Right Place, Wrong Time
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, the rest belong to the WB.
Rating: PG-13
Ephram woke up the next morning with a comic book in his hand, he had fallen asleep reading it, "Whoa, apparently I was more tired than I thought." Ephram crawled out of bed, looking at his clock, it was only five- thirty, and he usually didn't get up until six. He let out a heavy sigh.
"Ephram, are you awake?" Andy walked down the hall, rubbing his eyes.
"No dad, you're seeing things, go back to sleep." Ephram walked into the bathroom.
"I can't, I have an appointment with someone really early this morning, but I'll hold onto that thought." Andy really did want to go back to sleep, but knew he had an obligation to his patients.
"Well then don't fall asleep in the car!" Ephram yelled from the bathroom.
Andy walked downstairs and looked in the kitchen, "Cereal it is." He knew he wasn't 'aloud' to cook, so he didn't.
Ephram walked down a minute later, "I see you're learning, dad." Ephram smiled, pointing to the food, "Looks good." He pulled some Raisin Bran from the pantry and sat next to his dad, "Who are you going to go see so early?" Ephram yawned.
"Some girl who is pregnant, I had to reschedule because I heard you weren't at the hospital, and the only time she was free was this early in the morning." Andy yawned a few seconds after Ephram.
"Isn't it bad to work when you're pregnant?"
"Actually, not really, it helps the labor to come faster, just so long as you don't ever overwork yourself." Andy smiled at his sons concern for the person he didn't even know.
"I'll try to keep that in mind when I become pregnant." Ephram smiled too, and then started to eat his cereal.
Andy finished and rinsed his bowl, "I have to go, but I'll be home later today, are you going to school?"
"Yeah, I'll have Bright come pick me up." Ephram looked at his dad, "Don't worry, I'm not up to anything, I promise." That was the first honest thing Ephram had told his dad in awhile.
"Alright, well, I'll see you later. Make sure Delia doesn't forget her lunch!" Andy grabbed his coat and walked out the door.
******
Delia remembered her lunch, and but Ephram forgot to call Bright. He looked at his watch; it was seven-o-five. There was no way Bright would still be at home, but Ephram had to try. He called, but nobody answered, "It looks like I get to ride today...I can't wait until I turn sixteen!" Ephram looked outside, and to his surprise, Bright's truck was sitting in the driveway. Amy was getting out of the passengers side and running up the walkway.
"Hey," She said as he opened the door, "We thought you might need a ride, so we came over." She smiled at him.
"How did you know I was going to school?" Ephram was getting his backpack from the stairs.
"I don't really know." Amy took him by the hand and they walked out together. "So," She said as they got in, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I slept fine, sorry I didn't call you last night." Ephram and Amy's routine was for him to call her every night at nine, but he had missed that the past few nights.
"It's okay, I'm sure you have a good excuse." Ephram swallowed hard, there was no way he could tell her he was talking to Annette, and she would never forgive him.
"Um, I was really tired." That's all he said, and he wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the whole truth.
"I don't blame you; you've been through a bunch of stuff lately." Amy had no idea how true that was.
All three of them got to school and went there separate ways, but Ephram had to steal a kiss before leaving Amy. It was there first kiss, and the timing, for some reason, seemed right.
"What was that for?" She asked, smiling.
"I don't know," He answered, "Everything." He ran down the hall as the bell rang, signaling that he was late.
Amy was late too, but she didn't much care anymore, she was happy for the rest of the day.
******
Ephram had been taken home by Bright, of course. He ran inside, wondering if Annette had called. Delia was home, and standing by the phone, talking to someone. Ephram looked at the I.D. it read McMillan, again. Ephram's eyes got wide the same way they had before, and he looked at his little sister with a 'give me the phone' kind of look on his face.
Delia knew what it meant, so she spoke into the phone, "Here he is I'll let you talk to him." She smiled and handed the phone to him, "She's nice." She added as she walked away.
"I'm sorry, I don't even know why she's home right now." Ephram sighed.
"I have a fever!" Delia squealed from the other room, "Just thought you'd like to know, your friend already does!"
Ephram smiled, "So that's what it is." He rolled his eyes, "What's up?" Ephram realized he hadn't given Annette a chance to speak.
"Not much, I just wanted to tell you I was off to see my parents, they should be here any minute. We're going out to eat." Annette was smiling again; it was even more obvious than the last time.
"I see. Are you excited?"
"Of course I am! I haven't talked to my parents in a long time; I'm surprised they even want to talk to me!" Ephram heard a car horn in the background, "I have to go, but I'll call you tonight!"
"Uh, no, I don't think that's such a good idea. Just tell me how it goes tomorrow, okay?" Ephram waited a second for the reply.
"That's fine, I'll talk to you then, bye!"
