Chapter 11: The summer festival
The five days before the summer festival were the best days of Emma's life. She was spending them with Regina or with Regina and her friends. They went shopping, ate at granny's and spend time at the docks and the beach.
Every single day she found something she liked even more about Regina and how wonderful but frighten it was how she knew she was no longer falling in love, no she was the most in love she has ever been in her entire life. R+E 4Ever.
The day of the summer festival
Emma had never seen anything like it. The once lonely streets of Storybrook were now decorated with lights, bells and flowers. People were smiling, music was playing and Emma having the most wonderful time. But something was missing, actually it was someone, Regina. She wished she could go and get Regina already but she had to wait another hour. They had decided that Regina would stay at the party until Emma would go and save her at nine o'clock. That way Regina had made an appearance at the party and her mother would be too occupied by her guests to notice that Regina would be gone.
"Emma are you coming! We're going to get cotton candy." Kathryn yells from across the street waking Emma up from her thoughts.
"Yes I'm coming." She says crossing the street and joining her friends. All thou Emma wished Regina would already be there she did try and have a good time with her friends.
The made themselves sick eating too much cotton candy. They played every possible game, from the water games to the ball throwing ones. Graham and August loved competing against each other and win prizes for the girls. Kathryn ended up with a bright pink bear and Ruby a stuffed wolf. Both were so happy, or at least Ruby was happy for a while until she almost had a heart attack when she saw granny kissing face with Leroy the town's mechanic.
"Granny! Gross!" Ruby yells.
"O for Christ sake Ruby! I might be old but I'm not dead, and this old hag can still light up every now and then."
They all felt like vomiting at the imagine.
When it was almost nine Emma couldn't keep waiting any longer and her friends were getting irritated by her fidgeting.
"Just go and get her already Emma." August says.
"Okay! Yes! I'm going." Emma nods.
"Do you want someone to come with you?" Ruby asks sitting on Graham's lap.
"No I'll be fine, I know the way."
When Emma found herself outside the white mansion she could hear chatting and music. She had at least seen a dozen of cars parked in the street. It was going to be more difficult to get in without Cora finding out.
She slipped through the bushes and made her way to the backyard so she could climb back up the garage and get to Regina room. It was a little difficult with the skinny jeans she was wearing but she managed.
Emma walks to the window but before she can open it something catches her eye and makes her freeze. She can feel herself getting cold while she watches Regina in bedroom. She's not alone, she kissing. She kissing this boy Emma has never seen. She pushes herself away from the window. Why would she do this? Emma let her hands run through her hair. I thought she like me? Did she play me? She played me. She doesn't care about me. Emma let herself slide down again before running back to town.
"RUBY! Ruby!" Emma yells running towards Ruby with tears in her eyes.
"Emma! What's wrong! What happened?" Ruby asks, she had never seen her friend like this. Emma was strong but right now she looked like she was falling apart.
"I…Can't stay here anymore! I want to go home! I need to go home." Emma says her eyes unfocused by the stream of tears.
"Emma! Tell me what's wrong? Why do you want to go home?"
Emma aggressively shakes her head. "Please I don't want to talk about it, I just want to go home."
"Emma we can't just pack and go home. Please think about this." Ruby tries to reason with her. Emma keeps aggressively shaking her head and running her hands through her hair. Granny who saw the distraught Emma left Leroy and steps closer to Emma.
"Child what's wrong." Granny asks taking a hold of Emma shoulders and pulling her in an embrace. Emma holds on to granny tightly and sobs in the woman's shoulder.
"I….need …..to …go home." Emma says between hiccups.
"Alright, it's okay sweetheart. We will drive to the airport and if you still want to go, I will help you book a flight." Granny says rubbing Emma head trying to sooth the girl.
The ride to the airport was silent. Granny had hoped she would get through the girl but something has clearly happened that broke the girl's heart. They sat in the car for a while just looking at the departing airplanes.
"Do you still want to go home child?" Granny asks after a while. Emma turns her head towards granny. She had stopped crying but there were still tears just under the surface of her eyes. She wanted to say she didn't want to go home but she couldn't. She couldn't face Regina in the morning knowing that she had been playing her all the time. She couldn't face her friends, knowing that they were going to ask questions she didn't want to answer. If she left she didn't have to deal with any of those things. She would just go back to her normal life and her…boyfriend.
She could feel herself getting guilty. She had cheated on her boyfriend, she had promised him and she had broken that promise.
"Yes. I want to go home." Emma says. "I'm sorry granny. I really enjoyed the time with you and I'm so grateful. You were like a the grandmother I never had. I'm sorry."
Granny whips the tears on Emma's cheek away with her thumbs. "Poor child. Don't cry, if you are sure you have to go, I will not stop you and I want you to know that whenever you need someone you can always call me. I might not be your grandmother by blood but I'm from this day your grandmother." Emma leans forward and hugs granny tightly.
"You can always come back whenever you want. I will keep your room tidy and clean. Goodbye sweet Emma."
"Goodbye granny."
Present day Storybrook
"You know you never told us what happened that day." Ruby says looking at Emma disturbing her memories.
"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm over it." Emma says trying to look casual. Ruby could tell that it was a lie but she knew Regina was still a sore subject for Emma.
"Alright let me change the subject. Graham and I want to ask you something."
"What do you want to ask?" Emma looks at her curiously.
"Would you consider of being the godmother?" Ruby asks placing her hands on her belly.
Emma was surprised by the question but soon she could feel herself smiling, she places her hands on top of Ruby's.
"I'm honoured. I would love to be the godmother of this little monkey inside you." Ruby pulls Emma into a hug.
No matter what happened they always stayed friends. Of course Ruby had been pissed that Emma had just left without a good reason that summer. When Ruby went back home she didn't speak to Emma in a long time but after a while her angered submitted and they started talking again, never about what happened that day, it didn't matter Ruby didn't want to be angry at Emma, she wanted her friend back.
She had asked Emma if she wanted to come every summer but the girl always declined. And when she came back home Emma would asked her how everyone was. Ruby told her everything and taught Emma how to skyped with their friends. The only thing Ruby didn't tell was that the first summer Ruby came back Regina almost harassed her with questions about Emma. Why did she leave, what happened with her. Ruby had no answers to those questions and Regina had cried in front of her something that had surprise Ruby and she wanted to hate Emma for leaving Regina like this but now after so many years Emma had finally come back and Ruby and the rest of the gang were going to make sure that this thing between Regina and Emma ended.
"So are you happy to be back?" Ruby asks.
"Yes I am, I really loved being here even if I only spend a few weeks. It were the best weeks of my life." Ruby smiles and drapes her arm over Emma shoulder and pulls her closer.
"You know after Granny died she left the diner and the house to me. Graham and I live in the apartment above the diner, you could move here and live in the house." Emma looks at Ruby is surprise.
"What?"
"Well it's vacant and granny would love for you to live in it."
Emma doesn't know what to say. It's sounds so appealing she could use a new start, finally settling down. After she had gone home, she had wanted to forget about all of this but she couldn't. Neal had seen how she had changed and he had wanted his old Emma back but that was something she couldn't do. They broke up and Emma had struggle with herself. She had some affairs but none could make her feel like she had felt when she was with Regina but on the other hand none could hurt her as much as Regina had.
"Let me think about it okay." She says not ready to give Ruby an answer. If she says yes sooner or later she is going to have to face her again.
