-- Chapter 2 --
The train slowly rolled to a stop with a loud hiss. This stop was the last on it's route tonight, and everyone left on the train piled off as if in a sleepy daze. A bitter-cold wind blew across the sliding doors as Angel stepped down, and she snuggled a little further into her slightly thin jacket. "Jesus. No one mentioned the cold." She whispered as if to calm herself, and found her way into the station. She wasn't surprised no one was here to meet her yet; rarely was anyone on time in her family. A row of phone lined a side wall, and she made her way over, absently pulling her hair into a half-ponytail, half-bun with an elastic she'd forgotten was around her wrist.
First she called her father to let him know she was here. He told her he'd be there in the next hour or so to get her, in a tone that was slightly sharp, but nonetheless comforting. Next, she dialed a number she'd called many time over the last couple of days, with no answer any time.
"Hey! This is Corey. You've called my brand spanking new apartment! Yay! I finally got my own place. Anyways," the voice was interupted by a soft voice in the back. Her own. "Shut up Angel. Heh. Yeah, so like, leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible. If I remember." It beeped once, and the line opened up.
"Corey. It's Angel. I'm in Colorado now. You can call my cellphone, or call my dad's place... it's 1-323-555-3324 there. Please call me. I miss you. Just let me know your alive... I'll be here at the trainstation for an hour or so, so call my cell til then. Anyways. Please. Just call? I love you so much, Corey. We both need you right now..." A tear fell from her eye slowly, tickling as it slid down the ski-jump curve of her nose. Angel couldn't remember at time when she'd felt more depressed, or more alone. Making her way to a free bench, she stretched out, dropping her bags on the floor beside her. She pulled her little phone out of her purse, making sure it was on, just in case.
The minutes crept by slowly at first, the seconds feeling like an eternity. Then she began to drift, and eventually dozed off. Muffled by her purse and bags, and fast asleep, she never heard her cellphone as it finally rang.
* --- --- * ------ *
Saturday was a clear, cold day, with everyone out and about, rushing around for Christmas. Delia was the only one managing to get any shopping done, being small enough to slip in and around pushy customers. "You think Dad would like this?" She popped up in right in Ephram's face, who jumped, caught completely off-guard. He didn't even look at what it was, and just nodded.
"Yeah, whatever. Who else do you have to buy for?" He asked, staring intently at a row of necklaces and bracelets that were closed away behind the finger-print smudged, but relatively clear safety glass.
"You, which I'm obviously not going to get right now,"
"No kiding."
"Interupting is rude -"
"Sorry kiddo." Ephram took a moment to turn and offer the best excuse of a smile he could.
"Ephram! Anyway. Do you think I should get something for Edna?"
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." he glanced around, catching Amy walking by just out of the corner of his eye. "Listen... You go, get whatever, you got money left right?" She nodded quickly, though he wasn't looking at her. "Meet me in the park across the street in an hour. Got it?"
"Yes!" Delia nodded again, though that wasn't seen either. Ephram took off out of the store, and down the street leaving her to her gift-buying. "Jerk." She muttered, leaving the store as well. The wind wasn't quite as chilly as it had been in the past few days, and it was still very cold, with the constant threat of snowfall always in the air. The park was just as crowded as the streets were, and she finally managed to snag a spot on a bench, warm from the last person to sit there. Delia still a bit of shopping to do, but she was practically asleep on her feet already, and they'd only been out for two hours. She was snuggling a litte further into her coat when the girl sat across from her. Delia examined the visible bit of her face slowly, for most it was covered in a bright blue scarf. "Angel!" She practically screamed after a few minutes, and leapt on her, practically smothering her with a hug.
"Delia! Hey baby. How are you?" Angel laughed for the first time in weeks, and returned the smothering. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. We live here now. Ephram will be happy to see you. Is Corey here too?" Angel's happy look fell quickly, and she didn't answer. "Oh. Yeah. Well, my dad works in the building over there."
"Isn't that a train station?" Angel asked, squinting through her sunglasses.
"It used to be, I think." Delia nodded, scanning the street for any sign of her brother, or at least Amy. She'd know where he was.
Angel's elation returned, and though it wasn't quite as nice as it had been ealier when Delia jumped on her, it was still nice to feel anything but blue. "I'm sure Dr. Brown fixed it all up properly."
