- 8 hours ago
ninety nine divorces Golden Scene Media
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:01It was the summer I turned 18. I tried to seduce my godfather for the first time, and he pressed
00:06his gun under my chin.
00:07I wore a white slip dress so thin, it might as well have been water, straddling the lap of Sicily's
00:12most ruthless godfather, pressing his own Beretta 92F against my jaw.
00:16You are crossing the line, Lola.
00:18Deep eyes that hid whirlpools beneath still surfaces to the mole there, the one he'd seen when he bathed me
00:23ten years ago.
00:24I leaned forward, my lips grazed the gun barrel, tasting oil and leather and something darker, then kill me.
00:30My legs tightened around his waist, through his towel I felt him harden, felt the war in his body between
00:35protector and predator.
00:37Or claim me.
00:39Your choice, Uncle Asher.
00:44The ocean crashed against the cliffs outside, same sound as that night ten years ago.
00:48I still remember everything.
00:49The gunshots at home for security signs.
00:51The blood-hitting pain like he is warm, so warm it's steam.
00:56The rough hands dragging me from a pile of corpses, fitting headphones over my ears, playing something loud and ancient.
01:03Count to one hundred, then I'll be back.
01:11I counted to thirty-seven.
01:13He kissed my forehead, his lips burning, his hands shaking.
01:16Thirty-nine.
01:26I counted to sixty-eight.
01:27More gunshots.
01:40I counted to one hundred.
01:41He returned covered in blood, lifted me into his arms, carried me to the car.
01:45Since then, I have never celebrated another birthday, and never looked forward to summer.
01:49Except for him flying back to this seaside villa every July to spend this damn anniversary with me.
01:54Ten years.
01:55Ten summers.
01:55Then times he handed me gifts, said happy summer vacation, little princess.
01:59Then vanished into his study like I was something to be locked away.
02:02But this year I was eighteen, legally adult, and physically, I looked down at my dress.
02:06The fabric clung like a second skin, nipples visible, hip bones sharp.
02:10I knew I was ready.
02:15The shower stopped, also stopped my heart.
02:17The doorknob turned.
02:18I pushed the door open, steam poured out, and there he was, thirty, when he saved me.
02:23Forty now.
02:24Time had carved him, fine lines at the corners of his eyes, a sharper jaw.
02:27With those eyes, Mediterranean depths, the surface might be calm.
02:31However, the undercurrents could drag you in and drown you underneath.
02:33His towel sat low, water tracked from his collarbone, down his chest, over the ridges of his abs, disappearing into...
02:39Lola.
02:40He pinned me in place with my name.
02:42What are you doing in my room?
02:45This year I prepared a special gift.
02:48I untied my robe, silk slid off my shoulders with a whisper.
02:51The slip dress left nothing hidden.
02:53His gaze moved over me like touch shoulders to waist to thighs.
02:56I watched his throat work, watched his hand tighten on the towel.
03:00I stepped closer.
03:02I'm eighteen.
03:04Not a little girl anymore.
03:13Close enough to smell him.
03:14Mint soap over tobacco and leather.
03:16The scent of him that haunted my dreams.
03:18I caught his wrist.
03:19Guided him toward the bed.
03:20Felt the tension in his muscles.
03:22Like a leopard deciding whether to snap his prey's neck.
03:25I fell back onto the mattress looking up at him.
03:29Lola, I'm your...
03:30I know who you are.
03:31The godfather.
03:32My father's best friend.
03:33The man who raised me.
03:35But remember that summer night?
03:36That summer night you saved me?
03:38It's not just my life.
03:40You didn't just save my life.
03:42You stole my soul.
03:44It's been yours ever since.
03:46His eyes went dark.
03:48Dangerous.
03:48Then his hand moved.
03:49Not to caress me.
03:50To the pillow beneath my head.
03:52Then the gun barrel pressed under my chin.
03:53I didn't close my eyes.
03:55I stuck out my tongue.
03:56Licked the metal.
03:56His breath hitched.
03:57His finger whitened on the trigger.
03:59That cross tattoo swam in my vision.
04:01The one I'd seen a thousand times over these ten years.
04:03The one on the hand that held the pen when I handed him the document.
