"Mama come on, it's time to get up!" I call out. I wonder why she lied to Emma. My mom used to be a morning person. For the past three years she sleeps all day, in the dark, and watches tv at night. That's literally her every day schedule and has been since I was 12 and that slut left us behind.

My mom stirs in her bed and forces the covers over her head to ignore me. I declared yesterday, after seeing how happy my mom was, that I should start forcing her out of bed. This will be better for her. Like she said before, a summer here could be a good refresher for us. It definitely has been for me because the universe planted Emma Swan right at our feet.

"Why must you pester me child!" She groans out. I let out a heavy sigh and snatch the covers away from her, leaving her no choice but to sit up in bed with a cranky smile on her face. I then make my way over to her bed and snatch open the curtains. The fact that she hisses a little is cause of concern.

"What are you trying to blind me?!" She snaps angrily. Again, I sigh out my pain. Every day my heart breaks a little just from seeing her like this. I can never tell her? How can I when she wouldn't understand? Everyday she forgets before and there's also...

"Mama, what is your name?" I ask like I do everyday.

"What are you asking me that for? Why do I have to tell you every morning that my name is Regina."

The sound of the doorbell on a Monday is music to my ears. The diner is fairly empty, and warm coffee is just screaming my name. I wonder if Laya is ready for a big day. I texted her last night and when I woke up but there was no answer.

But, speak of the devil, the girl comes from the back kitchen with her camera hanging around her neck and her book bag hugging her back. She slipped her hair up into a ponytail as well. She's definitely ready.

"Granny says you like your coffee with a dose of diabetes and big fluffy diabetes cake to follow." The teen teases as she holds out the coffee and a paper brown bag.

"Well, when you become a scientist, I'll let you be the judge of that." Laya chuckles and meets me from behind the counter.

"Sorry for not texting you back. I was so caught up with so many things–" I had to stop her right there. Yes, I was worried, but she doesn't have to explain herself to me.

"Don't worry about it, seriously. Now, are you ready to meet the drunk?" Laya frantically shakes her head and follows me out of the diner to my bug.

"This car is the most adorably weird thing I've ever seen!" She laughs. I fake grab at my heart and unlock the car door with my key.

"I feel highly offended." I whimper.

"Don't be, I like it." With that, she gets in the car to leave me stuck in thought. Just her kindness alone reminds me of her mother. I literally had a dream about Lana last night, so I couldn't help but question Laya when I started driving. Maybe She would tell me something.

"So, your mom told me she was a morning bird. How come I didn't see her today? Does she help around the diner?" I ask. I notice a sudden change of Laya's demeanor from my questions, maybe I hit a nerve and should back down. Just when I decided on telling her she didn't have to answer, she giggles a little and shifts in her seat.

"Mama's a great cook. She's better than granny, even granny admits so." She informs. Her face seems out of this world though, as if she's reminiscing into story telling.

"Really?! Maybe she can cook for me and Henry one day." I tease. Laya shrugs and mumbles,

"She'd love that." Then she clears her throat and says, "Mama would lose her mind working in the diner though. She has OCD and would probably turn the diner into Lana's land." Laya and I share a laugh together before she turns to me in admiration.

"Your mom sounds great Laya. And given by her personality, I'd say you're a lucky girl." To my surprise, Laya only shrugs in response.

"Her personality..." she repeats, almost darkly. I swear for a second that something possessed her and can only wonder why. I really want to know more about her mom but I can see now, that talking about the woman is triggering her and slowly eating away at her sanity, so instead I go,

"So, it is a Monday. Usually Mondays are quiet here in StoryBrooke but our forces are also merged with Hyperion Heights and something always happens there." And just like that, Laya is back to her normal bubbly self.

"Where's Hyperion Heights?" She asks with pure excitement.

"It's the next town north from here...well, its a city but you get my point."

"Relax Em! We've got this!" She cheers out. Em... My mom used to calm me Em. Instead of it making me sad from the reminder, my heart fills a little more and it's for this teenager sitting right beside me. This may sound cheesy, but I think my mom may have sent Laya into my life as an early birthday gift. Maybe I needed a change and Laya is the key to that.

