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Landslide
by bigboobedcanuckChapter Eleven
[ * ]
It was almost midnight when the phone rang. Ephram was still awake, replaying the weekend’s events over and over in his mind. He rolled over and looked at the caller I.D., snatching up the phone when he saw the call was from the Abbotts’.
“Hey,” Ephram said, his voice low. His father would probably wait to see if Ephram called for him, and then go back to sleep.
There was no response on the other end of the line.
“Bright?” Ephram squinted into the darkness to make sure that he’d read the number correctly. Then he could make out breathing on the line.
“Are you trying to tell me that my son isn’t with you right now?”
Ephram’s stomach clenched. “Um…Dr. Abbott?” Something was clearly wrong, and Ephram’s heart began beating a little faster.
“Yes, you know very well with whom you are speaking. Tell Bright to come home. Now.”
The tightness in Ephram’s stomach gave way to icy stabs of panic. He bolted upright on the bed. “You mean Bright never came home? He dropped me off hours ago!” Ephram’s mind quickly ran through all the possible scenarios of what could have happened to Bright, none of them good. But if there’d been an accident, they surely would have heard by now?
“Yes, he came home, and then he left. And I know very well that he’s with you,” Harold spat.
Relief flooded over Ephram. But in its wake, another wave of dread was beginning to take form. “Dr. Abbott, why…what happened?”
“I always knew you’d be trouble. And now you’ve got my son thinking he’s a homosexual. It’s ludicrous, and I won’t stand for it. As usual, Bright doesn’t know what he’s doing, and you’ll stay away from him. Do you hear me?”
Ephram’s throat was dry and he swallowed nervously. “Dr. Abbott, please…you don’t understand. It’s not…it’s not like that. It’s….” Ephram trailed off, his mind unable to keep pace with what was happening.
“Just tell him to come home. I won’t have him out until all hours of the night.”
Ephram cringed at the coldness in Dr. Abbott’s voice. “I swear, he isn’t here. But I’ll go find him—”
“No, you just stay away from him. If he shows up, tell him to come home immediately. Good night.”
Ephram sat frozen on his bed, the dial tone buzzing in his ear. Finally, he hung the phone up. It all seemed like a bad dream, but he knew that he was wide awake. He got up and quietly changed into his jeans and a sweater. If Bright had been missing for hours, there was only one place he could be.
He crept downstairs, past his father’s bedroom door. It was ajar, and Ephram could hear light snoring coming from inside. His coat and gloves were in the hall closet, which had a mercilessly creaky door. He held his breath as he edged it open, inch by inch.
About fifteen minutes later, he was pedaling furiously to the edge of the trail into the forest. He was thankful that he’d remembered to grab his father’s flashlight from the kitchen drawer. Although the moon was bright overhead, under the canopy of trees the darkness closed in on all sides. Ephram was pretty sure he could remember his way to the rock, but in the darkness, it was proving more difficult than he’d imagined.
Had it really only been this morning that everything had been so perfect? It seemed like a lifetime ago that he’d woken up with Bright wrapped around him. How had everything gone so wrong? How the hell had Dr. Abbott found out about them?
A branch snapped to his left, and Ephram swung around, the flashlight held out before him – his only line of defence. But no bears or serial killers stood before him, just shadowy trees.
He took a deep breath and trudged on.
-------------------
The valley glowed in the light of the moon, and the stars twinkled in the sky far above. Bright exhaled loudly and his breath appeared before him in the cold night air.
It didn’t seem possible that he could go from being so happy to having his life completely destroyed. His father had looked at him with such horror, such disgust. Bright wrapped his arms tighter around himself and shivered.
He didn’t know how long he’d been staring off into space when he heard something moving in the distance. His pulse raced and he stumbled to his feet. A beam of light broke through the trees and Bright realized with a sigh of relief that it was a person, not a lumbering bear seeking a midnight snack.
He sat back down again and looked out at the valley. He was pretty sure that it was Ephram noisily making his way through the woods. The only other person who knew about the lookout was Colin, and Bright didn’t think he could remember it. He felt a pang of regret and wondered if that would ever stop hurting.
“Bright?” Ephram’s voice was loud in the still of the night.
Bright opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t think he ever would.
“Bright, are you there?” Ephram’s voice was now tinged with fear.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Bright said. He couldn’t keep Ephram out there alone.
