Disclaimer: I don't own Everwood.
A/N: here's chapter 11. Hope you'll like it! I want to thank everyone who had reviewed… it means so much to me. Sorry for the delay, exams are killing me!
Chapter eleven: Worries.
Amy went home alone that afternoon. Ephram had taken the car when he left Madison's house and since then she didn't saw or heard about her fiancé. She had never seen him this angry. All she wanted to do was to take him in her arms, reassure him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. She wanted to tell him that she was here for him, but she could not. He was not here. He was argy, miserable and even scared and there was nothing she could do about it. She had tried to run after him when he left but he was already gone when she had reached the door. She tried to call him several times but he did not answer. For the first time in so many years she was afraid to loose him. 'He didn't even look back' she thought her heart aching. The last time Madison had made irruption in their lives, Ephram had left the country, he had left her and the thought of that nightmare happening again left Amy completely out of air. She fell down on the couch, her head in her hands; trying hard not to cry.
That night she fell asleep on the couch; exhausted without having ate and without Ephram's arms around her.
Ephram was driving back to Everwood. It was two in the morning and he had spent all day driving through Colorado; trying to clear his mind but he just could not. Too many emotions were mixed up inside of him and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. He was more than angry at Madison, he felt like rage could take control of him at any moment. He was worried about his family, about Adam and about his life; his great life that was going to change inevitably. He knew that feeling by heart but he was not sure he was able to face that kind of situation again. But most of all he was feeling guilty; he had left Amy and she must be scared to death by now. When she had called he needed to be alone so he did not answer. He wanted to figure out on his own what he was going to do, what he wanted to do. He knew Amy was just trying to help but for some reason he needed to be alone.
All day long he thought about Adam; about his son. Yes, he had a son. He remembered the conversation he had with his father six years ago in their living room, in front of the fire place. He remembered telling his father how afraid he was to face his son if he ever came back in his life. His worst nightmare was becoming true and he never felt so lost.
His eyes were locked on the road in front of him, he was exhausted but not physically; he did not feel the need to sleep. He was emotionally tired. When he passed the "Welcome to Everwood" sign it was six in the morning and he had finally taken a decision.
All he wanted to do was to go straight home, took Amy in his arms, hear her sweet reassuring voice and kiss her soft lips but he could not, not right now. He had something to get rid of first.
He pulled to the curve and stopped the car. His hands still on the wheel, he took a deep breath and prepared himself to breast her once more. He went out of the car and while he was walking toward the front porch he tried as hard as he could to control his anger. He knocked at the door and rubbed his tired eyes. After several minutes and knocks he heard footsteps from behind the door.
"Ephram?" said Madison's brother with a sleepy voice. He rubbed his eyes which were not adjusted to the day light.
"'Morning." Ephram said with an expressionless face. "Sorry, I know it's really early but I need to talk to…" he stopped when he saw a restless Madison coming toward the door. Ephram noticed that she was still wearing the same clothes, her hairs were messy and her eyes were red and puffy. He also saw the relief expression when she realised it was him.
"Thank God you're back!" she stated bluntly. "Where were you? Every body was freaking out!"
"Can we talk?" he asked, ignoring her worried tone.
"I'm gonna go back to sleep." Madison's brother said, leaving them alone.
"D'you wanna come in?" she asked trying to hide the anxiety in her voice.
"No. I'd rather stay outside and it won't take long." Madison steeped outside of the door and closed it behind her. She crossed her arms and looked in his eyes.
"Amy called last night." She finally said. He looked at her questioningly. "She was worried." She explained. He nodded and looked down at the floor, feeling even guiltier. If Amy had called her, it means that she was really afraid.
"I'm sorry Ephr…"
"I'm not here for this." He said interrupting her. "I don't want to hear your apology because… because they are useless!" he said angrily. "I'm here for Adam. I want to get to know him and I want him to know me and my family."
"Then we have to talk to him."
"Yeah. Today. Bring him to the school at 5 P.M."
"Okay" she said biting her bottom lips. He turned around and went back to his car without adding a word or looking back.
