Right Place, Wrong Time
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.
Rating: PG-13
A/N: The last chapter I had posted was NOT the chapter that my friend helped me on, this is the chapter she helped me on. This is the final chapter in this story, and yes there will be another story coming! The name of it is in the story, at the end, but you have to read and find out what it is. My friend doesn't even know how I put her ideas into here! Please, please, PLEASE review for me! It would be greatly appreciated, and I really appreciate the reviews I have previously gotten. Thank you and enjoy!
Ephram struggled to get back to Annette's house. He was fighting the feeling he had inside, he really wanted to go back to Amy, but he also knew that he couldn't. She had let him go, and he wasn't going back.
He made it past the bridge, and then into the now familiar houses and faces of Annette's small street. Everyone waved at Ephram as he walked by, but they never said anything.
He finally turned into her driveway, and saw that Annette was sitting on her porch step, waiting for him. She didn't look very happy. In fact, she was crying. He started walking faster so he could reach her quicker.
"What's wrong?" He said with a shake in his voice, he was exhausted.
She wiped away a tear that had escaped her and looked up at him, not letting herself get fazed one bit by his appearance, "Your dad called," She finally said in a low whisper, "He wasn't too please with me, or you."
Ephram stood in amazement. His dad actually knew where he was? That couldn't be good, "What did he say to you?"
"Nothing much, just that he wanted his son back safe and sound," She looked down again, "Immediately." Her voice sunk as she spoke the last word.
"Well," Ephram sat next to her, "I'm not leaving you, we need to stick together now. I can't go back there, not now, not ever. I've gotten myself in too deep with you, and I'm going to help you as much as you need it." Then Ephram realized that his dad calling shouldn't have made her cry, "Something else is wrong, what is it?"
She smiled a little and looked at him again, "We need to get you patched and cleaned up, let's go inside." She stood and walked into her house.
'Something is wrong with her,' Ephram started thinking to himself, 'and I'm going to find out what.'
******
After Ephram had been taken care of, Annette made some supper. It wasn't anything big, just some macaroni and cheese, and then some mashed potatoes. Nonetheless he enjoyed the meal, and wasn't sorry about his decision to stay with this girl.
She was very nice, gentle, and softhearted. He never had to ask her anything, it's like she always knew. But something, right now anyway, seemed a little off, she looked as though she had been shaken out of a nightmare, and was still very scared, and that worried Ephram to an extent he never knew.
He wanted to get to the bottom of this, and he was soon going to, much sooner than he had actually intended. Annette looked up from her plate into Ephram's eyes, which were looking back, "My parents called," Immediately Ephram knew what was wrong, "They never want to see me again. We didn't get a chance to work things out, they just hate me. They said if I come near them ever again they'll call the cops, so I can't ever go to there place."
"Why would they do that without giving you a reason? You didn't do anything!" Ephram was getting mad.
"Actually, I did. I haven't been telling you the truth, Ephram. I've done some pretty bad things in my life, and now you're wrapped up in them." Ephram had no clue what she was talking about, "By you staying here, I've gotten you into trouble with your dad," She paused for a second, "And my parents."
"What?" Ephram didn't know what to say, he didn't even know why this was happening.
"When I went to there house a while ago, I took something of theirs, something that I never should have even laid eyes on, but I did." She started playing with her food, "Ephram, my parents had something that they kept very dear to them, and I completely tore that from them. I never thought they would find out, but it has now blown up in my face."
"Could you just tell me what you took? I'm sure it wasn't that big of a deal."
Annette looked at him with her mouth open, as if she was going to say something, but all that came out was a sigh. After a minute she spoke, "Ephram, I took something that my brother left them in his will. He never gave me anything, and that made me mad, so I had to take it. It was the one thing I wanted, and he gave it to them!" Annette stood up and walked out of them room, she came back in with a small box. She opened it to reveal a small necklace with a ring on the chain, "It's his class ring. It was something he always wore, and said he would never take it off. Well, he took it off the day that he died. He was going to get it sized, because it was getting too small for his fingers. He was on his way back from the jewelry shop when the accident happened. I, for who knows what reason, was blamed for that accident, and my parents haven't forgiven me yet. The shop called saying that they had his ring ready; my dad was the one who answered the phone. He looked at me and told me to get out of his house. He told me never to return, and so I did what he said. "I ran to my room and started packing. I didn't know where I was going, I was young. I packed everything I could carry, and then went to my parent's room, where I knew my mom would be. She was lying on her bed, holding a pillow my brother had made for her. He was always a good kid, and I was always the trouble maker. I guess that's why I'm here today. Because I was never good enough for them, but my brother always stuck up for me. And when he died it was over, my parents didn't want me anymore." She was in tears now, not able to hold them back anymore.