Ephram scrambled up the side of the boulder. He stood a couple of feet away, panting slightly. “Bright, what happened?”
“He knows. My dad.”
“How? How did he find out?” Ephram knelt down beside Bright, his arm arcing around his shoulders.
“I don’t know, he just did. He thought it was just you, he told me I should stop hanging around with you. I…I told him that I wouldn’t. He kept pushing, so I just told him the truth. I’m sorry.” Bright’s eyes welled with tears and he blinked rapidly.
“It’s okay, everything’s going to be okay.” Ephram squeezed him close. “Bright, look at me.”
“How? How can you even stand to be here? I’ve totally wrecked both our lives.” Bright sniffled and wiped his eyes, disgusted at his weakness.
“Bright, stop it. Everything’s going to be okay. You haven’t wrecked our lives.” Ephram turned Bright’s face towards him with his hand. “We’ll get through this. Okay?”
Bright looked into Ephram’s serious, sincere face and felt a small blossoming of reassurance. His panic began to recede and he pulled Ephram into a tight hug. “I’m sorry.”
Ephram’s arms held him tight, and he caressed Bright’s hair softly. “It’s okay, you big drama queen.”
Bright laughed and pulled back. “Hey, shut up. I’m not…well, okay, I’m being a drama queen.”
“Yeah, just a bit. But you had good reason.” Ephram sobered. “Your dad called looking for you. He said some stuff.”
“Oh. That’s how you knew I was here?”
“I figured this would be the place you’d run to,” Ephram said.
“I wish we could go back to Denver. Think your dad will mind if we live off his credit card for the rest of our lives?”
“Nah, that should be no problem. He’s rich enough.”
Bright smiled and shook his head ruefully. “I wish it was this morning again, you know? Things were like…perfect.”
“Yeah, I know. But we’re going to have to deal with this.”
“Yeah,” Bright said, rubbing his hands together. His fingers were getting numb. Ephram took his gloves off and rubbed Bright’s hands softly between his own.
“So, your dad said for you to come home, like, now. He was really pissed. And he told me to stay away from you.”
“Fuck him! He’s not going to keep us apart!”
“I know, Bright, don’t worry. We’re in this together, right?”
“Right. I mean, we are, right?” Bright couldn’t help but feel insecure.
“Yeah, totally.” Ephram stopped rubbing and held Bright’s hands tightly. “We have to be in this together, or…no, we have to be.”
“Definitely.” Bright kissed him softly, their breath mingling in the cold air. “I don’t know what to do, Ephram. My dad was so mad, you should have seen him. He really hates me, he was so, like, disgusted. There’s no way he’s going to ever be okay with this. With me.”
Ephram sighed and hugged Bright close again. “You never know. He’s upset now, but…things can change. He’ll come around. I mean, he has to. Or else….” Ephram trailed off.
Bright just burrowed his face into Ephram’s neck, unwilling to finish the sentence for him.
-------------------
Bright parked on the street and quietly made his way into the house. He hoped that his father would be fast asleep. He was quickly disappointed.
“Do you realize that it’s almost four o’clock in the morning?” His father’s voice was low and steady.
Bright froze, one foot on the bottom of the stairs. He turned to find his father sitting in his chair in the dark living room, his bathrobe neatly cinched over his pajamas. Bright opened his mouth, but no words came forth.
“You get upstairs and I expect you home every day right after school. Basketball practice is the only exception. I can get the schedule from the coach, so don’t even think about lying to me. You’ll come home and study and you won’t see Dr. Brown’s maladjusted son except in passing. Then we can put this whole ridiculous little episode behind us. Understand?”
Bright took a deep breath, trying to quell the anger that was building up within him. “No, I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, Dad.” Bright walked up a few stairs before he stopped and turned back again. “Don’t tell Dr. Brown. Ephram needs to tell him himself. Okay?”
His only response was stony silence.
-------------------
Ephram’s alarm blared and he reached out to silence it. He felt like his head had barely hit the pillow and he groaned. Suddenly everything came rushing back to him and his stomach dropped.
He had to tell his dad. There was no other option, Dr. Abbott would do it if he didn’t. Ephram rubbed his face tiredly. He didn’t even know where to begin.
In the kitchen, his father and Delia bustled about, getting ready for the day.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!” Andy grinned at him.
Ephram fixed him with a glare. “Yeah.”
