The Life I Chose

You're Family, Act Like It!

"Okay Aunt Regina!" Alex said before dashing off to Henry's room to pack up what little clothes he had. My mom gave a soft smile before leaving my doorway, I just continued packing but still wondering what was going on and why we had to leave. After making sure I had all my essentials and checking Henry's bag to make sure he packed the right stuff, I helped my mom put the twin's stroller and diaper bags in the car, that way it wouldn't slow us down. "I know you're confused about what's going on but trust me, we're doing the right thing." She kissed my cheek and went back inside. I stayed where I was and sat on the trunk of my car, figuring I should call Aaron and let him know I was leaving for awhile but when I called he didn't pick up. "Strange..." I thought out loud, then decided to just text him. Alex came outside and walked over to me, "Ready for an adventure?" I furrowed my brow, "What are you talking about?" He laughed, "Simple child. We're going somewhere new and you seriously don't think we're supposed to sit up in a hotel room all day long do you?" I shook my head, "Duh! Yes we are. We're obviously leaving so no one can find us so why would we expose ourselves while we're in another city?" He huffed, "Well I want to explore." I chuckled to myself, "If you do go exploring and my mom finds out, you'll learn a whole new definition of punishment." I hopped down from the car and patted him on the shoulder before going back inside. Everyone was sitting in the living room chit-chatting, Henry and Devon were playing with his cars and grandma was spending time with the twins. "It sucks being in the middle, not old enough to hang with the adults and too old to play with the little kids." Alex had walked up behind me and said quietly. I playfully pushed him, "Don't tell me you miss playing as a kid..." I smirked and he blushed, "NO!" I covered my mouth as a laugh escaped my lips, "Right. Because going on an adventure is definitely not child-like." He jokingly yanked my hair as I started to walk upstairs, "Ow! You wanna play? Okay, let's play!" I held out my hand, making a water balloon filled with cold water appear and without a second thought, I threw it at him, hitting him in the face. "COLD!" He shouted as he shivered, causing everyone to look at him. My mom and Aunt Eliza stepped out of the kitchen, "Son, why are you all wet?" Aunt Eliza asked as she grabbed a towel and started to try and dry him off. "Sh-She threw a c-cold water balloon at me!" He pointed at me and I felt my mom's fierce stare even though I wouldn't dare glance up at her. "What the hell happened? You two, kitchen. Now!" Her voice pierced my ears, stinging them as I realized I was probably going to be in a lot of trouble now. Everyone slowly went back to what they were doing as I followed Alex and Aunt Eliza into the kitchen when my doom was awaiting me. "Sit!" She spat out firmly just as we walked into the room, we immediately sat down at the counter on the barstools and I looked down at my hands as they sat in my lap. "Fiona, care to explain?"

I just shrugged with an innocent smile, "No, not really. What's there to explain? Einstein here yelled out exactly what happened. EXCEPT! The part about him yanking on my hair before I threw the balloon at him." With her eyes closed, she sighed deeply as she rubbed her temples, "Fiona play nice with your cousin. We have bigger issues at hand without me having to worry about the two of you acting like you are in kindergarten. Now kindly go upstairs and double check you put the stuff away." I nodded and obeyed, she made Alex come with me, "You pack all your stuff right?" I asked as I checked my room. "Duh. I didn't have much to pack in the first place, remember Devon and I have been in Neverland for a long time." I cut my eyes at his sarcastic tone but let it go, "I'm just doing what my mom asked me to do and double check. So how do you think Devon will take it when he wakes up and you're gone?" He bit his bottom lip, "Huh. I never thought of that. He's with mom though, he should he fine. We won't be gone that long anyway. Right?" I arched my eyebrow, "I have no clue. Your guess is as good as mine. Knowing my mom, it'll at least be two weeks. What I want to know though, is what the hell is going on to where we have to pack up and leave." He dried his hair off, "There must be something going on, our moms and Aunt Glinda might be planning something. Who knows?" He threw the towel at me and walked out of my room. I growled but didn't do anything, I was trying to avoid trouble. I was checking Henry's room when I remembered that I had texted Aaron over an hour ago but had gotten no reply. I called him again but no response, he would usually answer my calls or text me back saying he couldn't talk. Again I shrugged it off, there was too much going on for me to be concerned. We all ate dinner like a normal family and as my mom kissed us all goodnight, she whispered in my ear, "Four left. Move in four." I nodded, realizing she meant we were going to leave in four hours. I set my alarm to wake me up in three hours, wanting to be prepared just in case something may go wrong. Drifting off to sleep, I was truly grouchy when my alarm went off at 1 in the morning. I groaned as I rolled out of bed, throwing on my jacket, still in my pajamas and house boots because it was cold. Alex was asleep on my floor so with a smirk on my face, I walked over to him and lightly kicked him, "Wake up sunshine." It was pitch black in my room so I used the flashlight on my phone as I grabbed Henry and I's bag from my closet. "What time is it?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Almost time to move so get up!" I whispered, chunking him his bag he had in the corner of my room. He got up and put his shoes on, "Help me carry Henry to my mom's room." I instructed, making sure we stayed as quiet as possible. The door creaked as we opened it, I cringed, hoping no one heard it. Alex walked over to Henry, scooping him up as I grabbed his shoes. He gave one last look at Devon before I closed the door, "He'll be fine." I assured as we headed toward my parents' room. I saw at the bottom of the door that the light was on, "Good, they're awake." I thought to myself as we opened the door to see them grabbing their bags, being careful not to wake the twins.

