Chapter Four

"Daddy?" Antonia asks as she finishes up her waffles.

"Yes, sweetie?" Ephram turns his attention from his conversation with the adults concerning how well the town is doing.

"Can Emily come and play?" Antonia asks pouting at her father.

"Can I go over and play with Antonia?"

"I don't know Em..." Amy states unsure.

"Please?" Both girls turn to the parent that doesn't belong to them, lower lips stuck out.

Amy and Ephram both cave, "alright," Amy responds. "If it's alright with Ephram."

"It's fine with me." Ephram nods.

"You should take the girls to the new park, neither one of you have seen it. They've put a lot of money into making it really nice," Nina states. "The girls would have fun."

"Yeah, can we go to the park?" Antonia asks.

"Park, park, park, park..." Emily begins chanting and Antonia takes it up as well.

Amy smiles, glad to see her daughter so comfortable, "okay we can go to the park."

"Can we go now?" Antonia asks.

Amy glances at her plate, surprisingly she had eaten most of the food, "I can take them over now Ephram, if you want to stay and talk."

Ephram shakes his head, "I'm ready to go to, as soon as we get the bill."

Andy waves them off, "don't worry about it, breakfast is out treat this morning."

"I can't let you..." Ephram and Amy begin synonymously.

"Just go, have fun, I'm glad to have you both back and visiting."
"When did you get in?" Amy asks Ephram as he pushes Alyssa in the baby swing.

"Yesterday afternoon, you?"

"Last night, I surprised my parents." Amy responds. "I met Bright's wife."

"Bright's actually married?" Ephram laughs lightly. "Let me guess some bimbo and the marriage'll only last a couple months."

Amy smiles but shakes her head, "no, she's really nice. She's a teacher, Emily got along with her really well from the start." The two fall silent then, unable to make small talk that didn't pry into the other's personal lives.
"Amy we need to talk," Rose and Harold stop Amy when she comes downstairs after putting Emily down for her nap.

Amy takes a deep breath and then sits at the kitchen table with her parents, "okay."

"Did Marcus do this to you?" Harold asks gesturing at Amy's well-covered cheek.

"Dad..." Amy doesn't know how to respond, she doesn't, by any means, want to protect Marcus but she doesn't want to make a big deal about the issue either.

"Amy, you can talk to us," Rose urges. "Tell us what happened."

"I don't..."

"He's done it more than once, hasn't he?" Harold questions.

Amy buries her face in her hand, "I can't talk about this."

"Did he hit Emily too?" Harold demands, "he beats you and your child...how long have you been putting up with this. Letting Marcus hurt you and your daughter."

"He never hit Emily!" Amy exclaims, "I wouldn't ever let him hurt her."

"Of course you wouldn't," Rose soothes, shooting daggers at Harold. "Amy you have to do something about this."

Amy shakes her head, "I'm not pressing charges if that's what you're asking."

"You can't just let this go Amy, good God, he's got you so scared to do anything..." Harold begins a tirade.

"Harold, please, calm down." Rose requests, "the baby is sleeping."

"I'm sorry," Harold apologizes lowering his voice, "it's just, Amy, I don't want you to be the victim. I'm a doctor, I've seen it before, the woman, each of them with their own reasons, refuses to press charges and then in a month when the bruises have gone away they are back with their husbands, like nothing happened."

"I'm not going back to him and I'm not pressing charges." Amy stands up then, "I'm going for a walk, will you listen for Emily for me?"

"Sure Amy," Rose promises before Amy exits the kitchen, refusing to let her parents see her tears.
Amy hadn't intended on going hiking, the mountain just seemed like a good place to get away from everything and to clear her head. The thought that this was where she had first met Ephram or where he had proposed years later must have been somewhere in the back of her mind but it certainly wasn't foremost. Her thoughts were centered around Marcus, she knew that her dad was right that by not pressing charges she was letting Marcus win but she didn't care about that. In Everwood everything, the life she had before, seemed so far away like it couldn't reach into this little community and Marcus couldn't hurt her anymore.

Running a hand through her hair Amy settles her elbows on her knees and her chin in hands staring out over Everwood, in all the time she had been gone Amy had never realized just how much she had missed the town she had grown up in. How easily she fit back into this world and how easily everyone in it made her forget about what had made her come back in the first place. When the hand came down to settle on Amy she didn't have the experience not to know that it wasn't a hand meant in anger and she immediately jumps to her feet, off of the log.

"Amy, I didn't mean to scare you." Ephram's face is apologetic.

Amy shrugs, "don't worry about it. What are you doing up here anyway?"

"Just went for a walk, I guess it's a long hike especially for those of us who live in the city."

Amy nods, "yeah. It's nice to be out of the city."

"How long are you going to be here?" Ephram asks.

Amy shrugs, "I was just going to stay the night...with this job who knows. Until I get back on my feet."

Ephram nods, "I get that completely."