Somebody That I Used To Know

Disappear

Tom opens the front door, being greeted by Lily eating lunch. "Hi, Daddy!" she smiles and runs to up hug him.

"Oh, hello, my little dear. What's going on?"

"Nothing much. Do you want some soup with me?"

"No, thank you, I'm good. It smells great though."

"Thanks. Mummy made it for me."

"She did?" Tom replied.

"Yep!"

"Tom, you're home," Molly says and runs down the steps. "What did Tim say?"

"I uh, I didn't see Tim."

"I thought that's why you went there."

"I did originally but I saw Denise all teary eyed, he cheated on her."

"Oh, that's horrible."

"I know, I feel so bad. I told her that I'll find a new lawyer but I sat with her and had coffee and for a few. We were just talking."

"Ugh. I'll go to Walgreens and pick up some chocolate or something. Then a jackhammer so we can kill Tim."

"You're not friends with her," Tom chuckles.

"No I'm not, but she's your friend what happened really sucks."

"It does. I have to figure out what I'm doing about the contracts too."

"What contracts are you apart of? You haven't worked."

"Well actually, my contract with Marvel is still going but they're not even voiding it, they just left me go. Then I have a contract with the talk shows and the magazines and-"

"Just tell them you're not doing it. They have to invite you on the shows before you can go."

"Molly, it doesn't work that way. Image agreements with these people. Either I make a thousand appearances all over the place and then fall off the face of the earth, or I just cancel everything with everybody and wait for them to take legal action. I need a lawyer."

"And you really want to do this? Just take a break."

"I don't want just a break, I want this to be over with. I want to be me again."

"You are you, Thomas, that's better going away. This is your job. What are you going to do with your time?"

"I'll figure it out."

"Are you not going to work? I mean I'll still work and we have money but it's helpful if we both have a job."

"I don't know Molly, okay. I just know that I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be in the public."

"You'll always be in the public. No matter what. Even if you stopped acting, it's not like everyone's going to forget you. I think that this decision is irresponsible."

"It's not irresponsible it's what I want."

"But I feel like you're going to regret it. I know you don't want to be in the public anymore but that's not going to happen. You just can't erase yourself from history. You were in the news, you were in movies, you have an album, this isn't going to go away overnight. Even in 40 there are still going to be people who know you, who know your work, listen to your music. It's not going to go away."

"I don't want to do this anymore. I've lived so much of my life in the public and I just want to be normal for once."

"That's what I'm saying, Thomas, you're not going to be having a little life even after you quit. People still know you. You're still going to be having fans coming up and talking to you or wanting a picture even after you stop acting. This isn't ever going to go away. You barely worked these past 5 years and we honestly need the money."

"We have a lot of money."

"We have a 5 million dollar house, Tom, and Oakwood and therapy isn't cheap. It's $12,000 a year to see Dr. Olsen. We have money but our expenses are very high. You're not going to quit therapy but between the hospital bills and our normal spending, we need two steady incomes."

"You're being ridiculous. Should I just not go to therapy?"

"I never said that."

"I think that's what you're saying."

"Why do you twist everything I say?" Molly snaps.

"I'm reading between the lines." Tom screams.

"Why are you snapping at me?"

"I... I... fuck," he mutters, grabbing his mouth.

"What?"

"My... oh, shit, my tooth. My back tooth is... oh, I need some ice."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Make me an appointment, please. I need to go to the dentist."

"I'll do that right away."