04:06On the hand that supported my waist when I was taught to swim.
04:09On the hand that fed me medicine when I had a fever last summer.
04:12Now this hand trembled.
04:14I don't care.
04:16Next summer I'll come again.
04:18The summer after.
04:20Every summer.
04:21I wrapped my lips around the cold steel.
04:23Blame me.
04:24Or kill me.
04:27Staring into his eyes.
04:28Silence crushed us outside.
04:30Waves beat the cliffs like a heartbeat.
04:31Just like they had ten years ago.
04:33He threw the gun.
04:34The Beretta hit the carpet with a dull thud.
04:36His towel fell.
04:54In one violent motion.
04:56He snatched the bed sheet.
04:57Wrapped it around me.
04:58Rough.
04:58Angry.
04:59Tucking the edges against my shoulders.
05:01Like he was trying to sew me inside.
05:02Stay that again.
05:03And you'll learn what happens when you provoke me.
05:10The door slammed in the dark. I sat on the bed, cheek clutched to my chin, counting my
05:14heartbeats. 107, 108, 109. I won't give up, Uncle Asher! Next summer, I'll be here, every
05:22year, until you say yes. I shouted into the darkness, laughing to tears. Footsteps paused
05:27at the stair's end. One second, two, then faded away. Moonlight spilled through the window,
05:32landing on the nightstand. I curled around the battered teddy bear he'd given me 10 years
05:36ago. Nose chewed bald by me, ears sewn back three times. I buried my face in familiar fur,
05:41couldn't smell lavender, couldn't smell blood, only smelled myself exactly like 10 years ago.
05:48Three years later, I gift-wrapped myself and waited two hours. Red ribbon, clear shellafane. I wore a
05:53red bikini and sheer cover-up, curled behind the living room sofa like a present waiting to be
05:57unwrapped. Provence's July heat baked the air through the French windows, sweat slicking my back
06:02against the wrapping paper. Heartbeat 21, heartbeat 22, the lock turned. Footsteps, two sets, heels
06:09clicking like bullets, chambering against marble. Engagement ceremony in August? What about your
06:17little girl? She had you every summer. Time she learned independence, no? Uncle Asher! When I burst
06:23out of the box, his lips were pressed against her neck. Black dress, pearl earrings. Typical Italian
06:29socialite 35 ripped from the pages of Vogue. Her gaze scraped over my bikini, lips curving in a
06:33knowing, venomous smile. Her nails circled his chest. Lola. Yes? She extended her hand. Maxime Capone,
06:43your Uncle Asher's fiancé.
06:51Fiancé, the word detonated in my skull. I looked at Asher, stiff, embarrassed. Something broken in his
06:57eyes like a caged beast caught in its own trap. When the fuck did you get a fiancé nobody told
07:01me
07:01about? Go change, now! Oh, relax, darling. No mother to raise her, poor thing. No wonder she doesn't
07:12know how to dress like a decent woman. But don't worry, dear. Once Asher and I marry, I'll teach you
07:17someone else. Don't you fucking touch this, you bitch! Crack. My face snapped sideways. Fire bloomed
07:24across my cheek. Asher's hand hung in the air. Shock in his eyes. Regret. The cross tattoo burning
07:30like it had against my jaw three years ago. Lola. I shoved him hard and ran towards the stairs.
07:34Knee cracked against the banister. Numb with pain, but I didn't stop. Poor little thing. Pity she'll never
07:40learn of a place. I slammed my door, slid down the wood, spine hitting cold grain. My cheek burned,
07:51not from the slam. From my eyes, tears flooded, wiped away by my wrist. Tasting salt. Outside,
07:55the lavender fields turned deep purple in twilight, like clotting blood. Like that night, I counted
08:00breaths until the knock came. Maxine entered with a perfect smile, carrying a glass. Condensation beaded
08:06the surface. Black dress. Low neckline. A mole below her collarbone. Almost exactly where mine
08:10sat. Your uncle Ash so sorry. He squeezed this lemonade himself and asked me to bring in it.
