A/N : Day two of OQPromptParty, and here's a new prompt : The day Regina's father died, and she has to stay with her mother, who's heartless and cold.

As you can guess, angst is more than present here. It's short, but I hope you'll like it just as much.

And please don't forget to leave a review before closing the page ;-)

Regina can't look away. She can't move. She can't breathe.

Daddy is dead.

Daddy is dead.

He's gone and he's not coming back. And Regina feels like a three year-old again, waking up in the middle of the night to a room engulfed in darkness. She lost her mentor, her best friend and the house feels cold and dark without his warm and comforting smile to light it up.

This room, where she has spent so many happy moments, has now become one that only reminds her of pain, grief and death. Being in this room has now become unbearable.

He was lying right there, Regina remembers while glancing at the spot on the carpet next to the desk. She had seen how the paramedics had carefully placed him in a black body bag. It had only happened a few hours ago, yet everything's still fresh in her mind, the images of the scene replaying over and over again as if it was happening just now before her eyes. She can't look away from her father's office, feels her eyes burning with tears and exhaustion but still, she stares at that spot. The one where everything changed.

"Regina?"

The young brunette jumps, her thoughts interrupted. She quickly wipes away a tear that had made its way down her cheek before straightening up and readying herself to face her mother.

Cora makes her way over and stops right in front of her daughter. "There you are. I've been calling you for five minutes. Dinner is ready. Come."

Regina shrugs and sniffles, wraps her arms around herself and rests her head against the doorframe. She can't bring herself to have dinner at the large family table, not without Daddy. It's too soon after losing him, the thought alone is just… unacceptable.

"What if-" Regina starts, looking up at her mother with eyes full of hope and expectation. "What if we have dinner at the coffee table? Just you and me? Maybe we could look at some old pictures?"

Cora's eyes widen in shock as if she had never been more insulted in her life. "And why would we do that, dear?"

"To spend some time together, and to remember him. You know, as a way to honor his memory?" She attempts shyly, scrunching her nose. "I know he'd like that. Daddy and I used to look through old photo albums together sometimes."

Her mother purses her lips, an unimpressed frown appearing on her face.

"Don't act so foolish Regina. Your father is dead, dear. Looking at old pictures is not going to bring him back. Honestly Regina, the maid has better things to do than to remove stains out of the cushions because you felt like honoring your father by having dinner in our very expensive and very exclusive couch. You know better than to eat at the coffee table like an uneducated farmer who has never set foot in civilization. "

Regina's eyes well up with tears at her mother's comments and she barely manages to blink them back. Showing any sign of weakness in front of Mother would only add fuel to the fire and make her even more agitated and angry.

"But-"

Cora stomps her heel on the floor to shush her. "Are you going to have dinner in the dining room like the civilized person I expect you to be ?"

Regina looks down, stares at her feet and considers her different options. She will probably get hungry at some point later in the evening so maybe she should just… but when her gaze meets her mother's cold hard stare, she instantly changes her mind.

"I think I'm going to lay down for a bit instead. I'm really tired."

Having to sit through dinner with her mother who is blatantly ignoring her daughter's emotional distress would only rub even more salt in the wounds left behind by her father's very recent death. More so than an evening without eating ever could.

So Regina turns on her heels and heads for the stairs, desperately trying to hide her tears and her bleeding heart.

"Goodnight, Mother."

So, what do you think?