Somewhere Down The Road

Chapter Twelve

She doesn't even have to look up from her dinner to know her parents are exchanging worried glances. She shrinks down between her shoulders, hoping to make herself invisible but she knows that's not an option in this household.

She hears her dad's beer bottle sliding against the wooden kitchen table before he takes a swig. He's preparing. Dammit, he's ready to interrogate her.

"Emma," he says, leaning back in his chair to appear less threatening but it doesn't help. She respects the crap out of him and when it's serious-talk-time, she listens. "How come we haven't seen Regina and Henry 'round the last few days?"

Her nose scrunches as she burns a hole through the table from staring so hard.

"Honey," her mother's sweet voice chimes in. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened," she lies right through her teeth as she slides the kitchen chair across the floor, ready to make a break for it by pretending to clean up her plate.

"Sit," her father says in a kind but firm tone, persuading her butt to plop right back down on her seat. She sighs, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Her father clamps his strong hand on his jean-clad thigh and leans forward. "Regina needs dependability, someone she can rely on right now."

"Don't you think I know this?" She questions, never in a rude tone when speaking to her parents though. "She doesn't want help. Especially, coming from me."

"Oh, she's just hurt right now," Mary Margaret kindly reasons. "She will come around again."

"No, momma, I don't think so. She's still mad as hell and I have tried everything to show her that she can trust me again."

"Listen, Em," David demands, leaning even further into her personal space to ensure that he has her undivided attention. "Sometimes your momma is wild as a bull seeing red with me but do you see me walkin' away?"

"She needs space."

"And sometimes your momma needs a hug and reassurance that I'm there and I've got her back and I'm not leavin'."

"You want me to hug Regina?" Emma questions through pursed lips and an unamused expression. "That woman will claw my eyes right out." She laughs through her nose. "She is not the timid little girl I met all those years ago."

"No," her mom cuts in. "She's not. She's a very hurt woman that was abandoned, heartbroken, and lost her father. She needs to be strong for her baby but that doesn't mean you give up on her."

"I'm not," Emma defends, tossing her hands up in surrender. "I'm tryin' to do right by her and Henry but the fact of the matter is that he's not mine. Y'all sit here and act like Regina's the only one hurt but I'm just as heartbroken. He should be mine!" She explodes, standing tall and ready to storm off. "We should be raising that baby together but we aren't. She made her decisions and I made mine but it was never supposed to be this way. I would have never abandoned her or that baby boy if given the chance."

"Emma-"

"No, daddy. You can't fix this. You can't reason your way out of this or offer words of wisdom because you never lost the love of your life. You met momma in kindergarten and loved her ever since," she seethes while both her parents frown back at her because what could they possibly say to make this all better? "You don't know a day without your soulmate. I've had to live my life every winter and spring without her. Five years without her. I've had to smile and pretend it's all okay when she showed up with a baby by someone else. Those were our plans, our dreams!"

"We know but things could still work out if you work hard for it," David implores for her to listen but she's so raging mad right now.

"I need some fresh air," she declares, taking her plate to the sink, ready to do the dishes before she storms off.