08:15Lemonade. Pale yellow. Pulp floating. Poison in the light. I was deathly allergic to citrus. He knew
08:21it well since he saved me ten years ago. No lemons. Oranges. Grapefruit in this villa. Ever since I came
08:26here. Last summer, I ate one bite of lemon tart by accident. He drove me to the hospital at 2
08:31a.m.,
08:31holding my hand through three epinephrine shots. He forgot. Or, I took the glass. Drank it dry
08:36under her gaze. Acid burned my throat. In the mirror, I saw my own expression. I knew what
08:40she'd done. And I knew. I knew he would save me. I always knew.
08:50Finished? Good girl. Now, go help prepare dinner. Asher wants to see us getting along.
08:55I set down the glass. Fingers already tingling. Snow filled the edges of my vision. Old television
09:01static.
09:0415 minutes later, I sliced cake in the kitchen. Maxine and the maids blocked me from the living
09:08room. Pretending busyness. Their laughter needling my eardrums. I heard Asher's voice low. Impatient.
09:14Asking Maxine about the terrace view. The moon's beautiful tonight. Perfect for discussing wedding
09:19details. Wedding, the knife slipped. Sliced my finger. Vision blurred. I heard Asher crash
09:25through the crowd. Let me see. Nothing. Just a small cut. He brought my finger to his lips
09:30and began to suck on it slowly. Still hurt? I wanted to say no. But the allergic reaction
09:36hit full force. Lola! Lola! The world tilted. Last conscious thought. Him rolling me onto my side.
09:43Tearing my jeans waist. Slamming the epinephrine pen into my hip.
09:50Pills water. His fingers forced me to swallow. Tasting of blood and mint. Exactly like three
09:55years ago.
09:58Breathe with me.
09:59Tingling fingers. Heart hammering like it would explode. I moved and felt the nightstand.
10:03The battered teddy bear with its nose chewed, bald, and ear sewn three times. He sent it to
10:07me ten years ago and said, he will protect you, just like I will. The door opened. Asher entered
10:12with water. Black shirt sleeves rolled to elbows. Cross tattoo exposed. Forty. Fine
10:16lines mapping his face and lamplight. Every man he'd killed. Every life he'd saved. And
10:20me.
10:22Awake. Maxine left. The maids are gone. He handed me the cup. I took it. Didn't drink. Gone?
10:28Fired. They almost killed you.
10:31And Maxine? Your fiancé?
10:34His jaw tightened, like when he threw the gun.
10:40Business arrangement. Capone family needs Miseria ports. I need... someone to manage
10:45my affairs.
10:46Manage affairs? She just tried to kill me. With lemonade.
10:49I know.
10:50You know?
10:50I know what she is. I also know you drank it. Knew I'd save you. You always know.
10:55Silence crushed us. Waves outside like that night. I set the cup down slow. Deliberate.
11:00Let one camozole strap slide off my shoulder. His gaze stuck. Magnetized. Then forced away.
11:05You knew three years ago too. Knew I'd lick that gun. Knew I'd come every summer. Knew
11:09I'd...
11:10Lola.
11:10Warning. But he didn't move.
11:12You know everything.
11:13I leaned close. Close enough to smell mint over tobacco and leather.
11:18So did you know I've thought of you every day for three years?
11:22His breath caught.
11:23Know I rejected every man in college because they didn't have your crow's teeth?
11:27Know I sleep with that teddy bear every night pretending it's you?
11:29I caught his wrist, guided it to my hip.
11:32I'm not a little girl anymore, Uncle Asher. I'm 21. My body changed.
11:40His restraint vibrated like a plucked string under my touch. I straddled his lap, felt him
11:45hard through dress pants.
11:47Lola, we can't.
11:49Feel that? That's me. All of me. Not your little princess anymore.
11:54My hand found his shirt buttons, trembling. He caught my wrist, grip crushing but didn't
11:58push me away. Let me be your woman. Just tonight. Just now. Tomorrow you can pretend
12:03nothing happened. Marry Maxine. Have your arrangement. But tonight, his phone rang.
12:07Maxine's name. He said it face down on the nightstand.
12:12Eat something. Rest. I need to see my fiance. She needs me. But you've never left me on
12:18summer vacation night. This year, the maids are gone. I'm alone. You're 21. An adult,
12:23right? One night, endure it. The door closed. I heard my heart beat. I lay down, buried my
12:29face in the teddy bear outside. Provence lavender turned silver in moonlight. A frozen sea.