"Will you excuse me for a second?" Delia said sudenly, practically leaping from the bench. The cold long forgotten, she went tearing down the sidewalks, her lungs half-frozen. "Ephram! Ephram!" She caught him around the waist, and nearly fell. They both slid, and Ephram whirled, expecting her to be maimed, or worse.
"What the hell, Delia? You scared the shit out of me." He said, checking her once over quickly. Since their mother had passed away, he'd felt more like he needed to take care of her, though they'd always gotten along. "Where's the fire?"
"No where, but Angel's here!" She gasped after a moment, stepping back a little.
"That's really not cool, Delia. Seriously." He said, a slightly more scolding note then he'd meant slipping into his voice.
"I'm not kidding, Ephram."
"She's not." Angel appeared from up the road, putting her black-gloved hands on Delia's shoulders with such a calm, reserved move it was hard not to notice her. "Hi Ephram."
"Angel..." He wrapped his arm's around her neck, Delia slipping out at the very last second. "I missed you." His voice was muffled in the hood of her coat.
"I missed you too." She said, holding him close a moment longer than she should've. She felt a warm hand on her midsection, and she knew she'd been caught. "Corey's." She said after a few seconds. She'd only been showing for last couple of days, and even then it was easy enough to hide visually, but to touch, it was undeniable.
"Your pregnant." Ephram whispered, his bright blue eyes alive with shock. "How far along?"
"About 17 weeks." She whispered, watching the white clouds of her breath float away.
"Wow. That's a bit of a shock..."
"No kidding."
* --- --- * ------ *
"Dad lives a couple blocks away from here, actually." Angel explained as they turned up the front steps of the Brown's home. "Corey won't talk to me, so I can't stay at his apartment, and Mom kicked me out. So it was this, or a group home. Been there, done that, it's not pleasent."
"Was that before you came to New York?" Ephram asked, struggling to unlock the door with mostly frozen fingers. He knew he should've picked up some gloves before he left but Delia had been in such a hurry. Angel took the keys from him, and unlocked the door quietly.
"No. It was just after I'd gotten there. See, Mom and I lived in New York for a couple months before I started at that school." she explained, following Ephram into the blessed warmth of the house. Delia, who'd been listening silently behind them the whole way home, dumped her coat and things by the door, and took off for the television set. Rather then yell at her like he normally would've, Ephram picked everything up without a word, and put it away.
"Hungry?" He asked Angel after a moment, glancing back over his shoulder. She dangled the keys with a grin, and nodded.
"A bit. But it's alright. I'll grab something when I get home."
"No, it's cool. Come on." He turned towards the kitchen, and Angel took a moment to really look over the boy she thought she'd truly known. He'd grown a lot since she'd seen him last, and Delia, who she'd babysat time and again, had as well. She then followed him slowly, her steps light, and slightly cautious. Her own behaviour was starting to worry her. She'd never been so withdrawn, or quiet in her whole life. Of course, she'd never been pregnant before either. "Are you going to keep it?"
"Sorry?" The question caught Angel off guard, and for that brief minute she couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Ephram pointed to a chair when she appeared in the doorway, and went back to rummaging through the cupboards.
"The baby, I mean." He finally managed to search out a bag of chips, and tossed it over to her, pulling a chair across. "Are you gonna keep it?"
"I don't know. I really don't know much right now. Besides the fact that I'm scared shitless." She pulled the bag open, taking the first one off the top. She played with it for a long time before finally poping it in her mouth.
"Imagine what Corey's feeling." Ephram said softly, doing much the same.
"Obviously nothing, or he would've called by now. Or e-mailed, or something." Angel said, running a hand through her long dark hair. She eyed him nervously, then started to weep softly. "Ephram, I'm so scared. What the fuck am I gonna do?" Tears began to well in her big, oval green eyes, and it was all he could do not to cry with her. He crossed the small gap between them, and hugged her tightly, her warm tears being silently soaked up by his shirt.
"Shhh. It's ok... I'll help you." Calmy, he stroked her long hair. "Delia! Will you bring in the box of tissues please?" He called, and Delia came in obediently, the box of Kleenex outstretched. "Thanks."
"What's wrong, Angel?" she asked softly, the deeply saddened greens a bit unnerving, the way they lifted from Ephram's shoulder.
