Listen To Your Heart ~ Book One.

Who owns your Heart?

"But...with you...there's no drama. I can just be myself. With Billie...something always seems to come up."

"Well...you did fuck her."

(I give Claudia a strong hug.)

"Was that supposed to be a joke smartass...huh?"

(Laughs)"Yea...it was."

(We give one another a long kiss. Then brush one another's cheek as we hold eye contact.)

"We fucked as well, Claudia."

"I know we did, but we can't again. Now...I'm going to call Finneas back. You need to call Billie now."

"Can't I sit here and just kiss you instead?"

"No... now go call Billie. If not for yourself, then for me."

(I try to kiss her lips again, but she quickly puts her hand over my mouth.)

"David...stop. I do care about you. But please don't make it worse by kissing me again, okay?"

"Alright." (I kiss Claudia's forehead, then get off the sofa.) "I can see now why Finneas thinks you're a special woman. It's because you are."

(I walk outside to the balcony and begin listening to the messages that Billie had left me. Claudia watches me for a while and wipes a tear from her eye. Then goes into my bedroom to call Finneas.)

===================== In Los Angeles ===============

(Billie's sitting on the edge of her bed. Tears streaming down her cheeks. It has been almost three days, and neither her or Finneas had heard anything from Claudia or David. There's a razor blade on the dresser near her bed. She keeps glancing at it. Thinking about slitting her wrist and ending it all. Her cell phone rings. She glances at it. She takes a deep breath to calm herself, and wipes her eyes, as she answers.)

"Hello?"

"Billie?"

(Sniffles) "Yea?"

"It's David. You, okay?"

"No."

"Want to talk about it?"

"That depends...are we going to talk, or are we going to argue?"

"I honestly don't know, Billie...Can I see you?"

"Why would you want to see me for...after what I've done?"

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you. Do you have any time off?"

"Yes."

"Do you like walks along the beach?"

"Yes."

"Ever been to Ocean City, Maryland?"

"No."

"Can you fly out to Maryland and meet me?"

"I thought you were in Philadelphia?"

"I am."

"But you said Maryland."

"Yea. I figured you just got done doing a tour...and you might need some downtime. I own one of the beach houses. I might be able to rent out a second if needed."

"Why would we need more than one beach house?"

"Well...I didn't know if your brother or your parent's or crew would be coming with you or not. That's up to them."

"Is Claudia with you?"

"Yes."

"Did you fuck her?"

"Yes, Billie. I did."

(Wipes tears from her eyes.)

"I don't blame you...you know? I deserved that."

"This isn't about who deserves what, Billie. It's about what comes next."

"Would you at least hold me? My tremors are getting worse!"

"I don't know, Billie...maybe."

"We can at least try to talk... can't we?"

"Yeah... we can try."

"Can I call you back about this? I'd have to ask everybody."

"Sure."

"I love you."

"Yeah...I know...we'll talk more about that when we see one another."

"Okay...bye."

"Goodbye Billie."

(The connection ends. Billie drops her phone on the floor and covers her mouth and stifles a sob as she sinks to her knees. She had finally told David that she loved him, but it was too late. He felt betrayed. She could tell by the tone of his voice. In Philadelphia, David stares at his phone. He couldn't believe what he had just said.)