The Nanny

Confrontation

Chapter 22: Confrontation

Regina stood in the apartment, looking it over with tears in her eyes. It was stripped of furniture, most of which was going to storage until they could figure out what exactly they wanted to do with it. Her father's favorite armchair and his bedroom set were heading to Nottingham as was Regina's bedroom set.

Now it was just a series of empty rooms—a living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a full bathroom with a crawl space in the little hallway off the living room. Yet there were still so many memories here, some bad but most very good. She hugged herself as she took her last looks at her childhood home.

She felt Robin behind her, hovering as if he wanted to comfort her but didn't want to intrude. "You can come closer. I don't bite."

"I thought you might want to be alone," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "You've spent a long time here."

Regina nodded. "I grew up here. This was always my space safe. But it's time to move on. I have a new safe space now. A new home."

"I really hope you're talking about Nottingham," he teased, breath tickling her ear.

She chuckled. "Actually, I was talking about your arms."

"Even better." He kissed her cheek. "Are you ready, lovely, or do you need a few more moments?"

"I think I need a few more moments. I'll meet you all at the van, okay?" She turned and hugged him.

He held onto her. "If you need me, just send a text. I'll come right back up."

"Thanks. But I should be fine." She kissed his cheek before watching him leave the apartment.

Regina turned and took one last look at the place where she learned how to walk, how to talk, and everything else after that. She cried many tears in these rooms but so much more laughter. It had been home once upon a time but now as she stood there, she knew Nottingham was where she really belonged. She hoped whoever rented the apartment next had just a good life in it as she had.

She took a deep breath and flipped off the lights. "Goodbye," she whispered before leaving the apartment for the last time.

The landlord met her downstairs, collecting her keys. He gave her a tight smile. "Good luck."

"Thank you," she said. "You'll want to fix the light in the bathroom before renting the place. I doubt the next tenant will put up with the buzzing for as long as we did."

He looked sheepish but she breezed past him, taking Robin's hand. "Let's go home," she said.

"Absolutely," he said, kissing her. He held open the door to his Camaro and she climbed in, surprised to see Emma already there.

"Sorry. There was no more room in the truck. So I'm bunking with you and Robin," Emma explained. "He has a nice ride."

Robin chuckled as he climbed in. "Thank you. I like to treat myself sometimes."

"I've seen your house. I live there now."

"And so you're surprised I have a nice car?" He glanced back at her, raising his eyebrow.

Regina tapped his arm. "Eyes forward. No wonder Will drives you everywhere."

"Sorry," he replied, looking back onto the road. "Marian also used to do all the driving as well."

"Maybe you should get a car again, Regina," Emma suggested.

Regina rolled her eyes. "You just want me to do that so you can borrow it and I can make all the payments on it."