Ephram grabbed Annette by the arm and gave her a hug, "That isn't true, and you know it isn't."
When Annette finally spoke, still embraced by Ephram, she only whispered, "Yes it is, Ephram, they told me so. They said I was a no good piece of scum. I told you that, and they still believe it." She pulled herself away from Ephram and wiped away some tears, but the more she wiped the more tears came down, "I wish I had never taken his necklace. I wish I had never talked to my parents again, and then none of this would have happened. You would probably be safe at home right now, and I would be minding my own business. Why are you still here anyway, Ephram? Why are you still with me?"
"Annette, I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what. When you told me you were going to kill yourself, I knew I had to find you and stop you. When I did I guess I gained a friend somewhere in there, but I lost everyone else." Ephram went to sit on the couch, "As long as I'm with you, I can't go back to my old life."
"Your old life? You talk about it as if you were on drugs and drinking alcohol or something. You need to go back, Ephram. Don't stay here because of me. Either way you will go back soon." Annette looked very uncomfortable, but Ephram didn't really know what she meant by 'either way', and he didn't really want to.
******
Ephram was laying on the couch, almost asleep when Annette walked into the living room, "Ephram, I have to take my brother's ring to where it belongs. I want you to get some sleep, okay?"
He sat up a little, putting all of his weight on his right arm, which didn't hurt anymore, "Where are you taking it?" He tried to look into her eyes through the dark, but found that very difficult.
"Like I said, where it belongs. That's all I can tell you, no I have to go." She walked out the door without letting Ephram speak another word.
He sighed and then lay back down. He almost immediately fell into a half sleep. For some reason he couldn't get completely asleep, and that was probably a good thing. The words Annette had spoken earlier kept coming back to him, "Either way you will go back soon."
He didn't understand it then, but now it hit him harder than ever. He jumped up, waking from his sleep, and ran to turn on the light. There was a note stuck in the door, it was signed to him. Ephram hastily opened the paper and read the words he dreaded were coming:
I'm sorry Ephram, tell my parents I said goodbye.
That's all it said. Ephram threw it behind him and ran out the door in his boxers and a T-shirt. He knew exactly where he should go, but it wasn't to look for Annette, it was to find someone who could help.
He ran straight for the police station. When he got inside he was immediately stared at. He stood in the doorway for a minute, but someone soon caught his eye.
It was the police officer that had questioned Ephram that one night that he met Annette, "Hey, officer!" Ephram ran up to him, he realized he had never gotten a name from him.
The guy looked at Ephram from top to bottom for a minute, as if he was searching for something in the back of his mind, and then he got a look on his face, like he had found it, "Ephram Brown?" The officer was shocked to see this kid there ever again, "What are you doing here?"
"It's about that girl I told you about. Annette McMillan was her name." Ephram was out of breath from running, "I have a problem."
******
After Ephram explained everything that had happened since the last time they were together, the officer looked at a fellow officer and waved him over, "Johnny, this kid needs help finding his girlfriend, she's suicidal."
"She's not my girlfriend." Ephram stood up and walked over to the door.
"Go home and put some clothes on kid, we'll deal with this." Johnny looked at Ephram with disgust.
"Oh no, I'm not going home. I've been with her this whole time, and I'm not turning back now." Ephram went back and sat down, he had only gotten up because he wanted something to drink, but that could wait.
"Look, kid, if you were the only one that could find her, I'd understand, but you're not. We can do this, its best if you stay put of the way." Johnny wasn't happy, but Ephram was just as unhappy as the officer.