"Nothing, baby, it's alright. Why don't you go put a movie on, and me and Ephram will come watch it with you in a couple of minutes." Delia, liking the suggestion, nodded, and took off for the family room. "She looks happy enough here, but you look miserable. Is it like prep-overload here or something?" Forcing a choaked laugh, Ephram took one of the tissues, and gently dabbed the tears from her face, his hands surprisingly gentle. Angel laid her own over top of his, and held it to her cheek for a moment. "I missed you so much. I forgot with a great guy you were."
A ray of sun filtered in through the window across from the two of them, and for that brief moment, everything was perfect. Angel forgot about the new life inside her, and Ephram forgot about his confused feelings for Amy, and his mother's death. It was like he was home again, until the snow began to fall, the tiny shadows play across Angel's face.
"This is quite the love-fest."
"Dad, your home earlier." Ephram jumped slightly, and returned to his chair, the Kleenex still balled up in his hand. "I don't know if you'd remember her or not, but this is Angel."
A little self-conscious from this newest scrutiny, Angel relaxed when she saw Dr. Brown smile. "Angel. I think I might remember you mentioning her once or twice. You're the one with the voice, right?"
"That's what everyone tells me." Angel smiled, and shrugged, overly-modest about her talent.
"Ah ha." Andy laughed briefly, curious about this new girl who'd managed to snag his son's attention. "What brings you to Everwood?"
"My, ahh, mother, said I needed to spend sometime with my dad, thought it would be good for me. And her, I guess." She cringed ever so slightly at the sound of the lie tumbling from her mouth, and found it hard to relax, though Andy never said anything to contest it.
"Well, welcome." He smiled again, and nodded, understandingly, though he really didn't. "Delia has a movie paused in the living room, said you two were supposed to be watching it with her?"
"Right, yes." Angel smiled, and took advantage of the opportunity to bow out.
"She's cute." Andy commented, glancing at Ephram. "She looks older though..."
"Yeah, she's a year older than I am. Dad, I really don't think you should be checking out girls my age anyways." Ephram arched a brow, snagging the bag of chips, and quickly following suit, and disappearing.
The train slowly rolled to a stop with a loud hiss. This stop was the last on it's route tonight, and everyone left on the train piled off as if in a sleepy daze. A bitter-cold wind blew across the sliding doors as Angel stepped down, and she snuggled a little further into her slightly thin jacket. "Jesus. No one mentioned the cold." She whispered as if to calm herself, and found her way into the station. She wasn't surprised no one was here to meet her yet; rarely was anyone on time in her family. A row of phone lined a side wall, and she made her way over, absently pulling her hair into a half-ponytail, half-bun with an elastic she'd forgotten was around her wrist.
First she called her father to let him know she was here. He told her he'd be there in the next hour or so to get her, in a tone that was slightly sharp, but nonetheless comforting. Next, she dialed a number she'd called many time over the last couple of days, with no answer any time.
"Hey! This is Corey. You've called my brand spanking new apartment! Yay! I finally got my own place. Anyways," the voice was interupted by a soft voice in the back. Her own. "Shut up Angel. Heh. Yeah, so like, leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible. If I remember." It beeped once, and the line opened up.
"Corey. It's Angel. I'm in Colorado now. You can call my cellphone, or call my dad's place... it's 1-323-555-3324 there. Please call me. I miss you. Just let me know your alive... I'll be here at the trainstation for an hour or so, so call my cell til then. Anyways. Please. Just call? I love you so much, Corey. We both need you right now..." A tear fell from her eye slowly, tickling as it slid down the ski-jump curve of her nose. Angel couldn't remember at time when she'd felt more depressed, or more alone. Making her way to a free bench, she stretched out, dropping her bags on the floor beside her. She pulled her little phone out of her purse, making sure it was on, just in case.
The minutes crept by slowly at first, the seconds feeling like an eternity. Then she began to drift, and eventually dozed off. Muffled by her purse and bags, and fast asleep, she never heard her cellphone as it finally rang.
* --- --- * ------ *
Saturday was a clear, cold day, with everyone out and about, rushing around for Christmas. Delia was the only one managing to get any shopping done, being small enough to slip in and around pushy customers. "You think Dad would like this?" She popped up in right in Ephram's face, who jumped, caught completely off-guard. He didn't even look at what it was, and just nodded.
