"So I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I really think you and my brother should get back together."

Doing a double take because this was the last thing she expected when she answered an incoming call from Ruby, the brunette woman known as Regina Mills put the glass of fiery red she had been nursing in her hand down.

It was good wine, probably the best she had in a while, but with the terrible day she already had, she was afraid to spill it all over with whatever Ruby was going to say.

"You mean the guy who is having a child with his girlfriend?" Regina said matter of factly. "That brother?"

"Ex-girlfriend, they broke up and you know it. Fuck, he even has a new place to live now… I mean like he's still moving and stuff but… didn't Roland tell you?"

Unable to help it, Regina rolled her eyes, because yes, it may be true that Robin and Marian were no longer together, but for how long?

It wasn't the first time those two put their relationship on hold, so she had a feeling that with a child in the middle, it was going to be a matter of time before there was a reconciliation.

The new place he got? Sure, Roland told her everything about it… about the big yard, and the three rooms and yeah, as far as she could see, it was the perfect lair for their growing family…

"Besides," Ruby went on, making Regina snap back to the moment. "We're not even sure this baby exists… and even if it did, that doesn't take away from the fact that you are the one he loves. He doesn't want to be with Marian. He wants you, the original, and the mother of his first child."

Regina couldn't help but to snort bitterly, because yeah… he had so much love for her that he went out there and got another woman pregnant.

True, she knew she had no right to feel that way because Robin really didn't owe her anything, but what else could she do when she felt devastated by all of this?

It was a weird feeling she hadn't been able to grasp yet, but the reality of the situation was that this whole thing had kicked her right where it hurt the most.

For years, she had seen Marian live her best life with Robin, being the woman he chose to be with and the one who got to enjoy the man she had always loved, but she had managed, taking solace over the fact that she was the one and only mother of his child.

She wasn't the one he shared his life with, or the one he always had by his side, but they had an unbreakable bond that was like nothing they could have with anyone else…

Now she didn't even had that, and while it was a stupid thing to feel since she knew she lost Robin long ago and she had no right to him, it still hurt.

Especially because in the last conversation they had, some repressed feelings between them came to light and like Robin said, it wasn't fair.

But it was what it was, life sucked, so what else was new? With that in mind, she did her best to come off as detached and level headed as she tried to be with Robin…

"Did he put you to this?"

As soon as she asked that, Ruby snorted. "Come on, you know he would never ask me to talk on his behalf. If I took the liberty of doing it, it's because I know how much he is hurting over this. Of course, he's not saying it because he is a stubborn ass who just swallows things down. But this whole thing is affecting him as much as I know it's affecting you."

"I'm perfectly fine, Ruby," she lied, her hold on the phone getting a bit tighter.

"Are you really? I mean, you don't have to tell me, but at least be honest to yourself."

Holding her breath, Regina closed her eyes and she wondered what would happen if she plain and simply asked Ruby to stop saying these kinds of things.

For the past couple of weeks, she had been undergoing a terrible battle against her own feelings, and even though she couldn't say she had come out victorious, at least she was getting there.

She was doing better, coming to terms that even though she and Robin still felt things for each other, they would never get together.

It was not only because of the baby, but because they had a really complicated history that wouldn't let them fully dive into each other again.

But now Ruby came saying this and it was like she was going back to ground zero, feeling the kind of heartbreak you could feel on your bones and it was draining.

"Listen, I start my shift now, but think about this: are you really going to keep letting people come between you? Life is too short, Regina, so you better start thinking about how you want to spend the rest of it."

With that said, Ruby hung up, leaving Regina completely lost and with a bitter taste in her mouth.

What could she say? Everything the woman told her were things that had been in her mind already.

Like, Robin telling her about his regrets and about how he still might have feelings for her had kick-started her entire mindset, and even though she still believed the best thing they could do was to stay exactly as they were, she couldn't help but to wonder.

Those were dangerous waters, because letting herself be dragged along with those thoughts was like getting sucked into the rabbit hole. One thought would lead to another, and then another and before she knew it, she was going to be visualizing how they would have it if they went back together…

But no, she wasn't going there again. Especially not on a Friday night when all she wanted to do was relax.

She had a terrible day at work, and she was not going to make it all worse by getting depressed about things that shouldn't be affecting her anyway.

Robin was supposed to be in the past, and that's where she intended to leave him.

What she needed was to live this present and make the best of it, and right in that moment she had all the elements to make this a nice relaxing night. After all, the weekend was here, Cora was once again away for the night, (thank God for small favors), and her precious boy was upstairs sleeping peacefully

She could do whatever she wanted, from taking a long relaxing bath while listening to some music, to catching up with some reading, or she could call her best friend and hope she wasn't too busy to entertain her for a while.

Well… she probably was. It was still relatively early in Mal's time zone, so she was definitely still working.

Meaning: Calling her friend was off the list.

It was probably for the best anyway. After all, the last time she talked to the blonde, she ended up crying her eyes out while opening up about how terrible she felt with the fact that Robin was going to have a baby. As if that wasn't bad enough, the things that Mal made her confess didn't leave her in a good place, at least not mentally.

So nope, she couldn't ruin her already sour mood by doing that all over again… so with that in mind, she decided to go for the bath and then a little bit of reading… whatever was needed to distract herself.

"Even if it doesn't work," she said to herself.

