MIKE: Okay. (to ROGER) C'mon . . .

ROGER: THE HELL I WILL!!

Cut to downstairs:

BERT: (opening the door) Roger, aren't you going to leave?

ROGER: I'm waiting for my wife.

BERT: She doesn't want to talk to you anymore.

ROGER: You know . . . it's your son, Ed, who's behind all this, don't you?

BERT: What do you mean!?

ROGER: He's still in love with my wife.

BERT: Well, I don't believe that for one minute!

ROGER: Well, it doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. It happens to be true. He's the cause of the trouble. I'm not gonna forget that .

BERT: Roger, I've told you before -- this is my house; you're not welcome in it! Please go!

ROGER: (yelling) When I'm ready! When I'm ready!

HOLLY races past the two of them out the door. BERT tries to stop ROGER from following, but without any luck.

HOLLY: (to BERT) …Thanks . . . I'll call you.

BERT: (to ROGER) You're not following her!!

ROGER: (sarcastically, to BERT, as he hurries away) Thanks a lot!!

Scene: Roger and Holly's house. HOLLY bursts in as ROGER opens the door from the inside. ROGER has lured her back to the house, intending to find out what she has been doing with the police. But HOLLY has a surprise for him.

(HOLLY strides across the room, looking frantically for . . .)

HOLLY: Where, where is she?

ROGER: Holly, Holly, what is going on?

HOLLY: Christina!? Christina?!

ROGER: She's not here.

HOLLY: Where is she?

ROGER: Oh, oh, and look. I want to know what you were doing over at the police station.

HOLLY: Tell me where she is.

ROGER: Please, listen to me . . .

HOLLY: You told me if I came here you'd tell me where she is.

ROGER: (yelling) I told you I would after you answered my questions!!! (Then, more quietly . . .) Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to yell at you. Please, I just want to know what you were doing at the police station and what Mike Bauer's trying to put you through.

HOLLY: (yelling) Roger, if you don't tell me where she is I'm gonna go crazy!!!!

ROGER: All right! All right! (Trying to appease her, so that he can get the conversation back "on track.")

HOLLY: Just tell me nothing has happened to her!!

A split-second pause, during which ROGER comprehends HOLLY'S thought, and is shocked.

ROGER: Of course nothing's happened to her! What's gonna happen to her?! She's at nursery school, okay?

HOLLY: (relieved beyond description) Nursery school!!

ROGER: Where did you think she was?!

HOLLY: Oh, God, I thought . . . I don't know what I thought.

ROGER: You thought what? What kinda monster do you think I am? You think I'm going to hurt Chrissy, our own child? What is the matter with you?

ROGER comes toward HOLLY, but she pulls away sharply and warily.

ROGER: What are you . . . afraid of me?

HOLLY: (A fierce whisper, looking ROGER straight in the eyes) Yes!

ROGER: Oh, Holly . . . Holly . . . (ROGER shakes his head.)

HOLLY: You raped me!

(HOLLY walks past ROGER, towards the door, but ROGER grabs her arm and tries to pull her back.)

ROGER: (through clenched teeth) WAIT A MINUTE!! (Then, more quietly) Did you tell the police that? Did you sign some sort of complaint against me?

HOLLY: Yes!

ROGER: My God!! You did that!!

HOLLY: After what you did to me!

ROGER: Holly, what does this mean now to me? What are they gonna . . . What is this gonna do to me?

HOLLY: They are going to arrest you!

ROGER: They are gonna arrest me!!?? Where, when, where?!!

HOLLY: They're outside.

(ROGER runs to the window and looks out through the blinds.)

ROGER: My God! They're outside! The cops are out there!! They're gonna arrest me now?!

HOLLY: Yes, they're waiting for me. Mike and the police. Now I'm gettin' oughta here.

ROGER: WAIT A MINUTE!!

ROGER puts his arms around HOLLY from behind and clutches her to him. At any other moment, it would be an embrace, but he's holding her against him by obvious force.

ROGER: Okay, wait. Look, honey. Listen to me. Please, you have got to go out there and you've gotta tell them this is just . . . we're husband and wife, we're havin' a terrible fight. Tell them you made a mistake. Please, you can do that. Please . . .

HOLLY: (she rolls her eyes) NO, I CAN'T!

ROGER: Yes, you can. Now look, you don't realize what this is gonna mean to me if you go through with this. Please . . .

HOLLY: Roger, let me leave!

ROGER: WILL YOU WAIT!! WAIT A MINUTE!! (He turns he to him.) Listen to me!! This is gonna ruin me over at Spaulding! This is going to ruin my. . .

(In a split-second, HOLLY looks disgusted at ROGER'S complete self-absorption.)

ROGER: Okay, skip Spaulding!! How about Chrissy?! What's it gonna do to her?!

HOLLY: (yelling) It's Chrissy I'm thinking about!

ROGER: (yelling) HOLLY, PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU!

HOLLY: Roger, I'm not goin' on like this, not after what you've done to me . . . after what you did to me. Nobody can do that to somebody else and get away with it. Don't you see?

ROGER: Okay, I do. I do. I understand that . . . and I think that . . . that you're right, and . . . we can just get a divorce, then.

HOLLY: (controlled) Yeah, that too.

ROGER: Now, wait a minute! You are making me out to be a criminal. I AM NO CRIMINAL!

HOLLY: Roger, I've got nothing more to say to you.

ROGER: WAIT A MINUTE!!

HOLLY: (her voice low and fierce) Let go of me!

ROGER looks at HOLLY for a moment, still clasping her arm. It's as though, in that moment, the power dynamic between them shifts, perhaps forever . . . He lets go of her, and she walks out the door.

ROGER: (desperately) Holly . . . HOLLY!!

ROGER is stopped by a very weary-looking man flashing a badge, who seems to dread his task.

LT. RUID: Mr. Thorpe?

ROGER: Yeah?

LT. RUID: Lieutenant Ruid, Springfield Police. You're under arrest.

ROGER steps forward, where he can see HOLLY, bracing herself, her back turned to him. He briefly touches her arm.

ROGER: Tell them you're dropping the charges.

HOLLY: (not looking at him, softly but firmly ) No, I won't!

LT. RUID: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to an attorney. . .

LT. RUID puts the handcuffs on ROGER. ROGER, shocked, looks at HOLLY, who doesn't look at him.