"Yeah, whatever. Who else do you have to buy for?" He asked, staring intently at a row of necklaces and bracelets that were closed away behind the finger-print smudged, but relatively clear safety glass.
"You, which I'm obviously not going to get right now,"
"No kiding."
"Interupting is rude -"
"Sorry kiddo." Ephram took a moment to turn and offer the best excuse of a smile he could.
"Ephram! Anyway. Do you think I should get something for Edna?"
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." he glanced around, catching Amy walking by just out of the corner of his eye. "Listen... You go, get whatever, you got money left right?" She nodded quickly, though he wasn't looking at her. "Meet me in the park across the street in an hour. Got it?"
"Yes!" Delia nodded again, though that wasn't seen either. Ephram took off out of the store, and down the street leaving her to her gift-buying. "Jerk." She muttered, leaving the store as well. The wind wasn't quite as chilly as it had been in the past few days, and it was still very cold, with the constant threat of snowfall always in the air. The park was just as crowded as the streets were, and she finally managed to snag a spot on a bench, warm from the last person to sit there. Delia still a bit of shopping to do, but she was practically asleep on her feet already, and they'd only been out for two hours. She was snuggling a litte further into her coat when the girl sat across from her. Delia examined the visible bit of her face slowly, for most it was covered in a bright blue scarf. "Angel!" She practically screamed after a few minutes, and leapt on her, practically smothering her with a hug.
"Delia! Hey baby. How are you?" Angel laughed for the first time in weeks, and returned the smothering. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing. We live here now. Ephram will be happy to see you. Is Corey here too?" Angel's happy look fell quickly, and she didn't answer. "Oh. Yeah. Well, my dad works in the building over there."
"Isn't that a train station?" Angel asked, squinting through her sunglasses.
"It used to be, I think." Delia nodded, scanning the street for any sign of her brother, or at least Amy. She'd know where he was.
Angel's elation returned, and though it wasn't quite as nice as it had been ealier when Delia jumped on her, it was still nice to feel anything but blue. "I'm sure Dr. Brown fixed it all up properly."
"Will you excuse me for a second?" Delia said sudenly, practically leaping from the bench. The cold long forgotten, she went tearing down the sidewalks, her lungs half-frozen. "Ephram! Ephram!" She caught him around the waist, and nearly fell. They both slid, and Ephram whirled, expecting her to be maimed, or worse.
"What the hell, Delia? You scared the shit out of me." He said, checking her once over quickly. Since their mother had passed away, he'd felt more like he needed to take care of her, though they'd always gotten along. "Where's the fire?"
"No where, but Angel's here!" She gasped after a moment, stepping back a little.
"That's really not cool, Delia. Seriously." He said, a slightly more scolding note then he'd meant slipping into his voice.
"I'm not kidding, Ephram."
"She's not." Angel appeared from up the road, putting her black-gloved hands on Delia's shoulders with such a calm, reserved move it was hard not to notice her. "Hi Ephram."
"Angel..." He wrapped his arm's around her neck, Delia slipping out at the very last second. "I missed you." His voice was muffled in the hood of her coat.
"I missed you too." She said, holding him close a moment longer than she should've. She felt a warm hand on her midsection, and she knew she'd been caught. "Corey's." She said after a few seconds. She'd only been showing for last couple of days, and even then it was easy enough to hide visually, but to touch, it was undeniable.
"Your pregnant." Ephram whispered, his bright blue eyes alive with shock. "How far along?"
"About 17 weeks." She whispered, watching the white clouds of her breath float away.
"Wow. That's a bit of a shock..."
"No kidding."
* --- --- * ------ *
"Dad lives a couple blocks away from here, actually." Angel explained as they turned up the front steps of the Brown's home. "Corey won't talk to me, so I can't stay at his apartment, and Mom kicked me out. So it was this, or a group home. Been there, done that, it's not pleasent."
"Was that before you came to New York?" Ephram asked, struggling to unlock the door with mostly frozen fingers. He knew he should've picked up some gloves before he left but Delia had been in such a hurry. Angel took the keys from him, and unlocked the door quietly.
