The next morning, Kelly was presently surprised to find that Emma was getting ready for school.
"You're going back?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Emma, smiling. "After Tasha's brother came around last night, I feel better about going back."
Kelly nodded, but didn't smile. "Well, I hope you have a good day at school. Let me know how it went."
"Will do," Emma replied, giving her a hug before leaving. When she was gone, Kelly fished out a piece of paper from her pocket. On it was scribbled a phone number. It had taken Chad all of two minutes to dig it up, and Kelly had decided to put Emma's claims to the test. Kelly pulled out her phone and dialed the number, before holding it to her ear.
"Hello?" a woman's voice spoke on the other end.
"Hi there," Kelly spoke cheerfully. "Is this Tasha's mom?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"I'm Emma Swan's mom," said Kelly. "Our daughters go to school together. I just wanted to thank you for sending your son over yesterday to talk to Emma."
"My... son?" Tasha's mom said, sounding confused.
"Yeah," Kelly replied. "Neal, right? I think that was his name."
"Uhh, no, sorry. Tasha doesn't have a brother named Neal. She's an only child."
Bingo. "Really? Oh, sorry about that! I must be confusing you with somebody else. Thanks."
Kelly hung up without saying goodbye, before throwing her phone at the wall in anger. It left a dent in the wall, but that nothing compared to the shattered device now resting on the floor at her feet.
That was stupid, Kelly scolded herself. After sweeping up the mess, she went into Emma's bedroom and looked around. All of her school books were still there. Emma hadn't brought any of them with her.
"No..." muttered Kelly. "Oh, shit."
She hurried to the home phone on the kitchen bench and dialed Chad's number.
"Hello? I'm in a meeting-"
"It's Emma," Kelly said. "She's gone."
"What? Where did she go?"
Kelly sighed. "I... I think she's going to Storybrooke."
SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO
The car stopped outside the apartment building that they would eventually get used to calling 'home'. Kelly got out of the car before opening the door to the back seat and scooping up baby Emma, who was sleeping peacefully in the blanket that had her name on it.
"Are you sure this is the place?" she asked when Chad got out of the car.
"This is the address your mom gave us," Chad said, shutting the car door. Kelly looked up at the building with uncertainty, then let out a deep breath and made her way inside. When the two of them found their apartment and entered, Kelly sniffed at the air and almost gagged.
"Bloody hell," gasped Kelly. "Something's died in here!"
Chad grimaced, knowing that Kelly would expect him to go in and investigate the foul smell. Reluctantly, he did so. Looking around the apartment, Chad could see flies buzzing around a stack of moldy plates, as well as a makeshift bed comprised of a sleeping bag atop the sofa.
"I think..." Chad murmured, looking back at Kelly, "...someone is already living here."
Kelly cautiously poked her head in through the doorway and gave the apartment a sweeping look.
"Well, whoever's crashing here seems to be a complete slob," she remarked. Suddenly, a crashing sound came from the other side of the apartment, where a door opened and a scruffy-looking man walked out. He froze when he saw Kelly and Chad standing there.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded to know. Chad frowned.
"I could ask you the same question. This is our new home."
The man shrugged. "Sorry, dearie, but I was here first."
"You have five minutes to grab your things and get out of our apartment, or I'm calling the cops," said Chad. At that, the man's face became a snarl. For a few seconds, Kelly thought the man was going to attack Chad. Instead, however, the man simply grabbed his sleeping bag and a couple of other items before shoving past him and walking out of the apartment. As he passed Kelly, the man glanced down at the bundle in her arms and grinned, revealing a gold tooth.
"Emma," he hissed, reading the name on the baby blanket. "What a lovely name."
Then, he disappeared down the stairs and was out of sight. Kelly looked down at the baby in her arms, before hesitantly entering the apartment.
"Home sweet home," she said, her voice dripping with bitter sarcasm. Chad looked at her and smiled.
"It will be," he said. "It'll take some time to make this place into a home, but we'll be happy here. I promise."
SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER
It had taken two taxis and three buses to make her way to Storybrooke, and Emma found herself strangely exhausted by the time she arrived. She stepped off the bus onto the main street of Storybrooke, Maine. It was a bigger town that she'd thought. Even bigger that it had appeared to be on Google Maps. Emma looked around curiously at all of the buildings that surrounded her now. They weren't as big as the ones back in Boston, but somehow that made her feel more comfortable. She was starting to wonder if the strange feeling she had started experiencing the moment she got to Storybrooke was perhaps the sensation of coming home. As the bus drove off, however, and Emma sat down at the bus stop, she realized that she had no idea where to go next.
Neal's house? Emma thought. But where does he live?
Suddenly, an expensive-looking car stopped on the road in front of her, and a neat-looking man with an easy grin poked his head out to see her.
"Need a ride?" he said. Eagerly, Emma got into the car, and saw that the man was wearing a suit.
"Do you know where the Nolans live?" she wanted to know.
"Of course," the man replied, then he looked at her curiously. "I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"
"Emma."
"Emma," he echoed, a look of mild amusement on his face. "What a lovely name."