This time Ephram got to say, "Bye, have fun," before Annette hung up. Everything seemed to be going fine so far.
******
Ephram took care of Delia, made sure she felt comfortable, and then went into his own room. He wondered how she got sick in the first place, but didn't worry about it much more after that. Then he realized she had been here alone for who knows how long, but she was asleep now, so he wasn't going to ask any questions.
"I'll ask her later, at dinner maybe." Ephram was getting tired, although he didn't know why. He decided to close his eyes, just to give them a little rest. But before he knew it, he was in dreamland, but he wasn't having pleasant dreams.
He was dreaming about his mother, and about the night she had died. He could remember it perfectly, like it happened only yesterday.
**Dream**
He remembered sitting at his recital, ready to go on, looking for his family in the audience, but seeing none of them, his heart fell.
He knew his dad wasn't going to be there, because he never was, so that didn't worry him. But what about his mom, where was she? Ephram knew she had probably dropped Delia off at the babysitter's house, but why wasn't she here yet? That house wasn't that far away.
Ephram decided to block it out of his mind, and he did. He didn't worry about her while he was playing, because it would distract him, and he couldn't have that happen, this moment was too big for him.
He played beautifully, like he had done it a million times before, he pretty much had. But still, something was wrong; he looked for his parents out of the corner of his eye, and yet again, no one. He began to worry, but played as steadily as he could manage. The best thing he could do was to just look at the keys he was to play next, and so he did.
Soon the thoughts of his missing mother flew away with the movement of his fingers. Every doubting thought in his mind was swept away in what seemed like a gentle breeze of music.
Ephram knew it had to come to an end, and so it did. Ephram had played his last note, heard his last cheers as he walked off stage, and into the dressing rooms, were he went to change. He was still looking for his mom as he walked backstage, and still he saw no one.
He just thought Delia got sick or something, and so she had to stay home, even though Delia seemed fine before he left. He turned a corner and then he saw them, the police officers and his piano teacher, Mrs. Dristan. She looked so upset, and when she saw Ephram, her face grew even gloomier. Ephram knew what had happened. Or so he thought he did.
"So, what did my dad do to get arrested?" He was hoping that would be what the officers would tell him, but that wasn't it at all.
"Oh Ephram, you did wonderfully tonight. I only wish your..." Mrs. Dristan trailed off in her speech.
"My what? What is going on here?" Ephram then realized what was actually happening. His mom hadn't made it to the recital, and at the end there were officers waiting for him. It was all adding up, "Where is my mom?" Ephram backed away from his teacher's hand.
"Son, I think you should sit down." One of the officers put a hand on Ephram's should, and guided him to the nearest room with a chair. Ephram had already begun shaking.
"This can't be happening, what's really going on here? Please tell me she isn't..." Ephram couldn't bear to finish the rest.
"I'm sorry Ephram, but I'm afraid I have some bad news." An officer started talking, "Your mother was on her way over here to be listen to you play your wonderful music, but the weather was just too rough. She couldn't control her car."
"No, no," The officer kept talking while Ephram was saying this.
"She went off the side of the road, she didn't feel anything, and she was killed instantly." The officer was trying to be reassuring, but it only made things worse.
"NO!!!!" Ephram stood up and ran out of the room. He tried turning an extremely sharp corner when he slipped, hitting the floor harder than he could ever imagine. He blacked out, and that was the end of the worst night in his entire life.
**End dream**
Andy walked in the door of his house, expecting it to be nice and peaceful, since it was in the middle of the day. But when he walked in, Nina ran downstairs, "Hi," He was more than surprised to see her in his house, "Might I ask what you are doing here?"
"Andy, Delia called me a few minutes ago, she said something about Ephram screaming and her not being able to wake him up. I came over as fast as I could, but he's still asleep and screaming." Nina looked very worried about the boy.
Just then Andy heard the most terrifying scream he could ever imagine come from upstairs. He ran up to Ephram's room as fast as he could, "Ephram, son," Andy sat at his bedside, "Ephram, wake up." He shook him lightly, but when that didn't work, it became a little more fierce every second.
Finally Ephram let out one last scream and then shot up in bed, with his father's arms still around him, "What's going on? Where am I?" Ephram thought that night was happening again, "Wha..." He finally got his bearings and looked at his dad, with tears in his eyes, "Oh no. Dad, it was horrible. I was reliving that night, when mom died." Ephram croaked a little as he spoke.
"It's okay Ephram, it's all over now." Andy brought Ephram closer to his own body and embraced him, comforting him the whole time, "You're going to be fine, I promise." Andy held Ephram there for quite some time, but only because it made Ephram fell a lot better.
Delia and Nina had walked out of the room, so the two guys could be alone. Delia had never seen Ephram so upset, and she never wanted to again. But soon something was going to happen that nobody expected, not even Ephram himself.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, the rest belong to the WB.
