EPISODE #21

EPISODE 21

Created By: Casey Hutchison

Written By: Casey Hutchison

Executive Producer: Greg Ziobrowski

NEW DAY. MORNING.

PREVIOUSLY ON THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW

--Mimi and Amy were married in an elegant ceremony in the community park.

--Judith pleaded with Michael to stay away from her.

--Becky made Carter an offer to come back into her drug business.

--Cynthia and Lindsay fought over Lindsay still not trusting Cynthia.

--And, Michael reassured Cynthia that she was the only woman for him.

JACKSON FAMILY HOME - LIVING ROOM

Joshua is sitting on the couch. He is having a cup of coffee and reading the morning edition of the newspaper. Then, Jennifer enters the room.

JENNIFER: Good morning.

JOSHUA: Morning.

Jennifer sits next to Joshua on the couch. Joshua folds his paper and sits it on the table in front of them. He then sits his mug next to the paper.

JOSHUA: How are you doing this morning?

JENNIFER: Okay.

JOSHUA: How was Amy and Mimi’s wedding?

JENNIFER: It was fun. It was pretty cool to witness Amy finally getting married to the woman of her dreams. Also, I got to see them off as they left on their honeymoon.

JOSHUA: That’s nice. Where are they going on their honeymoon?

JENNIFER: Their first stop is Bora Bora. Then, they’re going to Paris.

JOSHUA: Nice. Well, I have some good news for you, by the way.

JENNIFER: Okay. What is this good news?

JOSHUA: Philip awoke from his coma last night.

JENNIFER: (stands up excitedly) Seriously?!

JOSHUA: (standing/laughing) Yes.

JENNIFER: Oh my god! That is amazing!

JOSHUA: He can be discharged soon as well.

JENNIFER: Perfect.

JOSHUA: In the meantime, I do have a question for ‘ya.

JENNIFER: Okay. What’s up?

JOSHUA: Do you think you two will ever get married?

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL - 5TH FLOOR

Judith comes out of Philip’s hospital room. She’s on her cellphone.

JUDITH: Yes, it is true, honey. Yes, it is true. Your brother is awake. He is doing so well. And, I know that you don’t really want to speak to me these days. But, I am glad that we can speak about this. I love you, honey. I really do. Okay. I’ll continue to update you. Oh, and congratulations. And, enjoy your honeymoon. Alright…, bye.

Judith hangs up her phone. She then looks off towards the front desk and spots Cynthia. She takes a deep breath and walks over to her.

JUDITH: Good morning, Cynthia.

CYNTHIA: Hello, Judith.

The two women stare one another down.

ANDERSON MANSION - LIVING ROOM

Lindsay enters the room. Michael is already in the room. He is staring out the window and drinking a cup of coffee. Lindsay goes over to the bar cart and pours herself a cup of coffee. Michael turns around.

LINDSAY: Good morning, dad.

MICHAEL: I’m glad you haven’t left the house yet.

LINDSAY: Yeah? What’s up?

MICHAEL: We need to talk.

LINDSAY: About what?

MICHAEL: I know that you and Cynthia had an ugly fight last night.

LINDSAY: (sighs) Look, dad, I know that fighting with her once again was wrong. But, I had to. She is trying to…

MICHAEL: Save it! This fight was the last straw, young lady!

THOMAS’ APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM

Becky and Thomas are sitting on the couch. Each of them are having a muffin for breakfast. They are both drinking orange juice as well.

BECKY: I had no idea you knew how to make the perfect muffin.

THOMAS: Well, I hate to tell you this, but muffins are about the only thing I can cook. My mom taught me ages ago and the recipe just stuck with me.

BECKY: Now, here I thought you would invite me over one night for an amazing home cooked meal. But, I guess takeout will suffice.

THOMAS: Glad to hear it.

BECKY: I’ll take any chance I can get to spend time with you anyway.

THOMAS: The feeling is one-hundred percent mutual.

Becky and Thomas smile at one another. The two kiss.

BECKY: (coming off the kiss) Well, I see that your glass is empty. Would you like me to get you some more orange juice?

THOMAS: I would love some more orange juice.

BECKY: (picking up the glass/standing) You got it.

As Becky leaves the room, her phone makes a dinging sound. Thomas looks down at the phone, which is on the table. Becky has a text from carter.

