The Silence Between Us
Episode 1
auther
Hi, this is my first story
Please don't judge
And I hope you like my work
Lia
24 year old orphan girl
Quiet bookworm
Owns a small library
Sweet and gentle
Ash carter
27 years old
Troubled rich heir
Musician
Unstable anger issues
Ethan
27 years old
Ash's only friend
Mira
25 year old
Lia coworker and best friend
*(Jail gates clang shut behind Ash. His father’s driver waits, but Ash ignores him, walking into the city with no destination. His phone buzzes—Ethan, his only friend.)*
Ethan (ML's best friend)
You alive?
Ash carter (ML)
Unfortunately.
Ethan (ML's best friend)
Where are you going?
*(He walks for hours, until he sees a small bookstore called **“Wild Pages”**, tucked between a café and a laundromat. And inside, **her**.)*
(Lia arranges a display of poetry books, humming. Her coworker, Mira, flops onto the counter.)*
Mira (FL's best friend)
Mrs. Kendrick just asked if we sell “those vampire books with the spicy parts.”
Mira (FL's best friend)
*No.* *Definitely not Twilight.* *(grinning)* I sold her *A Court of Thorns and Roses*.
Mira (FL's best friend)
And? Grandma deserves some fun.
*(Lia laughs, unaware of the man across the street, leaning against a lamppost, watching her through the window.
**Ash doesn’t move for an hour.**)*
*(Every day, Ash follows the same path: wake up, ignore his father’s calls, walk to **Wild Pages**, and stand just far enough that Lia never notices him. He texts Ethan updates like a lovesick ghost.)*
Ash carter (ML)
She’s wearing a yellow sweater today.
Ethan (ML's best friend)
Bro. This is creepy.
Ash carter (ML)
I’m not doing anything.
Ethan (ML's best friend)
You’re basically a Victorian-era ghost pining from the shadows.
*(Later, Ash sits on his apartment floor, guitar in hand, scribbling lyrics inspired by the curve of Lia’s smile. He never approaches. **He doesn’t deserve to.**)*
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Episode 2
Nina
26 year old
Lia's foster sister
(Lia’s tiny studio apartment is quiet except for her cat, Poe, purring in her lap. She texts her foster sister, Nina.)*
Lia (FL)
Today was slow. Just me and Mira restocking.
Nina (FL's Foster sister)
Any cute customers?
Lia (FL)
*(thinks of the tall man who bought a poetry book last week)* No. Just the usuals.
Nina (FL's Foster sister)
You need to get out more.
*(She doesn’t know Ash exists. Doesn’t know he memorized her schedule, or that he once followed her home just to make sure she got there safe.)*
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*(It’s raining when Ash finally steps inside **Wild Pages**. The bell chimes. Lia looks up, and for the first time, their eyes meet.)*
Lia (FL)
Hi. Can I help you find something?
Ash carter (ML)
*(voice rough from disuse)* Something… about the ocean.
Lia (FL)
*(smiling)* You’re in luck.
*(She hands him *“The Old Man and The Sea”*. Their fingers don’t touch. Ash doesn’t let them.)*
Lia (FL)
Come back if you want more recommendations.
Ash carter (ML)
*(staring at her like she’s the sun)* …Yeah.
(Ash’s bedroom – 3 AM.
The dim glow of a single lamp casts long shadows as Ash hunches over his guitar, fingers picking out a melody that sounds like grief. His notebook lies open to a half-written song titled **“Wild Pages”**—lyrics about a girl who smells like old paper and safety. Suddenly...)*
(The door swings open with such force it rattles the wall. **Daniel Carter** stands framed in the doorway, his tailored suit immaculate, his face a mask of controlled fury.the sight of ash holding the guitar only makes his anger sharper—*purer*.)*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
**(quiet, deadly)** Do you know what time it is?
Ash carter (ML)
*(doesn’t look up, keeps playing)* Go away.
*(Daniel crosses the room in three strides and **wrenches the guitar from Ash’s hands**.
Ash jerks to his feet, chair screeching—but Daniel doesn’t step back. They stand nose-to-nose, same height, same storm-gray eyes.)*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
You were supposed to review the merger files tonight.
Ash carter (ML)
I don’t care about your company.
*(Daniel’s jaw tightens. He sets the guitar down carefully—too carefully—before speaking.)*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
You have your mother’s eyes. *(pauses)* But my temper. And we both know how that ends.
*(Ash flinches like he’s been struck. **His mother’s car accident—the screaming match beforehand, the way he’d yelled *“I wish you were dead!”* like a curse. And then she was.**)*
Ash carter (ML)
(voice cracks)* **Don’t.**
Daniel carter (ML's father)
*(soft now, which is worse)* You think I don’t see you?
Daniel carter (ML's father)
Wasting your life on songs no one will hear? *(gestures to the notebook)* Scribbling poetry like a heartbroken teenager?
*(Ash’s hands shake. Daniel reaches out—almost touches his shoulder—but stops himself. His voice drops, raw in a way Ash has never heard.)*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
I *loved* her too. But I didn’t get to fall apart. *(beat)* You have a responsibility—
Ash carter (ML)
(laughs, hollow)* To *you*?
