"COME BACK"

(Nighttime on a hillside. SHAY is sitting down, deep in thought. AMANDA enters. SHE looks around and spots HIM then approaches.)

AMANDA

I knew I'd find you up here. Come on, your grandma has been worried sick.

SHAY

I'm not going back there.

AMANDA

Shay…

SHAY

No.

AMANDA

Shay, you need to go back. Everyone's been looking for you.

SHAY

No Amanda, I can't go back. Not after what I did. Not after what happened.

AMANDA

You can't just stay up here forever. It's time you faced it.

SHAY

And what do I tell people, huh Amanda? What do I say to everyone when they look me in the eyes and all I see is pity? Fuck pity. I don't need it. Guilty people don't need pity; they need a bullet to the head.

AMANDA

Don't even say that. You didn't do anything wrong.

SHAY

(Laughs)

You wouldn't even know the half of it. I didn't deserve to even know them. They were good people with good lives. A future. I took that away from them, from the moment they looked at me. I should have had a stamp on my forehead that said, "Defective."

AMANDA

So is that why you're up here moping? Because you think it's your fault?

SHAY

Nothing can touch us up here, remember, Amanda? There's no sense of time, no repercussions. If only we had wings, we could just fly away; we're so close to the sky.

AMANDA

(AMANDA sits down carefully beside him.)

And what of the people we leave behind?

SHAY

Maybe they're better off without us.

AMANDA

Shay, I know you're upset…

SHAY

(Gets up)

I killed them, Amanda. Who are you to say they're happy now?

AMANDA

What do you mean killed? You didn't even do anything.

SHAY

It was my fault they rushed to my place in the rain. It was my fault they were on that bridge.

AMANDA

So now it's your fault that people decide to drive drunk? Were you the one who handed that guy the keys to his car and pointed him in the right direction?

SHAY

I as good as did. I told them to leave me alone, that they'd never see me again.

(Pause)

I wished to never see them again.

AMANDA

And you think that it's because you wished for it, it came true?

SHAY

I meant for me to die. I didn't want them to. They tried to save my worthless life and ended up losing theirs. God, I always fuck things up.

AMANDA

Thousands of people wish for things and you don't see them getting anywhere close to their dreams.

SHAY

Well maybe that's it, Amanda. Maybe it's because their wishes are so direct, so precise. They don't get what they want because wishing is only granted to those who are stupid and careless. That way, instead of affecting only one person, a wish can impact the whole fucking world.

AMANDA

(Stands)

You're scaring me, talking this way. Come with me, it's cold out here. You'll catch a cold.

SHAY

Yeah, and maybe that will turn into pneumonia and kill me.

AMANDA

I know you're upset…

SHAY

I killed my parents Amanda! What part of that don't you understand? I can't believe you're…

AMANDA

No, I can't believe you're being such a damn coward. People die, Shay. It wasn't your fault. You were in your fucking room too busy tying a noose around your neck. And thank God your roommate found you in time, or else your parents really would have died for no reason. You don't understand how that would have killed them. How that would have killed everyone you knew.

SHAY

It should have been my funeral today, not theirs.

AMANDA

Death is not a path you choose! It's not just another part to life that you can decide upon. Your choices to life, those are what you can decide upon. Those are within your control. Your parents chose to go to you in your time of need because they love you.

SHAY

I don't deserve love.

AMANDA

Stop thinking about yourself. Think about what you've gained. This is life Shay. Any parent would want their child to live it.

SHAY

No one ever gets what they want! Not without a price.

AMANDA

It doesn't cost anything to go home! Just go back Shay.

SHAY

I can't Amanda. Just being there, where they ate, where they slept. It's where they laughed and loved. It's not a place for misery, but I brought it there. You saw my grandma. She was a wreck. My grandpa wouldn't even look at me.

AMANDA

And what do you think would happen to them if they lost another son tonight? Tomorrow? In their lifetime? Parents should not outlive their children.

SHAY

And I just took away theirs!

AMANDA

But you're still here. No matter what, you'll still be here for them. Please Shay, please think about what they're going through right now. Two children dead, one missing. What do you think is hurting them more?

SHAY

I can't go back.

(Turns to walk away. AMANDA rushes over to HIM, turns HIM around and slaps HIM.)

AMANDA

Don't you dare walk away from me. I promised them Shay. That you were all right. That you weren't hurt. That you were coming home. I promised. So don't you dare think about leaving without telling them why.

SHAY

How do I face them? How do I tell them - - because of me - - I can't do it.

AMANDA

Look at you trying to escape again. Where are you running to Shay? What are you running from?

SHAY

I just don't know how to deal with this right now, okay?

AMANDA

You can't just run away from life.

(Softer)

One more day. Just give them one more day with you. Then you can go if you want. I won't try to stop you. I won't even tell them that you're leaving if you don't want me to.

(Grabs HIS hand.)

Please do this for me.

SHAY

I'm pathetic.

AMANDA

You're still a kid. You've got a lot to learn.

SHAY

I'm older than you.

AMANDA

(Smiles)

So we have a deal?

SHAY

I guess one more day - - just to make sure they're all right.

AMANDA

It is going to be all right. I promise.

SHAY

You know, you have a bad habit of making promises you might not be able to keep.

AMANDA

It's not a crime to wish.

END OF "COME BACK"