Rating: PG-13
Ephram woke up the next morning with a comic book in his hand, he had fallen asleep reading it, "Whoa, apparently I was more tired than I thought." Ephram crawled out of bed, looking at his clock, it was only five- thirty, and he usually didn't get up until six. He let out a heavy sigh.
"Ephram, are you awake?" Andy walked down the hall, rubbing his eyes.
"No dad, you're seeing things, go back to sleep." Ephram walked into the bathroom.
"I can't, I have an appointment with someone really early this morning, but I'll hold onto that thought." Andy really did want to go back to sleep, but knew he had an obligation to his patients.
"Well then don't fall asleep in the car!" Ephram yelled from the bathroom.
Andy walked downstairs and looked in the kitchen, "Cereal it is." He knew he wasn't 'aloud' to cook, so he didn't.
Ephram walked down a minute later, "I see you're learning, dad." Ephram smiled, pointing to the food, "Looks good." He pulled some Raisin Bran from the pantry and sat next to his dad, "Who are you going to go see so early?" Ephram yawned.
"Some girl who is pregnant, I had to reschedule because I heard you weren't at the hospital, and the only time she was free was this early in the morning." Andy yawned a few seconds after Ephram.
"Isn't it bad to work when you're pregnant?"
"Actually, not really, it helps the labor to come faster, just so long as you don't ever overwork yourself." Andy smiled at his sons concern for the person he didn't even know.
"I'll try to keep that in mind when I become pregnant." Ephram smiled too, and then started to eat his cereal.
Andy finished and rinsed his bowl, "I have to go, but I'll be home later today, are you going to school?"
"Yeah, I'll have Bright come pick me up." Ephram looked at his dad, "Don't worry, I'm not up to anything, I promise." That was the first honest thing Ephram had told his dad in awhile.
"Alright, well, I'll see you later. Make sure Delia doesn't forget her lunch!" Andy grabbed his coat and walked out the door.
******
Delia remembered her lunch, and but Ephram forgot to call Bright. He looked at his watch; it was seven-o-five. There was no way Bright would still be at home, but Ephram had to try. He called, but nobody answered, "It looks like I get to ride today...I can't wait until I turn sixteen!" Ephram looked outside, and to his surprise, Bright's truck was sitting in the driveway. Amy was getting out of the passengers side and running up the walkway.
"Hey," She said as he opened the door, "We thought you might need a ride, so we came over." She smiled at him.
"How did you know I was going to school?" Ephram was getting his backpack from the stairs.
"I don't really know." Amy took him by the hand and they walked out together. "So," She said as they got in, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I slept fine, sorry I didn't call you last night." Ephram and Amy's routine was for him to call her every night at nine, but he had missed that the past few nights.
"It's okay, I'm sure you have a good excuse." Ephram swallowed hard, there was no way he could tell her he was talking to Annette, and she would never forgive him.
"Um, I was really tired." That's all he said, and he wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the whole truth.
"I don't blame you; you've been through a bunch of stuff lately." Amy had no idea how true that was.
All three of them got to school and went there separate ways, but Ephram had to steal a kiss before leaving Amy. It was there first kiss, and the timing, for some reason, seemed right.
"What was that for?" She asked, smiling.
"I don't know," He answered, "Everything." He ran down the hall as the bell rang, signaling that he was late.
Amy was late too, but she didn't much care anymore, she was happy for the rest of the day.
******
Ephram had been taken home by Bright, of course. He ran inside, wondering if Annette had called. Delia was home, and standing by the phone, talking to someone. Ephram looked at the I.D. it read McMillan, again. Ephram's eyes got wide the same way they had before, and he looked at his little sister with a 'give me the phone' kind of look on his face.
Delia knew what it meant, so she spoke into the phone, "Here he is I'll let you talk to him." She smiled and handed the phone to him, "She's nice." She added as she walked away.
"I'm sorry, I don't even know why she's home right now." Ephram sighed.
"I have a fever!" Delia squealed from the other room, "Just thought you'd like to know, your friend already does!"
Ephram smiled, "So that's what it is." He rolled his eyes, "What's up?" Ephram realized he hadn't given Annette a chance to speak.
"Not much, I just wanted to tell you I was off to see my parents, they should be here any minute. We're going out to eat." Annette was smiling again; it was even more obvious than the last time.
"I see. Are you excited?"
"Of course I am! I haven't talked to my parents in a long time; I'm surprised they even want to talk to me!" Ephram heard a car horn in the background, "I have to go, but I'll call you tonight!"
"Uh, no, I don't think that's such a good idea. Just tell me how it goes tomorrow, okay?" Ephram waited a second for the reply.
"That's fine, I'll talk to you then, bye!"