Amy woke up with a start from her nightmare. She dried the sweat on her forehead and got up from the couch. Her neck was aching from the uncomfortable position she fell asleep in. she rubbed it and headed toward the answering machine; hoping to find a message from Ephram.
"Hi Amy, it's Delia. Madison just called. Ephram is back." Amy put a hand on her chest and sighed in relief. "He went to see her this morning…" Amy frowned, clearly annoyed. "Don't worry Ames, everything will be fine." Delia finished with a reassuring tone. The second message was from Ephram.
"Hi Amy, it's me. I'm sorry I left like that but you know me… I needed to think this through. I'm coming home; I should be here in two hours. I'm going to see Madison first; I took a decision and I want her to know what I'm planning to do." He remained silent for several seconds. "I'm sorry Amy. I love you." He finished. Just then Ephram opened the door and they both stood still just looking at each other. He closed the door and looked down at his hands but he looked up quickly when he realised she stepping closer. She hugged him tightly.
"Never do this to me again!" she whispered. "Ever!"
"I promise." He whispered back. They pulled apart and she stared at him. Two minutes ago, when she heard he went to see Madison first, she was angry, frustrated and a little bit jealous but now that she was looking into his sad and tired blue eyes, she forgot everything.
"How are you?" she asked worried. He chuckled.
"I'm fantastic." He answered sarcastically. She gave him a weak smile.
"What do you wanna do?"
"I talked to Madison and we set up an appointment this afternoon to tell him everything." They were now in the living room; seating on the couch. They remained silent for a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Even if she was relieved he came back, Amy still had that bad feeling she had two nights ago. In addition she was really angry at Madison for putting Ephram through another drama. As for Ephram, he was just trying to regain the control of himself. They looked at each other, both looking very tired and anxious. She put one hand on his cheek and smiled.
"You know, I can kick Madison's ass if you want me to." she said smiling. He laughed and leaned to kiss her forehead.
"Yeah I know you can; I still have bruises…" he said smirking and she giggled.
"You should get some sleep. I'll cancel your lessons for today." He was about to protest but she lifted her hand up to quiet him. "Nah-ah I don't want to here anything, you're too tired to teach. Plus you will need some time alone to figure out what you're going to say this afternoon." He smiled gratefully at her. "My first class in an hour so I'm gonna take a shower." she was about to get up when he grabbed her arm.
"Thank you Amy. I'm really sorry for last night."
"It's ok, don't worry." She said while she leaned to kiss his cheek.
He spent the rest of the morning tossing and turning in his bed, falling asleep and waking up with a start by the weird dreams he was having. He finally woke up at 11 o'clock even more tired than he was when Amy had left him. He quickly took a shower and got dressed. The day was surprisingly hot so he decided to go for a walk and clear his mind a little bit; it seemed like this was the only thing he was doing for the last two days and a half. After an hour he found himself in the spot on the hill where Amy had brought him his first week in Everwood. He did not know why he headed toward this place; he did not even remember coming back here since his first visit. He stood there for a long time, looking at the beautiful view, trying to figure out how he was going to tell Adam that he was his biological father and that he wanted him to be part of his life. He barely him so he was really nervous about Adam's reaction.
Realising he had not eat in two days he decided to grab some food at Sam's. There, he met Nina who was dealing with a very hectic Andrea. When the little girl noticed Ephram in the middle of starving crowd she ran to him and he pulled her up while she was giving him a hug.
"This is my favourite terror! How are you today?" he asked her smiling.
"I'm good thanks. Why weren't you at the school today?" she asked frowning.
"I was just a little tired, that's all. How was your dance lesson?"
"Great!" Andrea said smiling widely. « Mum is taking me shopping this afternoon. I'm going to buy my dress for your wedding." She added even more widely. On the other hand Ephram's smiled faded away; with everything that happened this last two days he almost forgot that he was getting married in less than six days. At that moment Nina came to them.
"Hi." She said in a concerned tone. "How are you?"
"Good." Ephram lied. She raised an eyebrow doubtfully. He just looked at Andrea and she understood that he did not to talk about it in front of the little girl.
