The Story
Adrien can’t sleep. He can’t eat. Money is scarce and foreclosure notices litter his once festive family home, which now only echoes the pain of his sister Lucy’s death 6 months ago from a freak fentanyl overdose. The silence is deafening save for two sounds: the voice of his deceased Old Man’s advice, which buzzes like a mosquito in his ear, and the irrepressible spirit of his younger brother Frank, who has Down syndrome. Adrien never asked to be the head of this household and, for the past six months, his pain has left him dangling by a hangnail.
Everyone in this small town knows who’s cheating who, and what’s fucking what. So when murmurs reveal that Lucy’s former boyfriend Jake, who disappeared the night she died (and whom Adrien blames for her death), is back in town, Adrien is slapped awake to his calling: find him, get answers, take revenge.
Frank’s loss of his sister (his mother figure) manifests in an alarming way. With little purpose and lots of time, he lights small fires discreetly in public places. Successful at putting them out only sometimes, rumblings of his becoming a “problem” circulate, training Sheriff Peterson’s eyes to the brothers’ every move.
Without any clues, the pit in Adrien’s stomach is growing when he runs into May, a former classmate of Lucy’s, and a local barista. She is interested in him, but he is only interested in one thing: finding Jake.
Adrien fails hard at attending to Frank. He is losing control. Per his best friend Lee’s advice, Adrien enrolls Frank in the Youth Volunteer Firefighter program. At first it seems to be a good fit when Frank instantly falls for the female teacher, Marty. Hard life lessons are ahead for him though, as she is twice his age, and gay.
Something else is happening to Adrien now. He’s beginning to hallucinate. Quick clips of Lucy’s image have turned into full on mirages. And now, minutes-long scenes of haunting moments leading to her death take him hostage. Not only that, the Old Man’s voice in his head, seems to be purposefully thwarting his pursuit. Ostensibly asinine fairytales confuse Adrien’s already muddled mind. The images are getting clearer. The voices are getting louder. Lashing out, Adrien accosts 3 men at a gas station who he believes have Jake’s whereabouts.
He buys a handgun. The cold feel of it both speeds his pulse and confirms his plight. Put an end to this pain?
Meanwhile, Frank struggles to keep up with the other kids and has a public outburst, jeopardizing his spot in the program. And as Adrien keeps hitting dead ends in his pursuit of Jake, he must run interference with Marty in order to keep Frank occupied.
Amid it all, May’s attention on Adrien begins to soften him until she inadvertently reveals a clue. Stalking like a cat, Adrien’s hunt is on.
In a church basement, at the completion of a local Recovery Group meeting, Adrien and Jake find themselves sitting across from one another. They are alone. The gun sits in a backpack on Adrien’s lap. Then the unexpected happens. As Jake speaks with love about Lucy, flashes of previous memories replay, revealing a new angle to the stories Adrien has created. And like a burst of light, Adrien can see Lucy’s responsibility within this tragedy. Through tear-blurred eyes but a desperate heart, like looking into a mirror, Adrien sees the similarities between him and the man sitting across the room.
With a newfound sense of peace, Adrien reaches out to May, inviting her to the Fourth of July celebration where Frank is to be honored as a Youth Volunteer Firefighter. As Adrien and May watch Marty march the kids out on stage, Frank is missing.
Instead, at that moment, Frank is lighting the family house on fire, with intent to get his gear from the station, and put the fire out. Adrien’s frantic search for Frank is interrupted by the three men he accosted at a gas station. They beat him badly. Bloodied, he arrives back at the house to find Frank safe. Lee at his side. Half the house in cinders.
Six months later, Frank and Adrien finish the new construction of the house. It is spring and the voices have quieted. The air is new, and the potential is palpable. They wear matching “Connelly Brothers Landscaping” shirts.
As Adrien takes in the house from the lawn, his future bright before him, Lucy stands beside him.