Euphoria

What happens in a month, six months, a year?

When she tells you she just wants to be friends?

Nate, why would I do a single thing for you?

'Cause I'll put you in jail.

I need you to get in your car and drive down

to the East Island police station.

You're going to walk up to the receptionist,

and you're gonna tell her you'd like to confess to a crime.

Do you recognize that man?

He's the guy who assaulted me the night of the carnival.

Can you please get out of the pool?

This whole town is so fucking boring.

I'm a burden, and it is what it is and it's embarrassing

so I'm sorry.

No funny business, Christopher!

Fuck.

("Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time" by the Delfonics plays)

Rue: Cassie's dad was really handsome.

The kind of handsome that made people treat him differently.

Rue: Her mom used to get really upset at him for flirting.

Rue: Which wasn't fair. It wasn't his fault.

He really loved her.

He really loved them all.

Rue: Her dad always wanted her to become a professional ice skater.

Wow. Thank you!

Aw, happy birthday, kiddo.

Rue: And for a while, she thought she might.

She was a natural.

Rue: But her dad couldn't afford lessons,

so he stopped encouraging her.

When she hit puberty, her mother and her became best friends.

Suze: You're an angel.

I feel like a big baby.

Cassie, woman to woman, hmm?

You're perfect.

-Holy moly, look at you. -What?

You're gonna be a real heart breaker.

Trust me.

Rue: And it wasn't just her body that changed.

But the rest of the world, too.

You remember Uncle Ted?

Oh, boy, look at you. All grown up.

Come on, give me a hug.

-You really filled out. -Sassy Cassie. Come here.

I bet you got all the boys wrapped around your finger.

Boop.

Rue: Their family wasn't perfect.

("Eli's Coming" by the Nylons plays)

Her mom had, you know, some issues.

Oh, my God.

Rue: And her dad struggled to keep a steady income.

-Suze: Fuck you. -Gus: This is my family--

-Rue: And they fought. -(indistinct arguing)

In the way all parents kind of fight.

-(glass shattering) -(Suze yelling)

Rue: Except for the night before she started ninth grade.

Rue: Her mom told her that her dad was just being irrational.

Your father had some serious jealousy issues.

Let me tell you.

Plus, he couldn't hold a steady job to save his life.

I just think he didn't want the responsibility of being a father.

It's too much work.

Rue: But Cassie had heard differently.

My mom said your mom cheated on your dad.

And that's why he left.

What?

Rue: At first, she was really angry at her mom.

She resented her for being such a hypocrite.

-(liquid pouring) -(indistinct chatter on TV)

Rue: But then she realized that her dad wasn't perfect.

I don't know if I want to be associated with herpes

but, you know...

Rue: And her mom wasn't either,

and maybe they just weren't right for each other.

Rue: He used to visit them on weekends.

Bye, Dad.

-Bye, Dad. -Rue: But, eventually,

it became once every couple of weeks.

He said he was coming.

Rue: And then sometimes, more than a month would go by.

-Rue: Then one night... -(car horn blares)

...he was driving home from work...

-(truck horn horns) -(glass shattering)

...and was in the ICU for 23 days.

The doctors were afraid he'd never walk again.

But Cassie knew he was strong, and that he'd get better.

He was prescribed fentanyl for pain.

Promethazine to offset the nausea.

Liquid Lorazepam to sleep,

and Imitrex injections for migraines.

Cassie would text him and talk to him.

But as more time went by, the less responsive he became.

And eventually, months went by,

and she didn't hear from him at all.

Until one night, a week after her 15th birthday,

she got a text from a random number at about 1:00 in the morning.

And even though she was excited to see him

and wanted to hug him,

there was something about the whole thing that scared her.

I want you to know there's never a day goes by

I don't think about you.

The number you texted me from.

Can I call you?

That's my friend's phone.

But I promise I'll reach you to you with my new number, I...

Don't cry, baby.

I'm okay. I'm fine. Don't...

I just miss you, Dad.

I miss you, okay. I love you.

Rue: He said he needed a few things,

and made her promise that she wouldn't tell a soul.

Rue: Cassie kept her promise,

and never told anyone about that night.

-She also never saw her dad again. -(door shuts)

She fell in love with every guy she ever dated.

Whether they were smart or stupid

or sweet or cruel, it didn't matter.

She didn't like to be alone.

-What are you doing? -Ex-boyfriend 1: I'm just filming you.

Why?

Rue: And every guy she ever dated asked for the same things.

-Ex-boyfriend 2: Can I film you sucking my dick? -What? No!

-What? Stop. -Ex-boyfriend 3: Let's make a sex tape.

-What? Get out of here. -Ex-boyfriend 4: Come on. I won't tell anyone.

-Ex-boyfriend 5: It's not that big of a deal. -Yes, it is.

I don't wanna do this.

Rue: And she almost always said yes.

Even though it didn't always make her feel good.

And she knew that most guys, after she broke up with them,

would always share those photos or videos.

The first time she found out, she had a panic attack,

and wanted to swallow a whole bottle of Tylenol.

But she didn't. Because, I mean,

what's the worst thing anybody could say to her?

That she gave a blowjob to a guy who didn't deserve it?

And she figured by the time she was out of college

and looking for a job, 99 percent of the population

would have leaked nudes, anyway.

And then, at the beginning of the year, she met McKay.

And fell in love with him.

And he fell in love with her.

-I love you. -Rue: And even though things weren't perfect,

he loved her for who she was.

And even though she had made a couple of mistakes,

I mean, they weren't big ones.

They weren't the kind of things you couldn't come back from.

Narrator (on computer screen): Previously on Love Island ...

Laura (on computer screen): G rab the amazing-ness that you have with Josh

by the balls.

Rue: People are always telling me about great TV shows.

How I just have to watch this show.

But the truth is, I don't want good TV.

I don't want a novel, or some slow burn,

or anything that feels like work.

That's why I love reality TV.

It's funny, it's dramatic, and I can focus on it.

It's pure, effortless entertainment.

Narrator (on computer screen): Romance hits the rocks.

Man (on computer screen): She doesn't talk to me, she doesn't acknowledge me.

-She's playing a game. -Woman (on computer screen): Honestly...

Rue: I want to lay down one moment

and then look around the next

and realize I have watched

22 straight hours of Love Island

over a two-day period...

-...and yearn for more. -(music plays on computer screen)

Some people may find that depressing.

I don't.

It is, however, a good way to measure depression.

Because when reality TV begins to feel like work,

like, final season of Mad Men work,

you know you're depressed.

Like, haven't got out of bed to pee in 24 hours depressed.

Cassie: Do I look different to you?

You look fine to me.

'Cause I feel different.

Okay, well, you don't look it.