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Disclaimers remain the same

TW: Abuse

Chapter 2

Nightmares were a common horror she faced, each one worse then the previous, all of them making her wake in cold sweat, trembling in the sheets. All of them were vivid. All of them had happened. Whether it was of Daniel, her mother, or Leopald, every nightmare left her shaken to her core, walking around for the next few hours with her head in a seemingly endless torment. That was life.

It was the early hours of the morning when she woke, panting, shaking... Regina had simply gotten out of bed, pacing for a few minutes, before padding into the lounge. She had grabbed the phone, dialled her sister's number, waited as it rung...and then stopped, hanging up. She couldn't tell Zelena. The last time she had tried...Daniel had walked in... Things had been bad. Things had happened which caused a whole new series of nightmares. Regina sighed, placing the phone back down. Listening for a second in case Daniel was waking, she sat at the desk, opening the laptop. Within minutes, she was looking at pictures of Storybrooke. It took a few tries, as the town was quaint and remote, but she did find one page full of information.

The idea had been running around her head for around four weeks now. Move. Move to Storybrooke, escape Daniel, see her sister.. No. He would find out. He wouldn't let her get away.

And what about Henry? Sure, she could just pack up his bags and take him too, but he was enrolled in school. She couldn't drag him away from that, he loved it there. The brunette sighed again, raking a hand through her hair. She checked the time. 5:50. Daniel would be up in ten minutes. Regina shut down the device, heading to the kitchen to begin the breakfast, silently arguing with herself.

Move to Storybrooke, be happy, and live life? That was the best option. But, well...she was scared. There, she admitted it. She rarely did; as a Mills, she had learnt to never show fear, but every time Daniel's hand lifted into the air, or his voice would raise ever so slightly, every time the door slammed, or his grip on her was just a little too tight, something would curl in her stomach, make her feel ill.

Fear.

It had been there for years now, it was the thing that stopped her from walking out the door, from leaving Daniel behind. She heard him now, rousing, probably wondering why she wasn't there. Regina switched on the kettle, counting in her head. Sure enough, he stumbled out of the bedroom door at exactly six.

"Morning"

That was the good thing; Daniel was never fully awake in the mornings, and so he was actually a decent guy at those times.

"Good morning" To make an effort, she kissed his cheek gently, to which he smiled, kissing her forehead. Regina prodded him lightly in the chest.

"You go get dressed, I'll finish your breakfast"

Daniel didn't object, dragging his feet sleepily down the hallway, back to the bedroom. Regina continued her task, making sure the bacon was cooked to how he liked it, buttering the bread with just the right amount of butter. Within minutes, a bacon sandwich was set in front of Daniel's place, accompanied by a steaming mug of black coffee. Regina waited, looking at the clock. In half hour, he would be gone...

That half hour passed quickly, and soon enough, he was out the door, closing it a little louder then needed. She lay on the couch, thankful for just this moment's peace. This type of peacefulness was hard to come by in the apartment, there was always too much happening, whether it was Henry running around- which she didn't mind, of course- or Daniel shouting, something was always going on.

It was actually quite nice, being able to relax. She knew Henry would be stirring soon, and then the school run would begin. Then it was grocery shopping, cleaning, pick up Henry, cook dinner..

There was a chance that Daniel would be home late, as he usually was on Fridays, but that was even worse. That meant he would come home reeking of alcohol, would be more prone to snapping over the smallest thing. Though perhaps she could fall asleep before he came home... She sat up as she heard Henry beginning to wake. The brunette walked down the hallway, still playing with the idea in her mind.

~0~

It was easier said then done. Because she could never fall asleep before him. And today had been...interesting.

She had gone grocery shopping, her plan to go in, get the items she needed, and leave. Of course, it didn't go that way. She had been at the checkout, placing items down, when someone had seen...

Someone had seen the bruises that suspiciously resembled fingertips. Damn, she had forgotten to wear the watch that usually hid them.

"What are those?" The man had asked. If she didn't know him, then she would have made a remark about the bluntness, but this was the son of their neighbour, the one who never missed his curfew, who always got good grades, and had never touched a drop of alcohol. He was a good kid, and he meant the best.

"It's nothing" was her reply, as she pulled her sleeves down to cover them as best as she could. She had just continued to load things onto the belt.

"Miss Mills, were those bruises?"

"No." There was a tone to her voice, one that ended the conversation. The kid had looked at her in disbelief, but dropped the subject. She had paid, taken the bags in hand, and driven home as fast as legally possible. She was home in record time, unpacking everything, placing boxes in the cupboards, milk in the fridge, sweets on the top shelf, out of reach from young hands.

And then she had set up the laptop again, scrolled through her history until she found the webpage, clicked on it, and read it for the tenth time. She was going to do it. Regina didn't know how, or when, but she would move to Storybrooke...without Daniel.

Everything from there had been fine, she picked up Henry, cooked dinner, set a plate aside for Daniel, ignoring the curl in her stomach as she realised how he would come home tonight. She had given Henry a bath, tucked him in bed, read him a story, wished him goodnight, and had exited the room.

Regina had sat, waiting. It was midnight when he staggered through the door at last, slurring something that possibly could have resembled English. And it was clear by how those incoherent mutters had an edge of anger to them, that Daniel was going snap, that tonight wouldn't end in a good way.

She was right.

It was 1:30am when Regina had finally cleared up. Her shoulders trembled with silent sobs, her hands shook as she wrapped the broken glass in newspaper, and her legs felt like they were going to give out any second. All the while, she tried, in vain, to forget about the burning pain spreading through her body. Daniel was passed out drunk now, collapsed onto the sofa. When she saw herself in the mirror, a fresh new wave of tears threatened to spill. Where was that strong woman she once was? The one who never let anyone walk over her, the one who would roll her eyes at new couples? Now, she would do anything to be part of one of those couples, where the love was sweet, where there were no marks, or tears. In the mirror, she now saw a broken soul, makeup smudged, tears shaded slightly black from mascara. There was a cut on her upper lip, marks on her neck...

She had to do it now. Now whilst he was asleep, whilst there was nothing in her way.

Before she could allow herself to change her mind, Regina was packing her suitcase, one for Henry too. She didn't bother to clean her wounds, that could be done later...in Storybrooke. Regina took an unsteady breath, clasping the handles of the cases. Should she really do this? What if- no. She would doing it. She would leave Daniel, give Henry a better life.

That was all it took. In a matter of only twenty minutes, she had the car loaded. The brunette blanked the pain as she lifted her slumbering son into her arms, carrying him downstairs. Her mind was plaguing her again, telling her it would never work...

...but if it did...

She shook her head, starting the engine. It was harder to ignore the pain now, her head was throbbing, but she still pulled out of that car park.

She still found the courage to escape.

A/N This chapter may have seemed a little rushed. I'm sorry if it does, but I've been stressing because of school, so my writing may not be the best. Continue to feed me with reviews!