This time Ephram got to say, "Bye, have fun," before Annette hung up. Everything seemed to be going fine so far.
******
Ephram took care of Delia, made sure she felt comfortable, and then went into his own room. He wondered how she got sick in the first place, but didn't worry about it much more after that. Then he realized she had been here alone for who knows how long, but she was asleep now, so he wasn't going to ask any questions.
"I'll ask her later, at dinner maybe." Ephram was getting tired, although he didn't know why. He decided to close his eyes, just to give them a little rest. But before he knew it, he was in dreamland, but he wasn't having pleasant dreams.
He was dreaming about his mother, and about the night she had died. He could remember it perfectly, like it happened only yesterday.
**Dream**
He remembered sitting at his recital, ready to go on, looking for his family in the audience, but seeing none of them, his heart fell.
He knew his dad wasn't going to be there, because he never was, so that didn't worry him. But what about his mom, where was she? Ephram knew she had probably dropped Delia off at the babysitter's house, but why wasn't she here yet? That house wasn't that far away.
Ephram decided to block it out of his mind, and he did. He didn't worry about her while he was playing, because it would distract him, and he couldn't have that happen, this moment was too big for him.
He played beautifully, like he had done it a million times before, he pretty much had. But still, something was wrong; he looked for his parents out of the corner of his eye, and yet again, no one. He began to worry, but played as steadily as he could manage. The best thing he could do was to just look at the keys he was to play next, and so he did.
Soon the thoughts of his missing mother flew away with the movement of his fingers. Every doubting thought in his mind was swept away in what seemed like a gentle breeze of music.
Ephram knew it had to come to an end, and so it did. Ephram had played his last note, heard his last cheers as he walked off stage, and into the dressing rooms, were he went to change. He was still looking for his mom as he walked backstage, and still he saw no one.
He just thought Delia got sick or something, and so she had to stay home, even though Delia seemed fine before he left. He turned a corner and then he saw them, the police officers and his piano teacher, Mrs. Dristan. She looked so upset, and when she saw Ephram, her face grew even gloomier. Ephram knew what had happened. Or so he thought he did.
"So, what did my dad do to get arrested?" He was hoping that would be what the officers would tell him, but that wasn't it at all.
"Oh Ephram, you did wonderfully tonight. I only wish your..." Mrs. Dristan trailed off in her speech.
"My what? What is going on here?" Ephram then realized what was actually happening. His mom hadn't made it to the recital, and at the end there were officers waiting for him. It was all adding up, "Where is my mom?" Ephram backed away from his teacher's hand.
"Son, I think you should sit down." One of the officers put a hand on Ephram's should, and guided him to the nearest room with a chair. Ephram had already begun shaking.
"This can't be happening, what's really going on here? Please tell me she isn't..." Ephram couldn't bear to finish the rest.
"I'm sorry Ephram, but I'm afraid I have some bad news." An officer started talking, "Your mother was on her way over here to be listen to you play your wonderful music, but the weather was just too rough. She couldn't control her car."
"No, no," The officer kept talking while Ephram was saying this.
"She went off the side of the road, she didn't feel anything, and she was killed instantly." The officer was trying to be reassuring, but it only made things worse.
"NO!!!!" Ephram stood up and ran out of the room. He tried turning an extremely sharp corner when he slipped, hitting the floor harder than he could ever imagine. He blacked out, and that was the end of the worst night in his entire life.
**End dream**
Andy walked in the door of his house, expecting it to be nice and peaceful, since it was in the middle of the day. But when he walked in, Nina ran downstairs, "Hi," He was more than surprised to see her in his house, "Might I ask what you are doing here?"
"Andy, Delia called me a few minutes ago, she said something about Ephram screaming and her not being able to wake him up. I came over as fast as I could, but he's still asleep and screaming." Nina looked very worried about the boy.
Just then Andy heard the most terrifying scream he could ever imagine come from upstairs. He ran up to Ephram's room as fast as he could, "Ephram, son," Andy sat at his bedside, "Ephram, wake up." He shook him lightly, but when that didn't work, it became a little more fierce every second.
Finally Ephram let out one last scream and then shot up in bed, with his father's arms still around him, "What's going on? Where am I?" Ephram thought that night was happening again, "Wha..." He finally got his bearings and looked at his dad, with tears in his eyes, "Oh no. Dad, it was horrible. I was reliving that night, when mom died." Ephram croaked a little as he spoke.
"It's okay Ephram, it's all over now." Andy brought Ephram closer to his own body and embraced him, comforting him the whole time, "You're going to be fine, I promise." Andy held Ephram there for quite some time, but only because it made Ephram fell a lot better.
Delia and Nina had walked out of the room, so the two guys could be alone. Delia had never seen Ephram so upset, and she never wanted to again. But soon something was going to happen that nobody expected, not even Ephram himself.