THE TEXT READS

Didn’t appreciate our convo last night. How dare u do what u did to me!

Becky reenters the room and hands Thomas his glass of orange juice.

BECKY: Here you are.

THOMAS: Thanks.

BECKY: (sitting down) You bet. So, where…

Then, Becky notices something off about Thomas.

BECKY: Hey, is everything okay?

THOMAS: Actually, I’m a little puzzled about something.

BECKY: Puzzled about what?

THOMAS: When you walked of the room, you got a text message. I looked down at your phone for just a second and saw that the message received was full of angry undertones. But, that’s not what really puzzled me. The person who sent the text was a guy by the name of Carter. So, let me ask you this. Who is this guy?

Back at the Jackson Family Home, in the Living Room, Jennifer takes a sip of her coffee. She then continues to hold the mug.

JENNIFER: (sighs) Here we go again.

JOSHUA: What do you mean by that?

JENNIFER: I thought we made a deal about you not sticking your nose in my relationship. Or, did you just happen to forget about that?

JOSHUA: No, I have not forgotten. Jenn, I just want you to be happy. And, I know that Philip makes you very happy. I just want to know if you want to make that happiness a bit more permanent. That is all I want to know.

JENNIFER: Look, when the time comes, I’m sure that I will be made Mrs. Jennifer Whitmore. However, that time is so not right now. And, frankly, I don’t see that time coming soon.

JOSHUA: Why do you say that?

JENNIFER: Because, I’m trying to navigate a lot in my life right now. My mind isn’t exactly in ‘marriage mode’ at the moment.

JOSHUA: Okay. Look, I know you want me to stay out of your relationship. But, I do want to know one more thing. Where do you see your relationship going with him since you two never got to discuss your future before he was ran over by a car?

Back at Memorial Hospital, on the 5th Floor, Cynthia puts a piece of paper in her purse. She puts her purse on her shoulder.

CYNTHIA: How are you doing these days?

JUDITH: I’m good. In fact, my son finally woke up from his coma.

CYNTHIA: Congratulations. That’s great news.

JUDITH: Thank you.

CYNTHIA: Um…, is there something you need from me? Something tells me that you just didn’t come over here to make small talk.

JUDITH: You’re right about that. I thought you should know that your husband came to visit me in my son’s hospital room last night.

CYNTHIA: I know. But, I don’t get why you’re telling me.

JUDITH: I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you knew.

CYNTHIA: Now, is that all? Because, to me, it seems like you are trying to stir up some trouble in my marriage. So, tell me, am I right? Are you trying to stir the pot, Judith?

Back at the Anderson Mansion, in the Living Room, Lindsay sets her glass on the bar cart. Michael gets closer to her.

LINDSAY: What do you mean this is the final straw?

MICHAEL: I mean that what you did was just too much for me to take. I thought you and Cynthia had finally reached a good place.

LINDSAY: Well, I guess we didn’t.

MICHAEL: Apparently. Because of what you did, I have finally decided that there needs to be some consequences.

LINDSAY: What do you mean?

MICHAEL: I’ve come to the conclusion that you living here is just too stressful for everyone. It pains me to tell you this. But, it’s time. I am kicking you out of this home.

Back at the Jackson Family Home, in the Living Room, Jennifer stands from the couch. She walks a few steps away from the couch. Joshua gets up and follows her.

JENNIFER: Honestly, I don’t know. But, I mean, I’m not mad at him. It isn’t like getting hit by a car was his fault. He kind of had a good reason to miss our get together.

JOSHUA: Are you sure it wasn’t somehow his fault? He is the son of a very powerful man. And, he is no stranger to the dark side of his family’s company. Maybe he pissed someone off just enough.

JENNIFER: I’m gonna stop you right there. You better watch what you say. What happened to him was awful. It was not his fault. I can assure you that. (sighs) Anyway, I really don’t know where we go from here. That night was supposed to be a monumental occasion for our relationship. And, due to someone evil, that night didn’t happen. Gosh, as if solving the murder of our parents wasn’t enough already.

JOSHUA: Oh my god.

JENNIFER: What?

JOSHUA: I just had quite the interesting thought pop into my mind.

JENNIFER: Really?

JOSHUA: Yeah. And, it has nothing to do with your relationship. It has to do with the murder of our parents.

JENNIFER: What’s going on in that head of your’s?

