CHAPTER 2
Regina hurried to school in a bad mood already. She'd had to wait for her parents to get out of the shower before she could jump in. She grumbled about her father still not working on the bathroom he'd promised her years ago but as usual it fell on deaf ears. Then, just as she was trying to grab something to eat, Neal decided that it was more fun to throw his breakfast on her instead of eating it. She'd sat there fuming and drenched in milk while he erupted into uncontrollable laughter. She'd had to get into the shower again to get the stickiness off of her before racing upstairs to try and find something clean to change into. Of course this would be the 2nd week they were behind in clean laundry too.
Now here she was racing through the hallways trying to make it to her locker and class before the last bell rang. The halls were already almost empty and she had only just gotten her locker opened when the bell rang. Regina squeezed her eyes tight in frustration. She growled under her breath as she got herself assembled. She hated being late.
She walked into the class quietly and tried to keep her head down as she made her way to her seat but of course she wasn't allowed any breaks. Obviously the fates were out to get her.
"Glad you could join us Miss Nolan. I hope we're not troubling you by holding class at a time that's inconvenient to you," Mr. Smokeman sneered.
Regina dropped her head and let her hair fall to cover her face. "Sorry," she mumbled as she continued to make her way to her usual seat.
Her best friend Kathryn sat beside her. She gave her a sympathetic smile as Regina shuffled her books around, "Baby brother still at it?"
Regina rolled her eyes, "don't ask."
"Quiet!" Mr Smokeman slapped a ruler across his desk while glaring in her direction.
Regina's face reddened as she slunk down in her seat as much as she could. God she hated her life. If she could she'd switch places with almost anyone right now.
MF
Emma Mills was on fire and she knew it. She was a total star. This was her space. And she owned it just like a Mills.
Emma would never be a scholar like her Mom and sister. She'd known this about herself her entire life. But when she played sports, she could release all her emotions against her opponents. And that's why she was nicknamed The Beast to her foes and The Savior to her teammates.
This was their last time out. Her school team, the Stallions, were in the lead. But there was still room for the other team to come and steal their victory from their hands.
Emma glanced up at the bleachers. Her parents were there as usual. And her sister was making out with her boyfriend not far away from them.
For Zelena it was merely a way to spend time with Graham. For her father it was where he could cheer for his baby as loudly as he wanted. He was always her biggest supporter. He waved the video camera at her. He was also the family's unofficial videographer and recorded almost every moment of them being conscious. Her dad was a dork. But she loved him dearly.
Her Mother had her eyes glued to her tablet. She would continue to do so until the last couple of minutes of the game. She always showed up to all Emma's games. Even though she hated sports, she definitely loved winning. And being able to see her Mother's face light up when she won made everything else worthwhile for Emma.
"You girls are out there playing like pansies. What are you all on your periods today or what?!" the coach boomed at them. "This is our final game of the season. I don't know about you all but I want to end it going out as champions. Now move it! Get me that trophy!"
"Yes Coach!" the girls on the team chorused.
Emma, as the team captain, motioned for her team to come in. "Okay now. They're not that tough. We've got this. I'm not even going to waste my time talking your heads off about what we already know is true. Mulan, I expect you to have me like I have you." Both girls nodded their acquiescence.
"Now Stallions on 3," Emma boomed as she put her hand out. The other girls piled theirs on top of hers. "1-2-3 Stallions!" they all yelled together.
Emma and the girls took the field. The referee stood in-between the two teams looking back and forth. They were all covered in sweat and determination. Emma's eyes never left the ball as the referee put it into play.
Mulan was the first to get the ball. She bounced it on her head then onto her knee before knocking it onto the ground and running toward the goal. Ariel ran ahead and Mulan kicked the ball over to her.
Ariel took the ball and dribbled it up ahead to the goal where Emma was already running to. A girl on the other team lunged but Ariel was able to kick the ball through her legs and over to Emma.
Emma's heart was pounding as she wiped the sweat out of her eyes. It was like time stood still as she waited for the ball to get to her.
