The summer had been perfect, Emma Lee Swan had never before been so happy in her life. Fuck, Emma had never been happy before in her short life. She'd been tossed away at the side of a highway as a infant. Unwanted, unloved. And that was how the next sixteen years had gone. A reproduction of that incident.
Jumping from foster home to foster home. Never finding love, acceptance, or happiness. She had been nothing more then a paycheck to the greedy people who brought her into there homes. Forced to work nonstop, basically there slaves, forced to be their punching bags, among other things. At sixteen she'd found the street as a better alternative then another abusive foster home.
The girl had no reason to live, but she had strode forward, not quite to the point of suicide. She had been trying to survive for so long, and just before she had fallen into the deepest pit of self-hatred, she had found a reason to continue her struggle of survival, she'd found a reason to continue living.
Regina Mills was that reason. She was perfection. From her dark brown hair, to her perfect lips, to her skin that held just the tiniest hint of mocha coloring. She was everything that Emma had ever dreamed about, that Emma had ever dared to hope for. She had fallen in love within mere hours of knowing the older woman.
Emma had been on the streets for a good six weeks when she had met Regina. She'd used her fake I.D to get into a bar in downtown New York. The young blonde had been dancing it up, having a grand ol' time just being careful and having fun. And then she had glanced towards the bar.
Her jaw had dropped as she looked at the most magnificent creature she had ever seen. She eyed the woman from her spot on the dance floor, Emma had been still as a rock when said creature had looked at her. There eyes locking together. It felt as if a jolt of lightening had danced within the blondes very soul as she stared into the brown orbs at the other side of the club.
"You have got to be a Queen, because all I want to do is fall to my knees and worship you" Emma had said breathlessly, she had always been smooth when getting woman to do her bidding, but she was anything but smooth as she had spoken to the beauty. She mentally scolded herself for sounding so weak.
This woman was different, just from looking at her Emma was weak in the knees, and could barely come up with a suitable pick-up line. Let alone stutter it out without passing out. The young blond was sure that her horrible excuse of a delivery wasn't going to land her any points, and her line was sub-par as well. She kept a semi-confident smile on her face, even if her heart was racing a million miles a millisecond.
"Really now?" The woman glanced at her, before taking a sip of her drink. "And if I was nothing more then an Ex-Queen?" Emma's smiled a bit more, relief flooding her features. If she could get this woman talking, then she might just have a chance with the mysterious beauty.
"That's simple, I would do everything in my power to get you your throne back. To prove that I was the most worthy of worshiping at your divine alter" Emma replied, she was still nervous, but it was melting away with each moment that the woman looked at her.
When the woman smiled it was like seeing your first sunrise, your first sunset. As if you had been blind your whole life, and it was the first thing you'd ever seen. It took Emma's breath away, made her heart skip a few beats. Her eyes were the most amazing shade of brown Emma's ever seen, and she knew if she stared too long into them that she would lose all ability to function.
"My name is Regina, would you like another beer?" Emma smiled and slid into the seat next to the beautiful, mysterious Regina. "Or we can skip the small talk, and continue this at my place" A shiver had run down Emma's spine as the older woman whispered directly into her ear.
"Her Majesty, please, lead the way." Emma said as she stood, probably a little too quickly. But this earned her a small chuckle from the older woman. "I'm Emma." She added as she dutifully followed after Regina, much like a lovesick puppy.
It hadn't been her plan, but, one night was all it took for Emma too fall head over heels in love. It was more then just the sex. The mind-blowing, best sex of her life thus far, but after that. Just the way Regina asked her too stay, the way she had held Regina as the older woman slept. It had brought forth emotions Emma had never dreams possible.
The same could be said for Regina. She had left her little town in the hopes of finding someone to relieve her stress for a night. Then to run back to the safety of the familiar, but, she had surprisingly asked the blonde to stay. Had nearly begged the blonde to hold her all night, and she'd never slept so well. Never felt so, right, as she had with the blonde wrapped around her.
Regina's trip had been extended, and for the next few weeks the two woman found themselves hooked together at the hip. They had mutually agreed that it was a sexual relationship, and nothing more, as neither woman wanted one. However, meetings in Regina's apartment had grown to Chinese take out and watching comedies. That had grown to coffee in the park.
Then they had found themselves at museums, clubs, movies. By the end of the summer both woman were very deeply in love with the other. Emma literally had moved into the townhouse apartment, and everything was perfect. They spent what time Emma wasn't working with each other, talking, playing around, sightseeing, making love in all sections of the house.
Before moving into Regina's apartment, which had only taken two weeks, she had no place to stay. She'd had no money, no car, and was coasting from shelter to shelter. She'd brought her duffel of clothes, and a box she shoved in a closet and wouldn't let even Regina touch. Regina respected that, after all, they were still skirting around the fact that they were no longer just sex friends.
The money that blonde made was from odd jobs she picked up, dog walking, house cleaning, dog washing, fixing bikes and cars when she could. But, she was fine with it. She liked the fact she didn't have allot of work, it meant more time with the woman she was hopelessly in love with. A woman she feared that she was losing.