"Sweetie why don't you go find Sam, I think he's in my office." Nina said to her daughter and Ephram kneeled to put Andrea down. Before leaving she gave him a sweet peck on the cheek.
"See ya later Ephram."
"See ya." He said waving at her. He got up and looked at Nina and gave her a weak smile. "I'm fine. It's just a little overwhelming, that's all." She nodded.
"I was about to have lunch, do you wanna join me?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure."
They were seating in Nina's office, they have just finished their sandwiches. Sam had taken Andrea home.
"So, when did he came?" he asked and she looked confused. "Dad." He added smiling knowingly.
"Oh… after work yesterday. He wasn't going to tell me, I made him… I was really worried yesterday when Delia came looking for him. It was really early and I saw the look of worry in her eyes…"
"It's ok Nina, I don't mind. You guys always had a special relationship…" he said looking at her meaningfully.
"So, what now?" she asked trying to avoid the sensitive subject. "Is she going back to New York with Adam?"
"Actually I don't know. I'm seeing them this afternoon and I guess we'll figure everything out then." She nodded. Ephram looked at the pictures on Nina's desk. There were five of them, but the one that Ephram preferred was the one taken at the Everwood art school's inauguration. All the people he cared about were on this picture. Nina was standing next to Andy; his arms were around her shoulder and they were both smiling widely. Next to them were standing their children and the Abbotts. They were all standing in front of the school and everybody was smiling.
"I love this picture too." she said after a while. They smiled at each other. He looked at her and hesitated, not knowing if he should ask her what was on his mind. She smiled and said:
"Ask away."
"Well I was just thinking about Andrea."
"What about her?" she said frowning.
"Does she ask about Jake?" her facial expression changed quickly from concern to sadness.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"It's ok." She said interrupting him. "Not really. She's still a little young, I guess. Plus Sam and I always talk to her about him."
"I'm afraid he'll reject me." He said sadly. She smiled with sympathy and put her hand on his.
"Don't worry Ephram. Everything will be okay. I'm sure he won't reject you." She said smiling reassuringly.
"How's Amy doing?"
"I'm not sure. She's acting like she's fine but I know she's not… not really. I can't believe this is happening!" he said angrily. "I'm getting married in six days; all I should worry about is not throwing up in front of everyone during the ceremony." She chuckled.
He looked at his watch and decided to get back to his apartment to have some sleep, or at least trying to.
"I should get going." He told her, standing up and heading toward the door. Before leaving, he turned around and gave her a warm smile. "Thanks." He said.
"You're welcome." She said, returning back his smile. "Good luck."
"Thank you." And with that he left Sam's.
At 4.30 Ephram arrived at E.A.S and went to his office where he found his fiancé. She was working on some paper. He smiled when he saw the look on concentration in her eyes.
"Hi stranger." He said.
"Hi." She said smiling; he came closer and gave her a soft kiss.
"How was your day?" he asked, seating down in his chair.
"Wearying. Yours?"
"Wearying." They shared a giggle.
"I hired our new assistant."
"I completely forgot it was today!" he said apologetically.
"It's ok."
"Who is it?" he asked curiously.
"His name is Matt Richardson, he's 25 and he's in E.C.C. we know him actually…"
"Yeah, isn't he Marie's Richardson big brother, Kyle's student?" She nodded.
"He has good references and he seems nice." She added. At that point there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." Amy said.
"Hi" a teen girl said passing the door.
"Hi Tina." They both said, "What's wrong?" Amy asked.
"Nothing. I just wanted to ask you some question about the new choreography."
"It's my cue to go." Ephram said and they all laughed. "I see you tonight." He said looking at Amy. She nodded and smiled.
"Good luck." She said.
"Bye Tina." He said to Amy's student.
"Bye Ephram."
He went to the little music room and sat down on the piano bench. He played for about half an hour when he heard someone opening the door. He stopped and turned around.
"Hi Ephram." Adam said smiling.
A/N: I'm really sorry for the delay. I hope you liked it anyway. I'm writing the next chapter. Please review, you know I love when you do that