"You don't know her. Just let me stay, please." Ephram was getting upset, and very worried. Then he thought of something. Annette had said she was taking her brothers necklace back to where it belonged, but he hadn't been told where that was, "I think I know one place she was going. She was taking her brother's necklace someplace...Well, her brother is dead, and I think she might have been taking it to him, but I'm not sure." It was a long shot, and she might not have still been there, if she ever was, but Ephram knew he had to try.
The officers didn't say anything; they just stood up and walked out of the room. Johnny came back a second later and grabbed Ephram by the arm, "You're coming with us." He smiled a little and then let go.
******
They searched every cemetery they could find near Annette's house, but didn't find anything. They had one last place to go, and Ephram was hoping with all of his might, which was getting low, that she would be there, or at least there would be a sign of her somewhere.
When the patrol car pulled up to the gate, Ephram jumped out as fast as he could. He ran around looking for a gravestone that read McMillan, and, to his surprise, he found one. But Annette wasn't there. He knelt down, losing all hope of ever finding her, but then something caught his eye. There was something on the ground, shining in the moonlight.
Annette had been there. It was her brother's necklace. The first thing that popped into his head was the bridge, he had to go there and see if that's where she was.
The car left the last cemetery, and headed for the place that connected Everwood to that town. It took them a few minutes to get there, and when they did they saw nothing. Ephram slowly got out of the car, not really wanting to look over the edge. When he stepped toward the railing, his heart started to beat faster.
He finally got the courage to look over, and when he did he was relieved. He didn't see anything. He looked over the other side and saw nothing there either, but he then remembered how easily you could get swept away by the current in that river.
He feared the worst when that came to his mind, he didn't want her to be dead, but he knew he was too late. He stepped over to a spot where they had met one day, and then something else came to his mind.
'Oh no,' Ephram began thinking to himself again, 'this can't be happening.'
"What did you say?" Ephram turned to Johnny, who was staring at him.
"What?" He didn't realize he had said anything, "Oh, nothing." He didn't want anyone to know what had just come into his mind.
He had remembered that day when Annette had joked about jumping off of the bridge. She had said something that he had mistaken to be humor, but now it was coming back to him. She had said that she would never jump off of a bridge if she wanted to kill herself; she would more than likely OD or something. Ephram immediately started running back in the direction they had just come from, straight for Annette's house.
"Hey kid," Johnny took a few steps towards Ephram, "Where are you going?"
"Look downstream, I have to check something!" Ephram didn't stop or turn around when he heard the officer's voice; he had to go back to Annette's place. He ran all the way back; stopping for nothing, not even to catch his breath.
When he reached the door, he found that it was locked. The only think he knew to do was to kick it in, and so he did. He kicked as hard as he could, but with the first kick nothing happened. The second one is what did it. The door flew open with small pieces of wood flying everywhere.
Ephram looked around the living room first, and then in the kitchen. Annette wasn't in either room. He went to her bedroom, but she wasn't there either. He looked toward the bathroom, and saw that the door was closed. It was never closed, unless someone was in it.
He tried opening the door, but it was also locked. He ran and got one of Annette's bobby pins, and started unlocking the door. When he heard a click he knew he had succeeded. He stood up and slowly turned the doorknob, and then started opening the door even slower.
He looked into the room through the small crack between the door and its frame. He was afraid of what he would see, but he knew what was coming. Slowly, as the door kept opening, Ephram saw Annette's hand, and then her arm, and soon the rest of her body was revealed.
Ephram looked around the room, and at her limp body, there was a medicine bottle clutched in her right hand, and a couple of pills that must have fallen out of the bottle when it opened.
Realizations of things Ephram had put aside were beginning to come back to him. Things he had never wanted to say to his family, he had said. Things he had never wanted to do, he had done. Things he had never wanted to see, he had seen. And the one thing he had tried to keep someone from doing, that person had done.
Annette McMillan was dead. Ephram had to go back. He had to go back home, to his family, and to his friends, if he still had any. He had messed up, yes, but he knew they would take him back. The one thing he didn't know was how hard it would be getting there.
He had a rough road ahead of him, and this was just the beginning. Just wait until The Mourning After.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in this story, except Annette, and Dr. Taylor, the rest belong to the WB.