“Someone’s got a case of the Mondays, Delia!” Andy slurped his coffee and winked at Delia, who giggled.
“Very good, dropping pop culture references. You’ve come so far, Dad.” Ephram rolled his eyes and gulped down some orange juice. He couldn’t even begin to think about telling his father now. He needed to have all his wits about him, he figured. “Hey, Dad, you’re going to be around tonight, right?”
“Yep. Why, you want to pencil in some bonding?”
His dad was in entirely too good a mood. “Um, yeah. I gotta go have a shower,” Ephram said, leaving the kitchen. He didn’t want to think about how his dad would feel later, after he knew. Ephram wanted to think that he’d be understanding, his father was usually on the pinko commie side of political arguments.
But he was afraid. Afraid his dad would be like Bright’s, would look at him in horror and forbid them from seeing each other. He shook his head as if to dislodge the thought from his mind. He couldn’t fathom living in Everwood without being able to see Bright.
As he stood under the hot water, Ephram closed his eyes and imagined he was back in Denver, Bright’s strong arms around him and his whisper in his ear.
-------------------------
Andy Brown popped the last bite of his club sandwich in his mouth and washed it down with coffee. He was just taking out his wallet when Harold Abbott came in the front door of Mama Joy’s.
“Harold! Having a late lunch?” Andy smiled and motioned to the empty stool beside him. Harold glared at him and took a seat at the end of the counter. Andy got up and sat beside him. “Gee, was it something I said?”
“I’m not in the mood today, Dr. Brown.”
The smile faded from Andy’s face. This wasn’t Harold’s normal crotchety demeanour. There was something different in his tone. “Is everything okay?”
Harold pinned him with an icy stare. “No, everything is most certainly not okay. I don’t wish to discuss it with you.”
Andy decided not to press it. “Well, alright then. But if you change your mind, let me know.” He paid his bill and walked out onto the sunny street, blinking against the glare. He was only just around the corner when Harold’s voice rang out behind him.
“You know what’s truly galling about this whole situation, Dr. Brown? It’s that your son has actually convinced Bright that this is all normal. I mean, it’s fine for some people, I have no problem with it. But Bright has no idea what he’s doing, and Ephram knows that. He knows it, god damn it.”
“Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?” Andy furrowed his brow in puzzlement.
Harold barked out an angry laugh. “Oh, like you don’t know! Come on, don’t tell me the world’s premier neurosurgeon isn’t smart enough to figure out the truth about his son.”
Andy felt a surge of protectiveness. “What about my son? Harold, what the hell is going on?”
“I want him to stay away from Bright. Bright has enough problems without dealing with Ephram’s unwanted advances.”
“Advances? Harold, what on earth are you talking about?” Andy couldn’t believe that Harold was actually insinuating what he thought he was.
A small, cruel smile formed on Harold’s face. “Did you really not know, Dr. Brown? What your son is?”
Anger began to swell in Andy’s chest, and he clenched his jaw as he stepped closer. “I don’t know what the hell’s gotten into you, Dr. Abbott, but don’t you ever talk about my son that way again, you hear me?”
Harold blinked and seemed to notice their surroundings for the first time. On a Monday afternoon, the street was thankfully deserted, Andy noted. “I don’t see the need to ever discuss it again, Bright won’t be going anywhere near him from now on. Good day, Dr. Brown.”
Andy watched him stiffly walk away. His mind raced and his fists were clenched in anger. There had obviously been some kind of misunderstanding between Bright and Ephram. Yet Ephram hadn’t said anything about it, and had been in a very good mood when he’d returned from Denver. He’d practically been whistling under his breath. If Andy didn’t know better, he’d have said that Ephram had…but…no, that wasn’t possible. Was the friendship between his son and Bright…more than it seemed? Ephram had always liked girls. Hadn’t he?
Andy realized that he didn’t know. He’d always assumed, and Ephram had never said anything to the contrary. But he’d pursued Amy Abbott intensely in the past. They’d kissed, he’d told him that once! This was clearly just a big mistake.
Andy shook himself out of his reverie and walked slowly back towards his office. He laughed ruefully at himself, and thought of Carl and Nina, of their years together. He’d been so pleased at how well he’d gotten to know Ephram over the past year, how they’d broken down the walls between them.
He realized that the walls might have been taller than he’d ever imagined.(c) everfic. cue edna's voice: i don't own squat, private.
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