Emma spent hours practicing. For her, it was cathartic. She knew she wasn't that smart. But she knew on when it came to sports she was a natural born athlete though where the inclination came she had no idea. No one else in her family played sports. Not if you didn't count her Mom and Zelena horseback riding which Emma didn't. If you weren't getting down and dirty then you weren't really playing was her motto.
She had been trying out this new move. But she had yet to use it in a game. She looked to either side and made sure she had room. She did. When the ball came to her, she took her shot. She jumped in the air into a back handspring and kicked the ball toward the goal.
When Emma got to the part of the handspring where she actually supposed to land on her hands she knew something was wrong. But she also knew her team was counting on her. She'd timed the move perfectly and was still able to get the kick off. But her arm ended up slipping from underneath her.
It had rained the night before and the slickness of the grass wasn't something she was prepared for. Her body was already in motion and she'd already committed when her body fell on top of the top half of her body with all of her weight. Her arm was twisted underneath her.
Emma cried out but by this time the crowd was on their feet cheering and so were her teammates. They all rushed toward her. Emma knew she was in trouble already. Their eyes had been on the goal and not on her. They hadn't seen her fall take a dangerous turn.
Emma heard the sickening snap as she fell. Her teammates immediately started dogpiling on top of her. It wasn't until she started pounding whoever wherever wildly with her other fist that they realized her screams weren't from joy but pain. She was writhing on the ground in obvious agony.
"Oww Em, what the hell?!" Mulan exclaimed as she held her eye. Finally she really looked at her, "Em? Emma?!" she screamed out. She turned to the other girls on the team, "Get her help now!" Mulan turned back to Emma, "It's okay Em. We got you," Mulan patted her shoulder as she checked Emma's arm. It was hanging at a weird angle and Emma was trying to nurse it back while fighting back tears and screams.
The last thing Emma remembered before her eyes closed was her Mother's face moving closer to her. Emma's last thought was she had never seen her Mother look so beautiful before in her life.
MF
Emma came to sometime in the ambulance. "Mo - ?" she croaked groggily.
Her Mother immediately came into view. She smoothed back Emma's hair as she held her hand. "It's okay honey. I'm here. We're going to get you all patched up," she said while failing miserably to try and paint a smile on her face.
Emma was vaguely aware they were in an ambulance because she could hear the sirens blaring. Her eyes started to flutter again.
Cora turned to the driver, "Will you move this damned thing faster? My daughter is in pain."
Emma chuckled sleepily. She knew her Mother was going to have someone's job if they didn't speed it up. Then she faded to black.
MF
Emma came to again as she was being rushed down a hallway. Faces passed by her in a blur as she heard her Mother cry out, "…and her blood type is AB negative."
MF
The next time Emma awoke she was already lying in a room with her arm in a cast. "Wha – huh?"
Mother hurried over to the side of her bed, "shhh…. You're fine dear," she ran a hand up and down Emma's shoulder. "The doctor assured us that it was a clean break and everything would be fine. You won't even have to miss much school."
Emma grimaced, "Great." Leave it to her to screw up getting out of school.
Her Father was on the other side of her bed, "You were beautiful out mijita. You were definitely the Savior tonight," her father tapped the camera. "And we can watch it all when you get back home."
"Is there anything you need dear?" Cora asked with concern etched across her face.
It wasn't often Emma was coddled. Her Mother believed in self-sufficiency. She knew she needed to take advantage while the opportunity lasted. "Well, I could use some fries and a milkshake."
"Of course dear. Whatever you wish," Cora turned to Zelena who was texting on her phone nonstop. To Graham Emma was sure. "Why don't you go and get us all something to eat?"
Zelena scoffed, "I'm busy!" she held up her phone.
"We brought you that car so that you could help out with chores. Now your baby sister is hurt and we need to be here for her," Cora reached into her purse and pulled out her pocketbook. She pulled some bills out from inside it. "I'll have a chicken salad and your father will have a turkey club with no mayo and no fries." Henry's face took a downturn but Cora just ignored him.