12:34Sleepless. Dawn breaking. I decided to make him jealous.
12:42Mia and Daniel friends from college dragged me to a beach club's back rooms.
12:47Want to drive an old man crazy? Make him walk.
12:50White bodysuit. Bridal veil. They pushed me on stage where dozens of drunk men howled.
12:55Little angel!
12:57Money rained like confetti. I stood in spotlight, shaking, thinking what Asher was doing.
13:02Dinner with Maxine. Whispering promises. Or bang. Gunfire tore the music. Everyone turned.
13:08Asher stood in the doorway. Black trench coat. Pistol smoking. The chandelier above him sparked.
13:13Glass running down. He looked at no one. Only me. Eyes burning through me like they wanted to
13:17incinerate me alive. He strode to the stage. Tore a stack of cash from his pocket. Slapped it
13:22across the manager's face. Take this stripper to VIP. Now. Private show. The room froze. I followed
13:29him down the hall. Into the red room. The lock clipped. You like dancing for men in places like
13:35this? He sat on the sofa. Legs spread. Cigar smoldering. Then dance for me. Strip. Give me your
13:41full show. Insulting me. Claiming me. I walked to him. Draped the bridal veil over our heads. White
13:56You taught me. Don't tell me you forgot. His pupils blew wide. Outside. Daniel's voice.
14:03Lola! Next bar! I pulled back. Smiled. Oops. That's my boyfriend. Gotta go. He shot up.
14:10Threw me over his shoulder. Kicked open the door. Stormed through the crowd. Daniel stood at
14:15the entrance. Face painted. Crop top showing skin. Asher stopped. Sneered. This is your boyfriend?
14:21Jesus fucking. He threw me in the car. Silence crushed us until I exploded.
14:30Engine more.
14:33Why did you do that? You humiliated me in front of my friends.
14:36I'm protecting my child from trouble. I'm not a child.
14:41He slammed the brakes. Tires screamed at the cliff's edge.
14:46Then he turned. Eyes holding something I'd never seen. Vulnerability. Hunger.
14:52Sorry. I know I shouldn't keep treating you like a kid. If you want me to see you as an
14:57adult.
15:01First step? Learn to drive. Not that strip club bullshit.
15:06I climbed over the console. Saturday in his lap.
15:10His hands covered mine. This is what adults do. Feel it.
15:14The car swayed on the coastal highway for three hours. Not out of control. Deliberate.
15:18Every turn. His chest pressed my back. Every shift. His hand accidentally slid up my thigh.
15:23Watch the road. Focus.
15:25I counted his heartbeat through my spine. Faster than mine.
15:28You're distracting me. This is dangerous.
15:30I'm teaching you. Feel the engine. Feel the speed. This is what adults do.
15:46We stopped at a viewpoint. City lights spread below like scattered jewels.
15:52I turned to find him smiling. Real smile. Crow's feet. White teeth.
15:56You look good smiling. I mean, you rarely smile.
16:03You rarely make me this. Uncontrolled.
16:07The word hung between us. Forbidden invitation.
16:10Then he ruffled my hair like I was 12.
16:13Drove me home.
16:17Three days later, they crucified me in lecture hall.
16:20My presentation slides were placed with photo strip club champagne room.
16:25Asher's hand on my leg. His mouth on my ear.
16:30The classroom erupted in laughter and screams.
16:33Vestitial howling.
16:36Advanced stripper studies?
16:39Lola, is this your project?
16:42I ran for the door.
16:43They blocked me, Mia, Daniel, Kylie, others.
16:51They dragged me to the lab.
16:59Industrial glue pressing me to the wall like a specimen.
17:08Admit it. You're an incestuous whore.
17:10Say it loud.
17:11Or you stay here overnight with the corpses.
17:14White sheet.
17:15Pale hand underneath.
17:16Glue burned my skin.
17:18I screamed.
17:18They laughed.
17:19Phone lenses hunting my face like ritual.
17:21Then the door exploded.
17:25Water exploded.
17:26Wood spatters like that night.