Rating: PG-13
A/N: The last chapter I had posted was NOT the chapter that my friend helped me on, this is the chapter she helped me on. This is the final chapter in this story, and yes there will be another story coming! The name of it is in the story, at the end, but you have to read and find out what it is. My friend doesn't even know how I put her ideas into here! Please, please, PLEASE review for me! It would be greatly appreciated, and I really appreciate the reviews I have previously gotten. Thank you and enjoy!
Ephram struggled to get back to Annette's house. He was fighting the feeling he had inside, he really wanted to go back to Amy, but he also knew that he couldn't. She had let him go, and he wasn't going back.
He made it past the bridge, and then into the now familiar houses and faces of Annette's small street. Everyone waved at Ephram as he walked by, but they never said anything.
He finally turned into her driveway, and saw that Annette was sitting on her porch step, waiting for him. She didn't look very happy. In fact, she was crying. He started walking faster so he could reach her quicker.
"What's wrong?" He said with a shake in his voice, he was exhausted.
She wiped away a tear that had escaped her and looked up at him, not letting herself get fazed one bit by his appearance, "Your dad called," She finally said in a low whisper, "He wasn't too please with me, or you."
Ephram stood in amazement. His dad actually knew where he was? That couldn't be good, "What did he say to you?"
"Nothing much, just that he wanted his son back safe and sound," She looked down again, "Immediately." Her voice sunk as she spoke the last word.
"Well," Ephram sat next to her, "I'm not leaving you, we need to stick together now. I can't go back there, not now, not ever. I've gotten myself in too deep with you, and I'm going to help you as much as you need it." Then Ephram realized that his dad calling shouldn't have made her cry, "Something else is wrong, what is it?"
She smiled a little and looked at him again, "We need to get you patched and cleaned up, let's go inside." She stood and walked into her house.
'Something is wrong with her,' Ephram started thinking to himself, 'and I'm going to find out what.'
******
After Ephram had been taken care of, Annette made some supper. It wasn't anything big, just some macaroni and cheese, and then some mashed potatoes. Nonetheless he enjoyed the meal, and wasn't sorry about his decision to stay with this girl.
She was very nice, gentle, and softhearted. He never had to ask her anything, it's like she always knew. But something, right now anyway, seemed a little off, she looked as though she had been shaken out of a nightmare, and was still very scared, and that worried Ephram to an extent he never knew.
He wanted to get to the bottom of this, and he was soon going to, much sooner than he had actually intended. Annette looked up from her plate into Ephram's eyes, which were looking back, "My parents called," Immediately Ephram knew what was wrong, "They never want to see me again. We didn't get a chance to work things out, they just hate me. They said if I come near them ever again they'll call the cops, so I can't ever go to there place."
"Why would they do that without giving you a reason? You didn't do anything!" Ephram was getting mad.
"Actually, I did. I haven't been telling you the truth, Ephram. I've done some pretty bad things in my life, and now you're wrapped up in them." Ephram had no clue what she was talking about, "By you staying here, I've gotten you into trouble with your dad," She paused for a second, "And my parents."
"What?" Ephram didn't know what to say, he didn't even know why this was happening.
"When I went to there house a while ago, I took something of theirs, something that I never should have even laid eyes on, but I did." She started playing with her food, "Ephram, my parents had something that they kept very dear to them, and I completely tore that from them. I never thought they would find out, but it has now blown up in my face."
"Could you just tell me what you took? I'm sure it wasn't that big of a deal."
Annette looked at him with her mouth open, as if she was going to say something, but all that came out was a sigh. After a minute she spoke, "Ephram, I took something that my brother left them in his will. He never gave me anything, and that made me mad, so I had to take it. It was the one thing I wanted, and he gave it to them!" Annette stood up and walked out of them room, she came back in with a small box. She opened it to reveal a small necklace with a ring on the chain, "It's his class ring. It was something he always wore, and said he would never take it off. Well, he took it off the day that he died. He was going to get it sized, because it was getting too small for his fingers. He was on his way back from the jewelry shop when the accident happened. I, for who knows what reason, was blamed for that accident, and my parents haven't forgiven me yet. The shop called saying that they had his ring ready; my dad was the one who answered the phone. He looked at me and told me to get out of his house. He told me never to return, and so I did what he said. "I ran to my room and started packing. I didn't know where I was going, I was young. I packed everything I could carry, and then went to my parent's room, where I knew my mom would be. She was lying on her bed, holding a pillow my brother had made for her. He was always a good kid, and I was always the trouble maker. I guess that's why I'm here today. Because I was never good enough for them, but my brother always stuck up for me. And when he died it was over, my parents didn't want me anymore." She was in tears now, not able to hold them back anymore.