She held her index finger to her lips, quietly shushing us. Alex continued holding Henry while I grabbed Tabitha since my dad was grabbing the bags, "Let's move but be very quiet." She said as she led us downstairs with Timothy in her arms. As we basically tiptoed down the stairs and out the door, successfully not making a sound, I couldn't help but think how crazy this was. We strapped the twins in their car seats, put Henry in his seatbelt and packed up the car, Alex and I finally got in the backseat, still sleepy. I let Henry lay on me as I leaned my head against the cold window, "Alright guys, this is going to be a bit of a drive. We should be there in about 5 hours and then we can get some well-needed rest." My mom said as she pulled out of the driveway, driving off. I looked to my left and saw Alex already asleep, chuckling to myself I just stared out of the window. I figured I'd be asleep soon, "Are you sure this is going to work?" I heard my dad ask, I guess they thought I was asleep. He reached for her right hand, which was resting on the arm rest. "I truly hope so, because if not, we're going to have some serious issues." I watched the trees zoom by, "Okay, what's going on?" I asked softly, causing my parents to look back at me. My mom took a deep breath, "We're leaving because we need to be sure that the threat your Aunt Glinda made won't harm any of us. That's why the Charmings are still at the house and that's why we are leaving. I can't afford any of you getting hurt." I raised my eyebrow, "What threat? And what about Aunt Eliza and Devon and Grandma Cora?" She pulled the car over and turned around to face me, "She threatened to have a showdown with your grandmother in a few days and trust me, that's nothing you want to see. And if things get worse, Eliza is bringing Devon to New York and they'll be with us until we go back. Don't worry, we'll be fine. Okay?" She faintly smiled, "Alright..." I turned my attention back to the window as she began driving again. Why was there going to be a showdown? I'm guessing it's going to be a big fight with magic but why? I know she was upset about what Cora did but it's never a good reason to fight your parents, no matter what. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep, Henry's head on me while my head was against the window. The sunlight beaming through the window and onto my face woke me up, I glanced at my phone and saw it was after 6am, then I noticed Aaron still hadn't replied to any of my messages. I frowned a bit but quickly fixed my face when Alex stirred and grunted, only to fall back to sleep. After a few minutes, we pulled up to this huge hotel, from the outside it seemed really nice. I flicked Alex's ear and he jumped, "What was that for?!" He glared at me and I couldn't help but laugh because he had drool on his face, "We're here and you might want to wipe that drool off your face before those cute girls see you." He took his shirt and wiped the side of his mouth, "Meanie." I smirked, "I get it from my momma." My mom parked, she and I grabbed the twins while Henry and Alex helped my dad grab all the stuff. We were checked in with no problem and led up to the top floor where we were going to stay in a suite for however long we were going to be gone. My eyes widened when I saw how big this room was, a full kitchen, huge bedroom, living room with a television, "Wait! There's only one bedroom?" I asked with a furrowed brow. "Yes. This was all they had left. You, Henry and Alex will sleep in the living room, you can all either make a pallet on the floor try and figure out who sleeps on the couch. It's up to you but no fighting!" She and my dad took the twins in the bedroom and placed them in the bassinets we brought along, closing the door behind them. "Can we order food?!" Henry shouted and my mom opened the door, chunking her slipper at him, "Do not yell! And yes, just don't go overboard." Henry and I looked at each other and then at the menu by the phone, both of us ran to it but I beat him, grabbing the menu and phone. "We're ordering pizza!" He exclaimed and I shushed him, "I know you just heard mom say don't yell." I shook my head and called up room service, ordering a pizza and some wings. Alex flopped on the couch and decided to go back to sleep for the time being, Henry turned on the tv and was happy. I walked out onto the balcony and suddenly my phone rang, I see it's Aaron and I quickly pick up, "Hello?! Aaron?!" I smiled, finally being able to talk to him. "Hey Fiona, what's wrong? I see you called me twice." He didn't sound excited to talk to me after not talking for over two weeks, "Yeah, I was just missing you. And wanted to let you know that we were in New York for awhile, my mom had us leave." I heard someone talking in the background, "You're in New York?! Why?!" I paused for a moment, "Why does is matter? And who's that in the background?" I heard static, "No one. Look Fiona, I got to go. I'll call you later." I hung up the phone, knowing something wasn't right. I looked at my watch, knowing it'll show me where he was and I saw him hugging some girl. The picture wasn't all that clear but I noticed they were in Central Park. He was here in New York! Why wouldn't he tell me that?! I needed answers and I guess it was up to me to figure them out.