Daniel carter (ML's father)
To **yourself**. *(leans in)* She would’ve wanted you to—
Ash carter (ML)
**Don’t you dare talk about her!**
*(The words echo. Daniel goes very still. When he speaks again, it’s with finality.)*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
Be at the office by 8. Or don’t bother coming home.
*(He leaves, shutting the door gently behind him.
Ash sinks to the floor, clutching his notebook to his chest like a shield. Texts **Ethan**.)*
Ash carter (ML)
He used Mom against me.
Ethan (ML's best friend)
Fuck. You okay?
Ash carter (ML)
*(stares at the guitar)* No.
Ethan (ML's best friend)
Want me to come over?
Ash carter (ML)
No, no need
Ash carter (ML)
"In mind" i want to see hee
*(Lia arrives early to open the shop. As she unlocks the door, she glimpses movement across the street—
a tall figure in a black hoodie, watching.
**Ash.** He doesn’t approach. Just stands there, shoulders hunched against the cold, like he’s waiting for permission to exist.
Lia hesitates, then lifts a hand in a small wave.
Ash **doesn’t wave back**. But he doesn’t leave either.)*
Episode 3
*(10 Years Earlier – Ash at 17)*
**[Text Messages – Ash & His Mom]**
Ellena carter (ML's mother)
*Come home, sweetheart. We’ll talk.*
Ash carter (ML)
*I DON’T WANT TO TALK!*
Ellena carter (ML's mother)
Please. Let me fix this.*
(Ash never replied. Two hours later—a call from the hospital.)*
**[Present]**
*(Ash jolts awake, sweat-drenched, the echo of screeching tires in his ears. He stumbles to the bathroom, splashes water on his face. In the mirror, his mother’s eyes stare back. He texts Ethan.)*
Ash carter (ML)
*I Had the dream again.*
Ethan (ML's best friend)
*The accident?*
Ash carter (ML)
*I was the one who should’ve died.*
.*(Daniel’s Corporate Office – Next Morning)*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
(sliding a contract across the desk)* *Sign this. Today.*
Ash carter (ML)
*(shoves it back)* *I’m not you.*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
*(slams fist on desk)* *SHE WOULDN’T WANT THIS!*
(Silence. Both men breathing hard. Daniel’s voice cracks.)*
Daniel carter (ML's father)
*Every day I sit in this office… wishing I’d died instead of her.
Daniel carter (ML's father)
But you—* *(points at Ash)* *You get to throw your life away?*
*(Ash leaves without a word, the unsigned contract fluttering to the floor.)*
(Wild Pages – A Stormy Afternoon)*
*(Rain drums against the windows.)
Lia is alone in the shop, reorganizing the poetry section.
Lia (FL)
The bell chimes. She turns—it’s **him**, the quiet stranger with storm-gray eyes, soaked from the rain.
Ash carter (ML)
He is standing near the door, ( hesitating.)*
Lia (FL)
*(gentle)* You’ll catch a cold.
Ash carter (ML)
*(Ash blinks, startled she spoke to him. Water drips from his hair. He doesn’t move.)*
Lia (FL)
*(smiling)* I have towels in the back.
( he steps forward. She fetches a towel, hands it to him. Their fingers brush. **Neither pulls away.**)*
Ash carter (ML)
*(quiet)* Thanks.
Lia (FL)
You’re coming here a lot.
Ash carter (ML)
*(stiffens)* …Yeah.
*(The rain fills the silence. Lia tilts her head, studying him. He’s taller up close. Younger than she thought. Sad in a way that makes her chest ache.)*
Lia (FL)
Do you like the rain?
Ash carter (ML)
*(surprised by the question)* I… hate it.
Lia (FL)
*(laughs softly)* Me too.
Ash carter (ML)
*(He stares at her. No one laughs around him. Not anymore.)*
Lia (FL)
*(leans against the shelf)* When I was little, the orphanage roof leaked. All My books got ruined.
Ash carter (ML)
(Ash’s throat tightens. **She’s an orphan.** Like he’s been, in every way that matters, since his mom died.)*
Ash carter (ML)
*(roughly)* I’m sorry.
Lia (FL)
*(shrugs)* I have new books now.
*(A pause. Then Ash does something reckless—he points to the shelf behind her.)*
Ash carter (ML)
That one’s good.
Lia (FL)
(turns)* *“The History of Love”*?
Ash carter (ML)
Yeah. It’s about… people who don’t know how to say things.
Lia (FL)
*(softly)* Sounds perfect.
*(They stand there, the rain is slowing outside. **Two strangers. Two silent hearts. One beginning.**)*
Lia (FL)
(In phone)
I talked to the broody guy.
Mira (FL's best friend)
!!! DETAILS.
Lia (FL)
He hates rain. Likes sad books. Has a voice like gravel and honey.
Mira (FL's best friend)
Oh, you’re DONE for.
Lia (FL)
(grinning at her phone)* Shut up.
*(Across town, Ash sits on his bedroom floor, replaying the conversation in his head. He texts Ethan.)*
Ash carter (ML)
She talked to me.
Ethan (ML's best friend)
Holy shit. About what?
Ash carter (ML)
Books. Rain.
Ethan (ML's best friend)
…That’s it?
Ash carter (ML)
*(smiling faintly)* Yeah.
*(It was everything.)*
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