"No. It was just after I'd gotten there. See, Mom and I lived in New York for a couple months before I started at that school." she explained, following Ephram into the blessed warmth of the house. Delia, who'd been listening silently behind them the whole way home, dumped her coat and things by the door, and took off for the television set. Rather then yell at her like he normally would've, Ephram picked everything up without a word, and put it away.
"Hungry?" He asked Angel after a moment, glancing back over his shoulder. She dangled the keys with a grin, and nodded.
"A bit. But it's alright. I'll grab something when I get home."
"No, it's cool. Come on." He turned towards the kitchen, and Angel took a moment to really look over the boy she thought she'd truly known. He'd grown a lot since she'd seen him last, and Delia, who she'd babysat time and again, had as well. She then followed him slowly, her steps light, and slightly cautious. Her own behaviour was starting to worry her. She'd never been so withdrawn, or quiet in her whole life. Of course, she'd never been pregnant before either. "Are you going to keep it?"
"Sorry?" The question caught Angel off guard, and for that brief minute she couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Ephram pointed to a chair when she appeared in the doorway, and went back to rummaging through the cupboards.
"The baby, I mean." He finally managed to search out a bag of chips, and tossed it over to her, pulling a chair across. "Are you gonna keep it?"
"I don't know. I really don't know much right now. Besides the fact that I'm scared shitless." She pulled the bag open, taking the first one off the top. She played with it for a long time before finally poping it in her mouth.
"Imagine what Corey's feeling." Ephram said softly, doing much the same.
"Obviously nothing, or he would've called by now. Or e-mailed, or something." Angel said, running a hand through her long dark hair. She eyed him nervously, then started to weep softly. "Ephram, I'm so scared. What the fuck am I gonna do?" Tears began to well in her big, oval green eyes, and it was all he could do not to cry with her. He crossed the small gap between them, and hugged her tightly, her warm tears being silently soaked up by his shirt.
"Shhh. It's ok... I'll help you." Calmy, he stroked her long hair. "Delia! Will you bring in the box of tissues please?" He called, and Delia came in obediently, the box of Kleenex outstretched. "Thanks."
"What's wrong, Angel?" she asked softly, the deeply saddened greens a bit unnerving, the way they lifted from Ephram's shoulder.
"Nothing, baby, it's alright. Why don't you go put a movie on, and me and Ephram will come watch it with you in a couple of minutes." Delia, liking the suggestion, nodded, and took off for the family room. "She looks happy enough here, but you look miserable. Is it like prep-overload here or something?" Forcing a choaked laugh, Ephram took one of the tissues, and gently dabbed the tears from her face, his hands surprisingly gentle. Angel laid her own over top of his, and held it to her cheek for a moment. "I missed you so much. I forgot with a great guy you were."
A ray of sun filtered in through the window across from the two of them, and for that brief moment, everything was perfect. Angel forgot about the new life inside her, and Ephram forgot about his confused feelings for Amy, and his mother's death. It was like he was home again, until the snow began to fall, the tiny shadows play across Angel's face.
"This is quite the love-fest."
"Dad, your home earlier." Ephram jumped slightly, and returned to his chair, the Kleenex still balled up in his hand. "I don't know if you'd remember her or not, but this is Angel."
A little self-conscious from this newest scrutiny, Angel relaxed when she saw Dr. Brown smile. "Angel. I think I might remember you mentioning her once or twice. You're the one with the voice, right?"
"That's what everyone tells me." Angel smiled, and shrugged, overly-modest about her talent.
"Ah ha." Andy laughed briefly, curious about this new girl who'd managed to snag his son's attention. "What brings you to Everwood?"
"My, ahh, mother, said I needed to spend sometime with my dad, thought it would be good for me. And her, I guess." She cringed ever so slightly at the sound of the lie tumbling from her mouth, and found it hard to relax, though Andy never said anything to contest it.
"Well, welcome." He smiled again, and nodded, understandingly, though he really didn't. "Delia has a movie paused in the living room, said you two were supposed to be watching it with her?"
"Right, yes." Angel smiled, and took advantage of the opportunity to bow out.
"She's cute." Andy commented, glancing at Ephram. "She looks older though..."
"Yeah, she's a year older than I am. Dad, I really don't think you should be checking out girls my age anyways." Ephram arched a brow, snagging the bag of chips, and quickly following suit, and disappearing.