Truthfully, I have been living on autopilot for so long. Everything I do now is out of habit. I've imprisoned myself in a world of routine thinking that maybe it'll make life easier for me and maybe there would be a lesser chance that I'd have to acknowledge the rest of the world. Meeting Laya has opened my eyes just a little. She's so much like me or what could have been me at her age.

"Emma? Are you even listening to me?" I pull up the police station and guiltily glance at the rambunctious Laya. Her lips are pursed into a scowl but her eyes hold playfulness. Try as she might, her lips are curling just a little despite her efforts to spite that smile.

"I'm sorry Laya. Fair warning, I tend to get lost in my head." I admit shyly. Laya chuckles and goes,

"My mom is like that all of the time. Trust me I'm used to it by now."

I remember Lana telling me that. How can I forget Lana telling me that? Also, by the looks on Laya's face, there's more meaning behind what she said. This girl may be bubbly, but there's always a way she looks at me. It's full of sorrow or admiration...something. Deep inside, I think she's begging me to save her; but save her from what?

"Emma! Come on let's go!" She snaps in my face. Closing my eyes to snap out of my trance, I then lead the way to the station door. "Hi uncle Graham!"

Graham turns away from one of his employees and gives Laya a big smile, "I see you've met Emma."

"Yea!" She beams with pride, "Emma is awesome."

Graham nods his head in agreement, causing me to blush bashfully over the exaggerated comments. He gives me a swift pat on my shoulder and motions for us to follow him into his office. I definitely feel uneasy. He could be upset for bringing her for all I know. It's not like I ever told him.

"So," he begins with motions with his hand. Laya takes that as her uncle's way of telling us to sit, so she does impatiently, and I follow suit. "You picked the adventurous day to bring Laya here?"

"Is there a homicide somewhere?" My face always scrounges at that word and that look always makes Graham laugh. That word seems to catch Laya's attention and now she's on the edge of her seat.

"No no, the opposite actually. There's a chain of robberies happening in Hyperion Heights's main stores. This guy is hiding his tracks pretty well and he knocks out surveillance cameras before he strikes."

Thats so frustrating. I'd rather take a homicide than this. If this guy is cleaning his tracks, how the hell am I supposed to find him? And it would literally take weeks for me to do so if Hyperion Heights needed us to help.

"This is cool Emma!" Laya beams.

"But! First I need you to go out on patrol until your lunch." Graham winks. Laya whines as if she has to really do anything and rolls her eyes. I see Lana all in her face when she does that, even though I've never actually seen the beautiful Lana roll her eyes before.

Just as Laya and I begin to leave, Graham stops me and pulls me back into the room. I give Laya that everything is okay before closing the door behind me. Graham looks to me curiosity with a cocked head that makes me feel even more at unease that previously.

"Did you...ummm...did you ever get a chance to meet my sister?" He questions. I am a very observant person and I have noticed that every time Lana is spoken of everyone either instantly becomes depressed or looks concerned for her well being Graham.

"I have...is there something wrong I should no about Graham? Seriously, you can tell me!" I urge. Graham shakes his head firmly and rests his arms on his hips. Maybe he and his sister had a falling out?

"It's not my place to say...well it is but maybe someday Laya will tell you when she's ready."

Graham left me to wallow in my thoughts after saying that. It makes me feel like something is really wrong with Lana. What if she's dying?! How the hell am I going to find out!

"Hey! Emma! Yoo hoo!" Laya screams and waves her arms in my face. Realizing I have been driving on autopilot for a while now, I pull over by the park to take a little break from this torture.

"What's going on? I know I've only known you for three days, but you aren't yourself." She points out. I look this little girl deeply in her beautiful brown eyes, desperately wanting to know why she forces a smile every day when she's literally dying inside.

"It's nothing...let's take a lunch break at the park?" I suggest. The teen looks out of her window and takes a second to come up with an answer. I wonder why.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how Alex and I went to the park all of the time. But yea! I can get great shots." She enthuses. Quickly she grabs her back pack and slides out of the cruiser. I quickly follow behind to ask some questions that maybe she'd be willing to answer.

