Chapter 12

Author's Note:Hi again! Here's another chapter for you guys! It'd only one, but hey, it's a pretty big chapter (4 pages!) Enjoy! Don't be afraid to leave feedback ;)

The sound of the front door opening a little while later shifted instantly drew Ephram's attention away from the television over to the front door. The rest of the afternoon had gone much better than before. In fact, the baby hadn't been up for very long when Andy finally returned home. After Ephram had changed his diaper, and changed his shirt, which had spit up on it, he had sat down on the couch with Delia, and the baby on his lap, having quiet time.

"Ephram? Delia?"

"In the living room," Ephram said, looking over his shoulder. With a proud smile on his face, Ephram sat there and waited for his father to come in and see what kind of a job Ephram had done.

"Hi dad," Delia said.

"Hi honey. Wow, I was expecting an entirely different scenario than this," he admitted, looking around at the scene in front of him. "I even braced myself for the worst as I walked up the front steps."

"Fooled ya, huh," Ephram said. Andy looked down at Ephram, taking in the sight of his son and the baby. Already he noticed a change in Ephram's body language; he seemed less nervous and more at ease with the baby.

"How was everyone's day?" All day, he fought the urge to pick up the phone and find out what was going on. He had almost regretted going back to work, worrying all day what was going on at home. A few times Edna had given him a pep talk.

Ephram glanced over at Delia, who at the same time, looked up from the baby to Ephram As if both silently agreeing, Ephram shrugged and said, "It was okay. Learned different stuff."

"Good." Andy stood there, unsure of what to say next. He really had prepared himself for a disaster once he got home.

"Well I hate to break away from this stimulating conversation," Ephram said as he shifted the baby in his arms before carefully getting up. "But I got a few things to do, so…." He walked over to his father. "Tag. Your it," he said as he carefully placed the baby in Andy's arms. His gaze lingered for a few extra seconds on the baby before continuing on his way out of the room.

Ephram stood in the middle of his room, and simply gazed around at everything. In some weird way, he felt like he was starting at a past life of his. A past life that included piano, comics, school, Amy… Part of him wanted to start crying while the other part willed him to remain strong. No sense getting upset now, not while they weren't certain of anything accept that an innocent baby was left in their doorstep and fully depended on them. On him.

His gaze fell to his cell phone, which was sitting on his end table being charged. As he walked over to the side of his bed he wondered who had called him while he was busy downstairs all day, taking care of the baby. Had Amy or Bright called? The other night when Amy had called, he had all but hung up on her. Thinking about it made him feel worse than he was feeling already.

The sound of the baby crying downstairs brought him back from his thoughts. He sighed as he tried to make sense of the conflicting emotions inside of him. He had a feeling the sounds of a baby crying would forever haunt him no matter what the DNA test determined.

Suddenly feeling the need to get out of the house, Ephram walked over and grabbed his light jacket from the back of his bedroom door and headed out the door. "I'll be back later!" Ephram announced, even before his foot his the bottom step. He wanted to get it out there quickly before his father could make up an excuse, or even worse, a reason not to go out.

"Ephram, where-" Ephram quickly closed the door behind him before his father could even finish his sentence. Ephram continued on down the steps of their porch, and down the sidewalk hoping his father wouldn't follow him out the door and stop him. He breathed a sigh of relief after a few minutes of walking, realizing he was home free. The evening weather outside was perfect; it wasn't too hot, the stars were starting to come out, and a light breeze was blowing. An evening Ephram would otherwise take full advantage of. But not tonight.

A few minutes later, Ephram reached the main part of the town, where his father's and Dr. Abbott's office was, Mama Joy's diner, the one movie theatre Everwood had, the drug store, and video world were located. Aside from the few other buildings located in downtown Everwood, there wasn't much else to the small town. Ephram continued to walk aimlessly around, passing the stores, hoping he'd find something to do. He should be locking himself in the studio/garage, playing his heart out on the piano. But oddly he wasn't in the mood to play tonight. As he passed the movie theatre, the thought of going in and catching whatever movie was playing entered his mind. He quickly dismissed the thought, knowing he would be unable to focus on much at the moment, much less a movie.