JOSHUA: Think about it, Jenn. Philip hired that state-of-the-art hacker to hack into the police department’s files. With his help, we were getting closer and closer to solving the mystery. But, what if someone didn’t want us to solve it? What if Philip’s hit and run is somehow connected to the investigation?

Back at Thomas’ Apartment, in the Living Room, Becky shuts off her cell phone and sets it on the coffee table.

THOMAS: Alright, you had the chance to read the text. Now, you can tell me who this mysterious Carter guy is.

BECKY: Gosh, I really never wanted you to find out about this. I really didn’t want you to ever know this part of my past.

THOMAS: What are you talking about?

BECKY: Carter is my ex-boyfriend.

THOMAS: Really?

BECKY: Yes. He came to town not too long ago. In fact, it seems like he has been in town about five minutes. Anyway, I am convinced that he followed me here. (sighs) The reason we broke up is because he became very abusive towards me.

THOMAS: I’m...I...I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Do you need me to do anything about this guy? You just say the word…, and I…

BECKY: Thomas, I’m okay. I can handle Carter. You know, he still blames me for everything bad that happened in our relationship. He blames me for his actions. He wants to act as though his abusive actions were my fault.

THOMAS: I’m gonna kick this guy’s ass!

BECKY: No, you aren’t. I don’t want you to make things worse.

THOMAS: I am your boyfriend. It is my job to protect you.

BECKY: Listen, I don’t wanna talk about him anymore. He is just going to ruin my whole day. Can we get back to our special breakfast please?

THOMAS: Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Of course.

BECKY: Thank you.

Thomas and Becky embrace.

Back at Memorial Hospital, on the 5th Floor, Cynthia sets her purse back down on top of the front desk. She then takes a deep breath.

JUDITH: You think I am trying to stir up trouble in your marriage?

CYNTHIA: Damn right I do. I know the type of person you are, Judith.

JUDITH: You barely know anything about me.

CYNTHIA: You don’t think that Michael and various other people have filled me in about you? And, news flash, there is this little thing called the internet. (sarcastically) I don’t know if you’ve heard about it or not. But, it turns out that you have quite the history. I learned all about how you like causing trouble once in awhile. Tell me, what makes this time any different?

JUDITH: Cynthia, I am not trying to cause problems for you and Michael. I can promise you that. In fact, when Michael came to visit me, I tried to kick him out of the room I was in.

CYNTHIA: Did you now? And, I’m supposed to take your word for that?

JUDITH: You know what? You can believe anything you want. I’m done here.

Judith walks off. Cynthia stares on at her.

CYNTHIA: We are so not done here.

Back at the Anderson Mansion, in the Living Room, Lindsay reenters the room. She is holding a luggage purse and rolling a suitcase.

LINDSAY: I’ve packed some of my things.

MICHAEL: Where will you be staying?

LINDSAY: I’m going to see if Thomas will let me stay with him. I guess I’ll stay with him till I get my own place. Once I do, I’ll send a crew of people over here for my things.

MICHAEL: Sounds good to me.

LINDSAY: Does it?

MICHAEL: What do you mean by that?

LINDSAY: It seems as though you aren’t worried about where I go. Do you even care about the impact this decision is going to cause?

MICHAEL: You’re my daughter. Of course I care. But, you know why you can’t stay here. I can’t tolerate you having these brawls with my wife every second of everyday. That is just not how things work around here.

LINDSAY: If you would just get rid of her, there would be no need for these fights. Dad, everything can go back to normal if you just get rid of her. Come on! Do it! Get rid of Cynthia for good.

MICHAEL: That is never going to happen.

LINDSAY: How is that fair to me? How is that fair to my brother? Most of all, how is that fair to mom’s memory? I think it is a very bad idea to keep her around. She isn’t right for you.

MICHAEL: You have no idea what is right for me.

LINDSAY: I’m your daughter. I know everything about you. I know your favorite color. I know your favorite juice. I know how you like your meals to be served. Dad, I know every little thing about you. I know you better than yourself. Hell, I know you better than anyone in this whole world. I know what is right for you. Now, I don’t mind that you want to move on and be happy. But, is Cynthia the right one to move on with? I sure as hell don’t think she is.

MICHAEL: You don’t get to decide who I want in my life.