Zelena narrowed her eyes at Emma before taking the money her Mother handed off to her and stomping from the room. Emma chuckled. Zelena waiting on her was another rare treat she knew she needed to savor. "Make that a chocolate chocolate chip shake, a large order of fries, a double cheeseburger, no mayo, with extra mustard and onions and everything else," she called out before the door shut behind her. Emma lounged back with a grin on her face.
"How's your arm my dearest?" Papi asked.
Emma glanced at her Mother, "Oh, um… yea… it hurts and all… owww."
Cora nodded, "the doctor said it would take a few minutes for the pain meds to kick in."
Emma didn't bother to tell her they had already kicked in and she was feeling no pain at all. She was enjoying all this worrying and attention.
"Your teammates were here but we had to send them home," Papi told her. "They did drop your stuff off though," he pointed to a chair in the corner that held her gym bag.
"Cool," Emma nodded. She and her father began to talk about the game as Cora went back to her tablet. With her Mother as Mayor of their small berg, work was never done. They had plenty of missed family outings, holidays, get-togethers, and vacations to prove it.
The night shift doctor doing rounds stopped by the room to check up on Emma. He had her try and flex her fingers just to make sure all her wires were still working. She must've aced it because he let the family know that after rounds in the morning, Emma would be free to go home.
Emma frowned. She was going to miss all this attention that was being heaped on her. But at least when she got back to school she had a cool story to tell everyone.
"Ahem," the doctor cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mayor Mills, may I have a word with you outside please?"
Her parents looked at one another then followed the doctor out the door. Emma grabbed the remote and made herself comfortable in bed.
The doctor led them over to a small waiting room at the end of the corridor. He scratched his head, not really sure where or how to start this conversation, "Mayor Mills I've looked over Emma's chart. It says that you told a nurse when you got here that Emma's blood type was AB negative."
"That's right," Cora nodded. "She has my blood in her veins. Emma, Zelena, and I are all AB negative."
The doctor turned pale. He looked around nervously not sure how to proceed, "Ma'am I'm afraid that's not correct. Emma's blood type is A positive."
"No," Cora shook her head adamant. "You're wrong. My husband is A negative. Maybe someone mixed things up."
The doctor blanched. Now he knew it wasn't a mistake. He ran his hands through his hair, "Ma'am I'm afraid to have to tell you this but we cross match everyone who comes in needing blood. And Emma is A positive."
Cora's face drained of all color. She squeezed her eyes shut as she concentrated on evening out her breathing.
"That can't be right," Henry jumped in. "That would mean that Emma can't be our daughter. But she is!" Henry stood up and shouted, "She is!"
"That hospital!" Cora screeched. "Henry," she grabbed at his coat, "I knew it! I told you that hospital couldn't be trusted. But no, you just had to stop! We should've had our baby in a real place. And not some backwoods town in the middle of nowhere!"
Henry looked as though he'd been slapped. He slowly sat down and stared straight ahead as Cora began to sob.
"I'm really sorry to have had to tell you this," the doctor said. "We have social workers here that can help in stressful situations."
Henry waved the doctor away as he put an arm around his wife. Cora's tears had dried and she was trying hard to place her Mayoral mask back on. She dried her face and nodded, "Thank you doctor. We have it from here," Cora straightened out her dress and crossed her legs.
The doctor nodded and muttered an, "I'm sorry," under his breath before heading out.
Just then Zelena walked by carrying bags of food but thankfully didn't see them. Cora and Henry looked at one another. They took a moment to gather themselves and as if in unspoken agreement they both made their way back to their daughter's room.
At the door of the room they stopped in the doorway. They watched as Emma tossed a fry at Zelena while the two teased and giggled between each other.
"Our entire lives just completely changed," Cora whispered. She turned to her husband, "No matter what, nothing will ever be the same again."
"We still have our girls. No matter what Emma will always be ours. We'll make sure of it," Henry nodded. The quiet strength in him that Cora had always admired in him coming forth.
Cora nodded even though she knew there was no turning back. Emma was theirs and yet she wasn't at the same time. And somewhere out there their own little girl was lost to them. Lost and unknown.