CHAPTER TWELVE: SMOKE BEFORE FIRE
Chapter Quote:
"The quietest hour is always the one just before the explosion."
— Unknown
SCENE ONE
INT. AMARA'S BEDROOM — NIGHT
(Amara sits on her bed, phone in hand. The message from Leo glows on the screen.)
LEO (TEXT)
"I need to speak to the three of you. 7AM. It's important."
(She reads it again. And again. Her chest tightens.)
AMARA (V.O.)
(softly)
7AM. Important. Why does that feel like a storm warning?
(She stands, walks to the mirror, then stares at her reflection — not out of vanity, but as if searching for answers.)
AMARA (to herself)
He's going to tell them… everything.
(Turns away)
No, Leo wouldn't. He wouldn't blindside me. Would he?
(She grabs her coat. Her keys. Leaves her room.)
SCENE TWO
INT. LEO'S APARTMENT — LIVING ROOM — NIGHT
(Leo is pacing. His face looks calm, but his hands tremble. A glass of water sits untouched on the table. A knock at the door.)
LEO
(sighs)
I knew she'd come.
(He opens the door. Amara steps in, her expression unreadable.)
AMARA
So… what are you planning to say at 7AM?
(Silence. He doesn't close the door behind her.)
LEO
It's something they all deserve to hear.
AMARA
But not me?
LEO
You're not "they."
AMARA
Then tell me.
LEO
(avoids her eyes)
It's better if you hear it with them.
AMARA
Leo, don't do this. Don't play diplomat between three broken women and your haunted heart.
(pause)
Tell me what this is about.
(He finally shuts the door. He turns slowly to face her, then — silence again. He doesn't speak. Just walks past her and sits down.)
LEO
Not tonight.
AMARA
Why? Because you're still in love with me? Or because you're trying not to be?
(His eyes flicker — caught off guard.)
LEO
Does it matter?
AMARA
It always did.
(He looks away. She takes a slow step closer.)
AMARA (V.O.)
I wanted him to say something. Anything. A lie would've been easier to accept than that silence.
SCENE THREE
INT. NINA'S ROOM — NIGHT
(Nina is curled on her couch, wrapped in a thin blanket. Her phone buzzes. She picks it up slowly — she's already seen the message a dozen times.)
NINA (V.O.)
He wants to speak to all of us. At once. At 7AM.
(She stares at the phone)
Why does this feel like the end of something I never got to begin?
(Her mother's voice echoes faintly from the next room — humming an old lullaby.)
NINA (V.O.)
My mother never told me what love would cost.
(pause)
I didn't expect it to feel like being erased.
(Nina starts to type a message. Then deletes it. Starts again. Deletes.)
NINA (aloud)
No. Not tonight. I'll wait.
SCENE FOUR
INT. ZARA'S CAR — PARKED OUTSIDE HER APARTMENT — NIGHT
(Zara sits in the driver's seat, phone screen glowing in the darkness. The message stings.)
LEO (TEXT)
"I need to speak to the three of you. 7AM. It's important."
(She leans back, hands gripping the steering wheel.)
ZARA (V.O.)
A year ago he proposed to me. A year.
(scoffs)
Now I'm one of the "three." One third of whatever mess he's about to untangle.
(She exhales sharply. Her eyes mist.)
ZARA
You made me your future. Then unmade me. Just like that.
(smiles bitterly)
I'm not coming to beg, Leo. But I will come to listen.
SCENE FIVE
INT. LEO'S APARTMENT — BEDROOM — LATER THAT NIGHT
(Leo lies on his bed. Wide awake. No lights. The city hums in the background.)
LEO (V.O.)
One night. That's all I have left before it all changes.
Before they look at me with different eyes.
Before the truth walks into the room.
(He picks up his phone again. Looks at the message he sent.)
LEO (V.O.)
I thought silence was safer.
But sometimes, silence is just fear dressed up in comfort.
(He closes his eyes. The silence thickens.)
Amara's perspective
Date: [REDACTED]
Time: 11:52PM
Entry Title: "The Sound Before the Siren"
I should be sleeping. But instead, I'm sitting here staring at a man who once loved me with his whole chest — and now carries his secrets like a second skin.
Leo.
You used to whisper everything, even your nightmares.
Now your silence feels like thunder waiting to split the ground.
He sent the same message to all three of us. Nina. Zara. Me.
"We need to talk."
At 7AM.
Talk about what?
Us?
The past?
The future?
I asked him to tell me tonight. To look me in the eye and say what's burning inside him.
But he didn't.
He just blinked… like it hurt to hold my gaze.
That's when I knew.
He's not just keeping a secret.
He's becoming it.
And maybe, just maybe… I already know what he's about to say.
I just don't want it to be true.
If this is the end — if the next morning changes everything — then I want this written down.
I want to remember how quiet the night felt before the spark.
I want to remember how I almost reached for his hand.
But didn't.
Because in that moment, I realized something I couldn't admit out loud.
I'm still in love with Leo.
And that's the scariest part.
— Amara
FADE OUT.