nd ) BROOKE STILL CARES — BUT ISAIAH REFUSES HER HELP

BROOKE STILL CARES — BUT ISAIAH REFUSES HER HELP
BROOKE STILL CARES — BUT ISAIAH REFUSES HER HELP
Sometimes the person who needs your help the most
is the same person who refuses to accept it.
SCENE 1 — THE CALL THAT BROOKE NEVER EXPECTED

The phone rang once.

Then again.

Brooke looked at the screen and froze.

Isaiah.

For several seconds, she didn’t answer.

His name had not appeared on her phone in a long time.

Seeing it again brought back memories she had spent months trying to put behind her.

She finally answered.

BROOKE
“Hello?”

There was silence on the other end.

Then Isaiah spoke.

ISAIAH
“Brooke…”

The sound of his voice changed everything.

Brooke sat down slowly.

BROOKE
“Isaiah? What happened?”

Another pause.

ISAIAH
“I need some help.”
BROOKE
“What kind of help?”
ISAIAH
“Money.”
Brooke had expected an apology.
She never expected Isaiah to call asking for money.

Brooke didn’t respond immediately.

She had expected many things from Isaiah.

An apology.

An explanation.

Maybe even another argument.

But she never expected him to call her asking for money.

BROOKE
“How much?”

Isaiah didn’t give her an answer.

Instead, he said something that made Brooke even more confused.

ISAIAH
“Never mind. I’ll figure it out.”

The call ended.

Brooke stared at her phone.

Something about that conversation didn’t feel right.
SCENE 2 — CAMERON’S HARSH WORDS

Later, Brooke found Cameron sitting nearby.

She still hadn’t stopped thinking about Isaiah’s call.

Cameron noticed the expression on her face.

CAMERON
“You look worried.”
BROOKE
“Isaiah called me.”
CAMERON
“What did he want?”

Brooke looked down.

BROOKE
“He said he needed money.”
CAMERON
“Seriously?”

Brooke nodded.

BROOKE
“He didn’t say much.”
CAMERON
“After everything that happened, he’s still asking people for money?”

Brooke remained quiet.

Cameron leaned back.

CAMERON
“If he needs money, he needs to figure out his own problems.”
BROOKE
“Maybe he’s actually in trouble.”
CAMERON
“Brooke, you’re always trying to see the good in people.”

She didn’t argue.

Cameron continued.

CAMERON
“He walked away when things got difficult.”
“Now he’s calling people because he needs something?”

Brooke lowered her eyes.

Every word hurt because part of her knew Cameron had a point.

But another part of her couldn’t stop thinking about Isaiah’s voice.

He hadn’t sounded like someone trying to take advantage of anyone.

He had sounded desperate.

BROOKE
“Did he ask you for money too?”
CAMERON
“Yeah.”
BROOKE
“And you refused?”
CAMERON
“Of course.”

He paused.

CAMERON
“He needs to learn how to handle his own life.”
If Isaiah was really in trouble…
Why had he called Cameron first?
And more importantly…
Why hadn’t he called her?
SCENE 3 — BROOKE CHECKS HER BALANCE

That evening, Brooke returned home.

Her room was quiet.

She closed the door behind her and stood there for a moment.

Isaiah’s voice was still in her head.

“I need some help.”

Brooke walked toward her bed and picked up her phone.

She opened her banking app.

The balance appeared on the screen.

Around four hundred dollars.

Brooke stared at the number.

It wasn’t a fortune.

It wasn’t enough to solve every problem.

But it was enough to help someone who genuinely needed it.

She thought about Cameron’s words.

Then she thought about Isaiah.

She could ignore him.

She could tell herself that Isaiah was no longer her responsibility.

But Brooke couldn’t simply turn off the part of herself that still cared.

She opened her contacts.

Her finger stopped over Isaiah’s name.

She hesitated.

Then she pressed call.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

ISAIAH
“Hello?”
BROOKE
“Isaiah, it’s me.”

Silence.

ISAIAH
“I know.”
BROOKE
“I heard you needed money.”

Isaiah didn’t answer.

BROOKE
“If you really need help, you should have told me.”
ISAIAH
“Brooke…”
BROOKE
“I have some money. I can send you something.”
ISAIAH
“No.”
ISAIAH REFUSED HER HELP.
SCENE 4 — ISAIAH REFUSES
BROOKE
“What?”
ISAIAH
“I don’t want your money.”

Brooke couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

BROOKE
“Why?”
ISAIAH
“Because I said no.”

Brooke leaned back against the wall.

BROOKE
“I’m not offering because I feel sorry for you.”

Isaiah remained quiet.

BROOKE
“I’m offering because you said you needed help.”
ISAIAH
“You don’t understand.”
BROOKE
“Then explain it to me.”

Isaiah didn’t answer.

BROOKE
“Why did you call Cameron?”
ISAIAH
“Because I needed help.”
BROOKE
“And now I’m offering to help you.”
ISAIAH
“I don’t want it from you.”
BROOKE
“Why?”

Isaiah’s voice became quieter.

ISAIAH
“Because I don’t want to depend on you.”

Brooke stared at the floor.

BROOKE
“You’re acting like I’m asking you for something.”
ISAIAH
“That’s not what I mean.”
BROOKE
“Then what do you mean?”
ISAIAH
“Cameron already made it clear what he thinks about me.”

Brooke immediately understood.

BROOKE
“You heard what Cameron said?”
ISAIAH
“I heard enough.”

His voice carried frustration.

ISAIAH
“He thinks I’m some broke guy who can’t handle his own life.”
BROOKE
“That’s Cameron’s opinion.”
ISAIAH
“And if I take money from you, eventually you’ll probably think the same thing.”

Brooke suddenly laughed softly.

ISAIAH
“What’s funny?”
BROOKE
“You.”
“You really think I would give you money
and then make you feel worthless?”
ISAIAH
“I don’t know.”
BROOKE
“Yes, you do. You know me better than that.”
SCENE 5 — “I STILL CARE ABOUT YOU”

The conversation became quiet.

Neither of them spoke.

Brooke looked at the phone in her hand.

There were so many things she wanted to say.

So many questions she had kept buried.

BROOKE
“I cared about you before, Isaiah.”

Isaiah didn’t respond.

BROOKE
“And I still care about you.”

Silence.

Brooke swallowed.

BROOKE
“I didn’t stop caring just because things between us changed.”

Isaiah’s breathing could be heard faintly through the phone.

ISAIAH