Ephram grabbed Annette by the arm and gave her a hug, "That isn't true, and you know it isn't."
When Annette finally spoke, still embraced by Ephram, she only whispered, "Yes it is, Ephram, they told me so. They said I was a no good piece of scum. I told you that, and they still believe it." She pulled herself away from Ephram and wiped away some tears, but the more she wiped the more tears came down, "I wish I had never taken his necklace. I wish I had never talked to my parents again, and then none of this would have happened. You would probably be safe at home right now, and I would be minding my own business. Why are you still here anyway, Ephram? Why are you still with me?"
"Annette, I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what. When you told me you were going to kill yourself, I knew I had to find you and stop you. When I did I guess I gained a friend somewhere in there, but I lost everyone else." Ephram went to sit on the couch, "As long as I'm with you, I can't go back to my old life."
"Your old life? You talk about it as if you were on drugs and drinking alcohol or something. You need to go back, Ephram. Don't stay here because of me. Either way you will go back soon." Annette looked very uncomfortable, but Ephram didn't really know what she meant by 'either way', and he didn't really want to.
******
Ephram was laying on the couch, almost asleep when Annette walked into the living room, "Ephram, I have to take my brother's ring to where it belongs. I want you to get some sleep, okay?"
He sat up a little, putting all of his weight on his right arm, which didn't hurt anymore, "Where are you taking it?" He tried to look into her eyes through the dark, but found that very difficult.
"Like I said, where it belongs. That's all I can tell you, no I have to go." She walked out the door without letting Ephram speak another word.
He sighed and then lay back down. He almost immediately fell into a half sleep. For some reason he couldn't get completely asleep, and that was probably a good thing. The words Annette had spoken earlier kept coming back to him, "Either way you will go back soon."
He didn't understand it then, but now it hit him harder than ever. He jumped up, waking from his sleep, and ran to turn on the light. There was a note stuck in the door, it was signed to him. Ephram hastily opened the paper and read the words he dreaded were coming:
I'm sorry Ephram, tell my parents I said goodbye.
That's all it said. Ephram threw it behind him and ran out the door in his boxers and a T-shirt. He knew exactly where he should go, but it wasn't to look for Annette, it was to find someone who could help.
He ran straight for the police station. When he got inside he was immediately stared at. He stood in the doorway for a minute, but someone soon caught his eye.
It was the police officer that had questioned Ephram that one night that he met Annette, "Hey, officer!" Ephram ran up to him, he realized he had never gotten a name from him.
The guy looked at Ephram from top to bottom for a minute, as if he was searching for something in the back of his mind, and then he got a look on his face, like he had found it, "Ephram Brown?" The officer was shocked to see this kid there ever again, "What are you doing here?"
"It's about that girl I told you about. Annette McMillan was her name." Ephram was out of breath from running, "I have a problem."
******
After Ephram explained everything that had happened since the last time they were together, the officer looked at a fellow officer and waved him over, "Johnny, this kid needs help finding his girlfriend, she's suicidal."
"She's not my girlfriend." Ephram stood up and walked over to the door.
"Go home and put some clothes on kid, we'll deal with this." Johnny looked at Ephram with disgust.
"Oh no, I'm not going home. I've been with her this whole time, and I'm not turning back now." Ephram went back and sat down, he had only gotten up because he wanted something to drink, but that could wait.
"Look, kid, if you were the only one that could find her, I'd understand, but you're not. We can do this, its best if you stay put of the way." Johnny wasn't happy, but Ephram was just as unhappy as the officer.