LINDSAY: You’re right. You are so right. I don’t get to decide that for you. However, I can make you wake up. I can make you see things from another point of view. And, I will never stop trying to make you see things how I see them.

MICHAEL: You should stop trying. Lindsay, the more you try to supposedly open my eyes, the more you push me away. (getting choked up) You are my daughter. I love you more than life itself. However, your actions toward Cynthia will not be tolerated. I deserve to be happy. And, I deserve to try and make this family happy. It is a shame that you won’t try to help me make this family happy.

LINDSAY: I did try. I really did. (takes a deep breath) I love you, dad. I love you so much. And, I only want the best for you.

Lindsay walks back over to her bags and picks them up.

LINDSAY: I hope that one day, our father/daughter relationship can get back on track. I would love nothing more than for that to happen.

MICHAEL: I love you too. And, I wish for that as well.

Lindsay is about to walk out of the room.

MICHAEL: Do you need help with your bags?

LINDSAY: No. I can manage. Thank you.

Lindsay exits the room and shuts the door behind her. A couple of seconds later, the front door is heard shutting. Michael lets out a deep breath, goes over to the couch, and sits down.

MICHAEL: Things will get better. I know that they will. My family can’t stay in this bad state forever. It just can’t. (whispers) It just can’t.

Back at the Jackson Family Home, in the Living Room, Jennifer and Joshua are in the same positions that we left them from the previous scene.

JENNIFER: I had never thought about this situation that way.

JOSHUA: So, now that we’re thinking on the same path, what do you think we should do with this information. Or, in this case, potential evidence.

JENNIFER: Maybe when Philip regains more strength, we should ask him what he thinks about who ran him down. I think that if our theory syncs up with his, then this murder investigation goes much deeper than we could have ever imagined.

JOSHUA: What happens if this investigation does go deeper than we thought?

JENNIFER: It could mean that we’re in more danger than we thought.

Then, Joshua’s phone makes a beeping noise. He grabs his phone out of his back pocket. He is immediately taken aback by the text message he is reading.

JENNIFER: Oh no. What’s wrong? What’s going on?

JOSHUA: I just got a text from my friend at the police station.

JENNIFER: And…?

JOSHUA: And, rumor has it that the cops dropped Philip’s case.

Jennifer and Joshua look at one another confused and startled.

Back at Thomas’ Apartment, in the Living Room, Thomas is cleaning up the breakfast that he and Becky had. Becky has now left the apartment. Then, there is a knock at the door. Thomas sets down the breakfast place and goes to the door.

THOMAS: (opening the door) Hey, sis. What brings you by to my place? And, why do you have two suitcases with you?

LINDSAY: (sighs) Can I stay with you?

THOMAS: Of course. But, why do you need to stay with me?

LINDSAY: Dad threw me out of the mansion.

THOMAS: (shocked) Why?

LINDSAY: Cynthia and I had this huge fight. Anyway, he said that it was his final straw with me. He chose her over me. My worst nightmare come true.

THOMAS: I’m so sorry.

LINDSAY: Thank you.

Thomas picks up Lindsay’s bags.

THOMAS: Come in.

Lindsay smiles and enters. Thomas shuts the door and carries the luggage over to the couch. He sets the luggage down.

LINDSAY: Well, it looks like you had a big breakfast.

THOMAS: Yeah. Becky stopped by.

LINDSAY: Nice. Speaking of Becky, when will I get to meet her?

THOMAS: Soon. After all, you are staying with me at the moment.

LINDSAY: Good point. Um…, I think I will take my bags to the other room.

Lindsay grabs her luggage.

THOMAS: You got it?

LINDSAY: Yeah.

Lindsay takes her purse off of one of her suitcases and sets it on the coffee table. Lindsay begins to walk off with the suitcases.

LINDSAY: I’ll be back in a moment.

THOMAS: Sounds good.

As Thomas continues to clean up the mess he and Becky made from their breakfast, Lindsay’s phone begins to ring.

THOMAS: I guess I should bring her phone to her.

Thomas retrieves Lindsay’s phone from her purse. He then looks down to see who is calling her. He is very shocked by who is calling her.

THOMAS: Why the hell is that scumbag Carter Morrison calling my sister? And, how does Lindsay know Becky’s ex-boyfriend?

The camera zooms in on Carter’s confused expression.

***FADE OUT***
***END OF EP. 21***