No Love Lost (Rumbelle AU)

Chapter 15

"Here, son, throw it to me."

"You gotta catch me first Papa!"

"Oh, you clever boy! Haha, come here you."

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Robert stared hopelessly at his coffee mug, watching the steam drift out of the black liquid. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair then down his face. Things haven't gotten better since that night in the cornfield. Ever since the townspeople had found out what had happened, they kept their distance from the Golds, especially Robert. They simply couldn't believe why anybody would want to hurt Killian Jones, but when Belle tried to explain that her husband was only trying to protect her, they brushed it off as a lie, and came up with their own theories of what might have occurred that night. Some say this was done out of jealousy, others say that Gold is still upset over Emma Swan moving on from his son. Some even say that Killian could have been having an affair with Belle. Belle did her best to try and defend herself and Robert from these twisted rumors, but the more gossip went around, the worse it got.

Killian was taken to the hospital, along with a girl who had been sexually assaulted in the maze. She was found by a group of her friends who had been looking for her after she had suddenly disappeared. When they found her in a bloody mess with little clothing on, they screamed and cried out. This came as another shock to everyone, and worry spread throughout the town. Soon after the girls had called for help, the Golds had done the same for Killian. Blaire had immediately reported that she too, had been almost assaulted by "hooligans" wearing terrible masks, and when Wendy Darling had awoken, she confirmed that these were the same boys who had raped her. Even little Lucas had said he had seen these terrifying monsters and his parents (after finally finding him crying alone in the maze) reported what Luke had told them. The police are now on the lookout for these boys.

Killian turned out to be alright, he explained to Belle that he had just wanted to talk and he wasn't going to do her harm. He apologized profusely for coming on too strong and even convinced a furious Emma to help Robert out and drop the charges. Emma was still wary, and the Golds haven't seen her since. Whenever Robert called to try and make amends, Emma would just use the excuse that she's taking care of Killian and place all guilt on Robert.

With everything she heard about Halloween night, especially the sexual assault, Mayor Regina decided to cancel the Halloween Corn Maze altogether, and that it would never be used for another Storybrooke event ever again. Blaire happily agreed.

Robert looked at the wastebasket, which held all of the newspapers he had yet to throw away. He felt sick to his stomach, reading all that was said about him and his wife. He was also concerned about these "Masked Monsters" and what they had done to Blaire and Wendy. Since then, he had driven Belle home from work for her safety, just in case. Even if it wasn't the Masked Monsters, the people in this town weren't as friendly as they once were to them. This made Robert grow more agitated and it showed. He no longer held a content look to his face, and whenever he heard anyone talking shit, he replied in a snarky and sarcastic way, giving them a knowing glare.

Robert sighed. He wished he could go back and fix things. But what's done is done.

"Are you ok?"

Robert looked up to see Belle making herself a pot of tea. He had been so lost in thought, he hadn't even noticed her come in.

"Yeah sure," he replied monotonously.

"You don't look well," Belle said in the same tone.

These past few weeks had been hard on both Belle and Robert. He wasn't the only one feeling upset and agitated all the time.