"You don't know her. Just let me stay, please." Ephram was getting upset, and very worried. Then he thought of something. Annette had said she was taking her brothers necklace back to where it belonged, but he hadn't been told where that was, "I think I know one place she was going. She was taking her brother's necklace someplace...Well, her brother is dead, and I think she might have been taking it to him, but I'm not sure." It was a long shot, and she might not have still been there, if she ever was, but Ephram knew he had to try.
The officers didn't say anything; they just stood up and walked out of the room. Johnny came back a second later and grabbed Ephram by the arm, "You're coming with us." He smiled a little and then let go.
******
They searched every cemetery they could find near Annette's house, but didn't find anything. They had one last place to go, and Ephram was hoping with all of his might, which was getting low, that she would be there, or at least there would be a sign of her somewhere.
When the patrol car pulled up to the gate, Ephram jumped out as fast as he could. He ran around looking for a gravestone that read McMillan, and, to his surprise, he found one. But Annette wasn't there. He knelt down, losing all hope of ever finding her, but then something caught his eye. There was something on the ground, shining in the moonlight.
Annette had been there. It was her brother's necklace. The first thing that popped into his head was the bridge, he had to go there and see if that's where she was.
The car left the last cemetery, and headed for the place that connected Everwood to that town. It took them a few minutes to get there, and when they did they saw nothing. Ephram slowly got out of the car, not really wanting to look over the edge. When he stepped toward the railing, his heart started to beat faster.
He finally got the courage to look over, and when he did he was relieved. He didn't see anything. He looked over the other side and saw nothing there either, but he then remembered how easily you could get swept away by the current in that river.
He feared the worst when that came to his mind, he didn't want her to be dead, but he knew he was too late. He stepped over to a spot where they had met one day, and then something else came to his mind.
'Oh no,' Ephram began thinking to himself again, 'this can't be happening.'
"What did you say?" Ephram turned to Johnny, who was staring at him.
"What?" He didn't realize he had said anything, "Oh, nothing." He didn't want anyone to know what had just come into his mind.
He had remembered that day when Annette had joked about jumping off of the bridge. She had said something that he had mistaken to be humor, but now it was coming back to him. She had said that she would never jump off of a bridge if she wanted to kill herself; she would more than likely OD or something. Ephram immediately started running back in the direction they had just come from, straight for Annette's house.
"Hey kid," Johnny took a few steps towards Ephram, "Where are you going?"
"Look downstream, I have to check something!" Ephram didn't stop or turn around when he heard the officer's voice; he had to go back to Annette's place. He ran all the way back; stopping for nothing, not even to catch his breath.
When he reached the door, he found that it was locked. The only think he knew to do was to kick it in, and so he did. He kicked as hard as he could, but with the first kick nothing happened. The second one is what did it. The door flew open with small pieces of wood flying everywhere.
Ephram looked around the living room first, and then in the kitchen. Annette wasn't in either room. He went to her bedroom, but she wasn't there either. He looked toward the bathroom, and saw that the door was closed. It was never closed, unless someone was in it.
He tried opening the door, but it was also locked. He ran and got one of Annette's bobby pins, and started unlocking the door. When he heard a click he knew he had succeeded. He stood up and slowly turned the doorknob, and then started opening the door even slower.
He looked into the room through the small crack between the door and its frame. He was afraid of what he would see, but he knew what was coming. Slowly, as the door kept opening, Ephram saw Annette's hand, and then her arm, and soon the rest of her body was revealed.
Ephram looked around the room, and at her limp body, there was a medicine bottle clutched in her right hand, and a couple of pills that must have fallen out of the bottle when it opened.
Realizations of things Ephram had put aside were beginning to come back to him. Things he had never wanted to say to his family, he had said. Things he had never wanted to do, he had done. Things he had never wanted to see, he had seen. And the one thing he had tried to keep someone from doing, that person had done.
Annette McMillan was dead. Ephram had to go back. He had to go back home, to his family, and to his friends, if he still had any. He had messed up, yes, but he knew they would take him back. The one thing he didn't know was how hard it would be getting there.
He had a rough road ahead of him, and this was just the beginning. Just wait until The Mourning After.