Play 11- Something Snapped

CHARACTERS
BRIAN, 26
JESSICA, 25

(She is sitting in a chair in her living room reading a book. The room is tidy and quiet. There is a knocks at the door. She opens it, and he is standing there. All of his clothes—shirt, pants, and coat—are covered in blood.)

JESSICA
Hey--

(She looks down at his clothes, and drops her book on the ground.)

What…what the hell happened to you?

BRIAN
Nothing, just (beat.) just let me in.

(He quickly enters the house and shuts the door behind him.)

JESSICA
Nothing? You’re covered in blood!

BRIAN
(yelling)
I said it’s nothing!

(he walks over to the chair she had been sitting in and sits down. He is running his fingers through his hair.)

(She stands in silence watching over him nervously.)

JESSICA
Brian, what---

BRIAN
(interrupting her.)
I, (beat.) Jessica…I fucked up.

(She looks worried now. She goes and sits in a chair across from him.)

JESSICA
What do you mean?

BRIAN
Me and Joe were at the bar. We had had a bit to drink, we went outside.

(Beat.)

This guy, he tried to mug us, he had a knife--

JESSICA
Oh my god, are you okay?

(She rushes over to him.)

JESSICA
With all that blood (beat.) you need go to the hospital. Here let me look.

(She kneels down and starts to pull back his coat to see if he is alright.)

BRIAN
I’m fine!

(He pushes her away.)

JESSICA
Please, just let me look.

(She moves to look again.)

BRIAN
I said I’m fine, he didn’t cut me.

JESSICA
Then, then what happened?

BRIAN
When he came at us, Joe started to take out his wallet, but, but I thought why let him have our money you know? I told him off, I don’t remember what I said, he came at me with that knife so I hit him—

JESSICA
(She interrupts him.)
But he came at you, you even said that, don’t feel bad about what you did.

BRIAN
(yeling.)
You don’t get it!

JESSICA
What?

BRIAN
The first hit took him down, I think he was unconscious.

JESSICA
But if you only hit him once why do you have all that bl—

(She stops in mid-sentence.)

BRIAN
I, I told you I had been drinking, and, and when I hit him something just snapped.

JESSICA
(franticly now)
what do you mean?

BRIAN
I couldn’t stop myself. After a bit Joe tried to pull me back but I just kept hitting him.

(He stops, and looks up to her. She looks down at his clothes again, her eyes scanning all of the blood on him.)

BRIAN
I, when we left, Joe finally pulled me off him, he wasn’t moving, there was blood everywhere.

(He looks down at the blood on his clothing.)

What should I do?

JESSICA
Just, give me your coat, I’ll go wash it, and go change out of your pants and shirt.

(He takes off his jacket and gives it to her, she exits, walking up the stairs in the back of the room.)

(He remains, running his hands through his hair, staring at the ground.)

(He gets up and goes up the stairs she had left through.)

(Blackout.)