Regina had tons of money, more then she knew what to do with. Emma didn't know about her immense wealth. And she had been pulling away from the blonde as the summer started to come to an end. Her weekend away had turned into an entire summer, and with September just days away, she knew she had to go back. And she couldn't take the young woman who'd claimed her heart with her.
She'd dropped a few hints here and there, trying to prepare the blonde for her departure. She couldn't just outright say it, because she knew should the blonde beg, or cry, she'd stay. She'd stay, and she'd age, and she would die. And Regina knew that if the blonde was by her side that she would gladly go that way. But she had responsibilities to the town.
The fear grew with every passing moment. Emma knew she wasn't invited to go with Regina, and that killed her inside. Regina hadn't stated the fact, but Emma just knew, just had a feeling that she wasn't allowed to go. Emma knew that Regina had a job, a whole life, back wherever it was she had come from. And she knew that soon Regina would leave her behind.
Regina had grown to be her everything. She was her air, her water, the only reason she was still breathing, still living on the corrupt earth. Emma knew that fact that she'd been lying about her age to the twenty-seven year old was wrong. She knew that if Regina had known she was only sixteen, and not the twenty-one stated on her I.D that they'd never have been together. She couldn't tell the brunette the truth.
Just like she couldn't tell her the truth of her past, the truth of her life up to that point. She couldn't share so much about herself with her. But, that had been alright. Regina didn't share with her, she couldn't, for her own reasons. It was a mutual agreement, the past didn't matter. They both chose to live in the right now. One of the many reasons that they'd never told each other how they truly felt, never stated those three words that needed to be spoken.
Then the worst day of young Emma Swan's life came to pass. She woke up alone, and instantly she knew that something was different, that something was wrong. She had sat up, her eyes zeroing in on the envelope on the nightstand. Her name was printed in Regina's clean, precise, yet still elegant handwriting.
Wrapping her arms around her knees, her eyes scanned the room. The closet door was open, all of Regina's clothes were gone. Leaving only Emma's behind. The little trinkets and things that made the room Regina's were also missing. The pictures of the two together that had begun to litter the room were also missing, in there place were empty frames.
Her worst nightmare had become a reality. Regina had abandoned her, she had been abandoned so many times that she had grown numb to it. She had grown to expect it. She hadn't felt the familiar pain for years, but now it came crashing down upon her shoulder twenty-fold. Regina had left her, her heart was broken, and there was nothing for her to do but to hold herself and cry.
How long it had taken for her to stop crying long enough to grab the letter off the nightstand she didn't know. Emma stared down at the envelope for a good hour, her finger tracing her name over and over. She was so scared to open it, but, as darkness started to take over the sky she opened it, doing her best to not just lay back down and wait for death to capture her soul.
Emma,
There is so much, yet, so little to say. What had been a weekend away had grown into a full summer's vacation. You made my summer bright and enjoyable, and there are not words to express how very thankful I am for your constant company.
As I am certain you have noticed myself and my belongings have returned to my home. The apartment is paid up for the next three months, and I've left you you some cash to cover any and all expenses you could possibly have for the next several months.
I wish you only the best. I truly hope that you have a long, prosperous, and happy life,
Regina Mills.
The crunching of paper was the only sound as Emma crumpled the letter and envelope into a paper ball and tossed it as hard as she could into the wall. Her anger was rising, and her need for booze and food were overriding her pain. Spending all day in bed, crying and wishing she had never woken up in the first place had really done a number on her system.
She stumbled down the stairs of the apartment, and ripped open the refrigerator door. A large groan escaped her lips. The once fully stocked to the brim with Captain Morgan and Budweiser fridge was now void of any all alcohol, in its place was fifteen large stacks of cash, and enough health food to feed an army.
Dumping her booze was bad enough, switching out her microwaveable burgers with lettuce and fresh cut meats and weird looking things that were probably vegetables was just horrible. But, the stacks of one hundred dollar bills was just a dick-slap to the face. They were fresh from the bank, as they still had those little counting bands around them. Each stack held ten grand.
The door to the fridge was slammed so hard that had Emma been in her right mind she would have wondered how it didn't manage to break. As it was, she had slid down against the counter, till her ass was on the floor, and fresh tears were spilling down her cheeks. Regina had viewed her as nothing more then a common whore. She had been nothing but a slice of meat for Regina to play then pay for.
After she was able to get a hold of herself, and stand Emma walked to the living room. The blonde vehemently refused to use any of Regina's money. She would spend none of it, not even a dime, not even if it meant that it would save her fucking life. She grabbed her little can, that held all of her money, and began to count it up. She had just over two-hundred.
Spinning the dial on the bike lock she grumbled to herself, she was beyond pissed off. And she felt like little more then scum, when the bike was free of its hold she tossed the chain around her neck like a necklace, swung her leg over the seat and started peddling as fast as she could. She put all her effort into riding as fast as possible, rather then the fact she was riding a bike that Regina had given her.
As she slid to a quick stop in front of the Walmart doors the tires left streaks on the ground. She paid no attention to them as she locked the bike up and stormed inside of the store. She was on a mission. Glares were given to anyone who looked her way as she stomped her way through the store. The first thing shoved into the cart was a cubic foot sentry safe.