He continued on his way around town,. His mind filled with all sorts of thoughts; most of them revolving around the baby. So much would change if the baby turned out to be his. Not that he wasn't willing to take responsibility for the little guy, should it turn out to be his; he wasn't the type to walk away from his responsibilities. Would this mean he'd have to go to ECC instead of Julliard so that he could be close by to home so he could care for the baby? Who would watch the baby while he was at school? His father was busy as it was with his practice; would he take time off to help Ephram raise his child? And what about Amy, the most important person in his life? Would she understand and stay by his side or will she leave him, unable to bare being around him any longer? Undoubtedly she'd be crushed, that much he already knew. Would this new development be enough to push her away for good?

The thought of not being with Amy shook him more than he'd have thought possible. She was his rock, his northern star. She was home to him. He couldn't picture his life without her. He had lived it once before, he didn't think he could do it again. Ephram lifted up his gaze from the sidewalk just as a familiar face came into view.

Amy's gaze locked with his as she stepped out of the corner store, a paper bag in her hands. She instantly smiled at the sight of Ephram, making his current problems flee his mind, even if just for a moment. He returned her warm smile as he walked over to her.

"Hey there," she said, "I was just thinking about you."

"Me too," he admitted. She smiled up at him once more before shifting the bag to her side then putting her free arm around him. Ephram held back tears as he wrapped his arms around her, taking in the smell and feel that was Amy. No matter what was happening in either of their lives, they both leaned on one another for support; they had done that since he had first moved there and Amy was still grieving for Colin, who was at the time, still lost in a coma.

Amy began to pull back from their hug, leaving Ephram feeling empty instantly. Not wanting their hug to end just yet, he held onto her tighter, attempting to draw strength from their hug. His only wish at that very moment was to be able to remain in her embrace and away from the real world for just a little longer.

"Hey," Amy said softly a few moments later once Ephram let go of his grip on her and their bodies parted some. She had sensed something off about Ephram the past few days, but seeing him face to face, she knew for sure something was up. "Everything okay?" she asked, searching his face for a clue and noticing the sadness in his eyes that he hadn't been quick enough to hide.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Ephram said, ignoring every thing in him that screamed for him to tell her what had been going on. If ever there was a time he had needed Amy's support and love, now was most definitely that time. "Just tired," he said, silently cursing himself for spewing out another lie. Amy continued to look up at him, studying his face; looking into his eyes. She knows there's something I'm not telling her, he said to himself. Unable to look her in the face any longer, having just lied to her, Ephram moved his gaze to the sidewalk between them.

Amy nodded, looking away as well knowing something was wrong with him and he wouldn't tell her. She knew he'd tell her when he felt the time was right; when he was ready to, but it still didn't ease the pain. "Okay," she said, forcing a smile onto her face. "Well, I gotta get home; I got ice cream in the bag, so…"

"Right. Right. Yeah, you should probably get that into the freezer," he said quickly.

Amy nodded. "I'll see you later," she said, wishing there was more she cold say to try and make things better for him.

"Yeah," Ephram said simply, not daring to say anything more. He could see the hurt in her eyes, knowing she knew he wasn't being honest. He hated himself for lying to her, hating even more that his lies were causing her pain when she had done nothing to deserve it. Amy nodded and turned around to head back home. Ephram stood there and watched as she began walking away from him.

"A-Amy wait," he said, grabbing her arm. As he watched her begin to walk away, he felt as if he was watching her slip away, a feeling he couldn't let sit in his stomach. Watching Amy walk away was like someone taking the air away from him, he couldn't breath. "I love you," he said, looking deep into her eyes, hoping she understood all that he meant when he said that.

"I love you too," she said back. She forced another smile before turning around and walking away. This time, Ephram stood there without saying a word and watched her leave.