17:28Piano room door.
17:29Shirt knocking bullets.
17:31Asher stood in the frame.
17:32Black trench coat.
17:33Pistol smoking.
17:37His gaze swept the room.
17:39Found me.
17:39Pale, shaking.
17:40Glued to the wall like captured prey.
17:43He tore the fabric from my body.
17:44Lifted me in his face.
17:46You like this?
17:49Let's see how you like being stuck.
17:51He coated her mouth.
17:52Lips to chin like a mask.
17:54Her eyes widened.
17:55Muffled screams.
17:56Call police.
17:58Call lawyers.
17:59Call your rich daddy.
18:00I don't care.
18:06I wept in his arms, face buried in his shoulder, tobacco and leather, exactly like ten years ago.
18:13I knew you'd come.
18:15You always come.
18:17He kissed my forehead like that night, but longer.
18:22What I didn't know, Maxine's plot started at the hospital.
18:25Shelly, my only real friend, pregnant, needed company.
18:28I held her ultrasound in the hospital when masked men dragged me down there.
18:31First thought, at least Shelly's not here.
18:37They slammed me on a cold room, fists to my ribs, trying to shake Morgan's lips.
18:45Which bitch is pregnant?
18:48Tell us, or we kick this belly until it miscarries.
18:52In the corner, Shelly screams, muffled by tape.
18:55I looked at her, at her belly.
18:57Then I made a decision.
19:02Me, I'm pregnant.
19:04The biggest lie of my life.
19:05The truest sacrifice.
19:06If they thought it was me, they wouldn't touch Shelly.
19:08If they thought the child was mine, they'd keep me alive.
19:10At least until confirmation.
19:14Asher burst in as I coughed blood.
19:18Asher's face, shock.
19:19Then something complex, breaking.
19:20That look from the piano room ten years ago, but something shattered.
19:25I'll raise your baby, Lola.
19:29But you've been with the wrong men.
19:32There are consequences.
19:35That's what you think of me?
19:37Some cheap slut sleeping around?
19:43He carried me to emergency.
19:50Save her!
19:51She's losing the baby!
19:55The doctor looked at him, confused.
19:58What baby?
19:58She's not pregnant.
20:04Put me down.
20:08It was Shelly.
20:11She's pregnant.
20:13I was just keeping you from faith.
20:16He misunderstood.
20:17Thought I'd been with some man.
20:18The unseen, non-existent man.
20:20And lost his child.
20:21Then a new doctor entered my chart.
20:23Paused, looking at Asher.
20:24Notifying him to leave.
20:25When it was just the doctor in need.
20:27Miss Bruno, we ran some tests.
20:30There's something you should know.
20:32Stomach cancer.
20:33Late stage.
20:35You have three months.
20:45I didn't tell Asher.
20:47Instead, I pushed him away.
20:48Let him believe I was with Joe.
20:50His nephew.
20:50Just returned from Italy.
20:52We kissed in front of him.
21:00Walked in gardens.
21:02Watched stars from terraces.
21:05I moaned with Joe in the bathroom.
21:11Listening to Asher's footsteps shattering outside.
21:16Imagining his face.
21:18That thing suppressed for ten years.
21:19Finally cracking, then breaking.
21:22I told the mirror.
21:23Tears and smile mixing.
21:25Happy summer vacation.
21:27This is the last gift I can give you.
21:30Maxine's engagement party.
21:31August.
21:32Capone Estate on the Amalfi Coast.
21:34Clifftop White Palace.
21:35Lit like a sunken cruise ship.
21:37I attended as family.
21:39Maxine's chosen dress.
21:40Her delivered invitation.
21:41Her designed humiliation.
21:44She waited in the dressing room.
21:46Holding a white wedding gown.
21:47Not bridesmaids, but her gown.
21:49Phone from Malone.
21:51Her name on the label.
21:52I saw her honey knife smile.
21:54I knew the trap.
21:55Try this.
21:56I want my future daughter's opinion.
21:58I want my future daughter's opinion.
22:00I want my future daughter's opinion.
22:02I want my future daughter's opinion.
22:02I want my future daughter's opinion.
22:02I want my future daughter's opinion.
Comments