Knowing that there was no way she was going to balance the safe anywhere on the bike for the three mile ride back to the apartment the blonde glared harder at everything and headed for the second thing on her list. Three rolls of classic duct tape landed angrily on top of the safe's box. The last thing she needed was something to put that shit into for the ride back, the solution was grabbing the biggest backpack they had available.
Everything in the cart totaled to just over a hundred and sixty bucks, but it was worth it to her angry mind. Emma had to take the safe out of it's box to fit it into the backpack, which caused her to stomp on the box angrily, causing a few other nightly shoppers to send her weird glances as they walked to their cars. She simply gave them her middle finger.
With her adrenaline slowing, and her anger falling the slight chill to the air gave her a slight shiver as she tightened the straps on the backpack. Her teeth made a sickly, wince worthy, sound as they ground together. Choosing to ignore the cold, and focus on her next task, she unlocked the bike, tossed the chain back around her neck and put all her energy into closing the three mile gap between her and her home.
"Fuck that" She said out loud as she thought to herself. "Ain't my home. It's just Regina's old apartment. I don't belong anywhere" She growled to herself as the wind made her hair fly out behind her.
Once back at the apartment Emma dropped the backpack onto the couch, and headed back to the fridge. She grabbed out a bottle of water, and downed it before wiping the sweat from her forehead. The empty plastic bottle landed in the recycling bin as the blonde headed for the closet. She grabbed the old, beaten up, brown cardboard box off the shelf.
"You can do this. This is who you are. Nothing can stop you, you are stronger then this" She muttered to herself as she carried it to the living room. She placed it onto the coffee table, and sat down. Staring at it.
The box was small, but, it held everything that Emma had ever held onto. A baseball from the one time she was on a team, the blanket she had been found in, and a handful of pictures of her childhood. Her entire sixteen years of life wrapped up into a box. A mostly empty box, but, she supposed, there was an upside to that.
Step one was taking everything out of the beat up, crumbling, box. She stacked it to the side of the coffee table. Step two was pulling out the duct tape. By the time she was duct taping the box there was more tape then box, but, at least she now believed it would hold up for another year or two without disintegrating into dust particles from the slightest touch.
The next step involved her actually getting off of her ass, and walking to the fridge. She carried the stacks of cash out of it's cold environment and into the living room. Stacking it next to the box on the coffee table. A sigh escaped her lips as she began step four, setting up the damn safe. Setting up a key-code was simple, she converted Regina's name into a number. Seven three four four six two. It was after all Regina's fucking money.
Emma's blood was still boiling at the fact that Regina, the woman she had fallen in love with, the woman who had become her everything, had thought nothing more of her then a common fucking whore to use for her own amusements. One key was hung like a pendent on a shoelace, and Emma put it on like a necklace. She figured that way she wouldn't lose it.
Taking another trip to the kitchen Emma found a can of whole wheat pringles. Something she would never eat, and work nicely for what she needed it for. Once back in the living room she moved the empty box to the floor. Then she took the lid off of the pringles can, and put her hand over the open container. She flipped it over, and set it onto the coffee table. The tower of pringles didn't do what she wanted it to, and flung themselves all over the table.
She tore off a small piece of duct tape with her teeth, and put it over the key, making sure the sticky side was facing down she forced the key onto the bottom of the pringles can. To make sure it was stuck permanently she added a second chunk of tape. Then she started re-stacking as many as the chips inside of the can as she could. The broken and unstack-able chips were shoved in the trash can.
Now that the safe was programmed, and the keys in safe locations, Emma stacked all of the money inside of it. Not once while she was handling all of the money had she thought of spending it, her mind was dead-locked on returning it. The safe was dropped into the bottom of the box, and covered with the blanket and other items that were long-time residents of the old box. The other new resident of the box was the pringles can.
After all of the events of the day Emma was tired, angry, and broken inside. So she closed up the box, picked it up and hauled it up the stairs. She placed the box at the foot or Regina's side of the bed. Turned out the lights, and did her best not to cry as she crawled under the covers and wrapped herself up in the blankets that still held Regina's apple like scent.
The morning came to quickly for Emma, and considering she hadn't eaten the day before she allowed her stomach to rule as she forced her legs to carry her down the stairs. She made herself a sandwich and shoveled down her throat and she crashed down onto the couch. She laid there, trying to figure out what she should do next.
Staying at the apartment wasn't ideal, but, Regina had paid the rent up for three more months. And it was a really nice apartment. It was better then finding herself with a box with a ton of cash in it on the streets. So, as she stared up at the ceiling, not wanting to move, she decided she would stay at the apartment for three months and save as much money as possible while doing so.
The plan after the three months were up were to move out of the expensive townhouse and find a cheaper apartment somewhere as far from New York as she could manage. She also decided, that one day, she would find Regina. And she would return her money. And then she'd leave Regina, and forget she had ever existed. She just had to make it to that day first.
A/N: What are your thoughts? I hope you like it thus far.