"Wait, who's Alex?" I ask. Laya looks up to me with furrowed brows and sets her backpack by the trunk of a willow tree. I can tell she's struggling to let out her inner feelings and thoughts. This entire day she's been vague. "Laya, you can tell me anything. I promise that I'm always here for you."

I look her deeply in her eyes to show that I mean it. Laya completely believes in me. Her eyes fill with tears that screams hope is still left behind in her shattered heart. She takes in a deep unsteady breath and wipes away her eyes to prepare for story telling.

"Umm, Alex is my other mom, but I just like to call her slut because she left us behind." Laya shrugs.

"Why? Who would want to leave behind the two most precious girls behind?" Laya grins at me and begins to stare off at the huge lake sitting a few miles ahead of us. I watch carefully and quietly, not wanting to pressure her, as she lifts her camera at eyes level and takes a perfect shot.

"Everyone always leaves us behind Emma. Even my dad left my mom when he found out she was pregnant with me." That fucking sucks! I just can't seem to understand why evil people do evil things to the most beautiful people in the world. Laya is so precious and Regina is breathtakingly gorgeous. They're like the perfect family.

"Laya, I'm so sorry." I rub my hand across her back to help sooth her, but she looks like she doesn't need it. Mother Nature seems to be doing that for her given by the way she's staring at it.

"So...when I was 5 mom met Alex. They raised me together until I was 12. Alex left us, she said she couldn't physically handle my mother anymore so she left us without ever looking back." Laya finally looks up with me and gives me a small cheeky smile as if she should be happy about what happened in her past. Maybe she's growing to accept it in this very moment, but what I do know is that no child should go through things like that. This girl is stronger than I'll ever be.

"You know, I really like your mom, if that helps." Laya's eyes go big, yet her lip twitches a little as if she doesn't trust a word that I am saying. I guess I'll have to prove it to her.

"Really?" She questions suspiciously. I nod my head and sit beside her backpack. She falls down beside me with a thump and hugs her knees against her chest like it makes her feel more safer to be in this cruel world.

"Really, I'm serious. But is there something wrong with her? You can tell me Laya." Again, I struck a nerve. Laya gives me the most heartbreaking look before staring off into the grass below us. She hugs her legs closer to her chest and rests her chin upon her knees.

"I can't tell you, I don't want it to change the way you look at her..." she mumbles.

"Is it that bad?" She frantically nods her head. A sniffle follows to show that she's on the verge of crying and that this topic is too much for her. "She...doesn't know who she is." That completely took me by surprise. I attempt to open my mouth to say something else but she then says, "That's all I'll tell you for now."

Everything goes silent. Laya begins to mindlessly pick at the grass while I try to find the meaning behind her words. She doesn't know who she is...

"Well, can't we help her remember?" I then ask. Laya looks at me and scoffs before focusing right back down to her mindless grass picking.

"I wish...it's not that easy Emma." She sounds like she gave up hope a long time ago. I don't want her to lose hope or the last bit of happiness she has left. I'm vowing to myself, right here and right now, that I'll do whatever I can to help fix Lana and Laya. That's what they came here for, a fresh start, so thatMa what they're going to get.

"I may not know how extreme this is, but Im a very forgetful person too because I've been through alot and seem to always be stuck in my head." Laya chuckles and says,

"Yea, I've noticed." I playfully shove her away which earns a more sincere laugh.

"Anyways, to keep my brain focused, I forced myself to live my life by daily routine. Maybe if you do that with your mom, no matter what, she'd probably get better and more focused." Laya tilts her head and thinks about it for a moment.

"Hmm, I never thought about that for a moment, but its more complicated than that." She informs. I scrounge my face and shrug my shoulders.

"What if I told you that I want to ask her out on a date, will that force you to stop being so vague?" Laya quickly sits up on her knees with pure shock on her face. Has her mom really stopped dating for this long?

"You can't ask her out on a date Emma." Laya urges.

"What? Why?"

"Because everyday mom wakes up as a new person with a clean slate. Her memories are all over the place, so if you speak to her today, she probably doesn't even remember who you are."