But whatever, it was what it was, so drinking the rest of her wine, Regina sighed, her mind trying to switch and turn to the book she was going to read. It was an historical fiction that had been collecting dust in her nightstand for a few months now, so this was the best time to get into it.

But… before she could even go and do that, she reached for the mail and started to sort it out.

Cora was usually the one who did it, but since she had been neglecting this for a few weeks, she decided to do it herself.

Actually, her mother had been neglecting a lot of things as of late. She was always out now, and this new habit was apparently throwing her off course.

She wasn't even taking her pills and well, given the fact that she was supposed to be sick enough to be unable to live alone, this struck Regina as very odd.

A few days ago, she tried to ask in a light hearted manner, questioning her mother if she had a secret boyfriend who was making her so absentminded, but in typical Cora fashion, she denied it as if it was the worst thing a person could do.

Regina didn't touch the subject again, but now it was near that time of the month when most of the bills were due, and if Cora was too busy to even think of this, then she better get to it.

It ended up being the best thing she could ever do to distract herself, because as soon as she opened the first letter, Robin was immediately pushed out of her thoughts.

"You have to be kidding me," she mumbled to no one in particular as a wave of confusion washer over her.

She just didn't get it. Not even one bit, because she was damn sure she had been giving her mother the money to pay up.

This was not what the letters were saying though, as the message in all of them was crystal clear: they were months behind most of their bills.

Shaking her head because this couldn't be, Regina kept checking through the pile of letters… all until she came upon one that made her blood turn ice-cold: a foreclosure notification.

According to it, the mortgage hadn't been paid in at least five months and they were on second notice to be evicted.

No… she thought again, reaching for her phone so that she could call her mother.

She had to wait three rings for Cora to pick up, and the over-excited tone in which the older woman greeted her made her muscles tense.

"Regina, darling… isn't it a little late for you to be calling?" There was a snort after that question, and Regina couldn't help but to snarl her lips.

"I just opened an eviction letter from the bank, mother, so tell me why the hell you haven't been paying the mortgage with the money I give you month after month?"

At the other side of the line, Cora groaned. "Alright… you need to calm down..."

Unable to help it, Regina slammed her free hand over the table. "I'm going to calm down when you tell me what you did with the money."

And really, they were talking about more than eight thousand dollars in bills and late fees, a sum she had worked her ass off to get, so she wasn't going to calm down until Cora told her where was the money.

"Do you have it here? Tell me so I can start paying these fucking bills as soon as possible."

"Don't talk to me with that foul mouth, young lady! I'm your mother, and I deserve some respect!"

Taking in a deep breath, Regina closed her eyes. She tried to calm down that way, but it was near impossible. By then she was shaking, a combination of being confused and angry getting the best of her.

"Just tell me where the money is."

Cora cleared her throat. "I lost it, okay? But I'll have it back tonight. Doubled. You'll see… I'm on a roll tonight."

It took Regina several seconds to register the meaning of her mother's words… and when they finally sank in, she felt her stomach drop and her heart stop.

Suddenly, all was fitting in… the way she was disappearing most weekends, her never ending mood changes, the expensive things she sometimes brought over but then disappeared…

"Are you gambling with my money?"

"That's such an ugly word. I'm investing it, for us… for Roland."

"Are you seriously trying to…" Stopping there because she felt on the verge of auto combusting with the force of her anger, Regina ran a hand through her scalp, her fingers scratching hard. "I can't believe you… I really can't."

"Want me to break it down so you can understand? You barely make enough to make a decent living, so I'm trying to fix that. I'm trying to invest enough so that Roland has something more than the scraps he's getting from both you and that excuse of a father he has!"

Having enough, Regina stood from the chair, knocking it to the floor. "Don't you dare bring Roland into this!"

"I have to bring him into this because everything we are going through is because you got pregnant with him when you were barely a child yourself. You did this, you spread your legs like some slut, and then you wanted to keep him. And yet I'm the one who has to step up on his behalf."

Clenching her jaw, Regina nodded, lifting her chin way too high. She was tired of this, of her Cora throwing in her face her pregnancy, of being treated like dirt… and yeah, of having her mother fucking steal from her.

Because that's basically what she did. Her mother stole from her and basically left them all on the street…

"You know what, Cora? I'm through with you. I'm just… I'm done.

"Don't be so dramatic. I'm going to double the—"

Before her mother could finish talking, Regina hung up the call, her heart beating so hard against her rib cage that she could swear it was going to escape her and go up her throat.

She was even dizzy, shaking, and so pissed off she could even cry.

She didn't though… as much as her chest was rumbling with the need to let go, she refused to shed a tear on that house.

Hell, she refused to be there a minute longer, so feeling determined with what she had to do, she went upstairs and started to pack their stuff.

Now, the whole thing was almost as if she was living a deja-vu moment, because she had done this exact same thing eight years ago. True, back then, Roland had been barely a few months old and she didn't have time to grab anything, but in essence, it was the same.

The only difference was that this time, she didn't have a single place to go…

Not like it mattered. She would get a room in a hotel or something and then figure it all out in the morning. Whatever was better than staying there.

It was with that in mind, that Regina packed all their things, carried a sleeping Roland to her car, and then drove into the night: destination unknown…

XxXxXxX

Robin had been half asleep when the call came, so it took him at least three seconds to shake himself and grab the device. But as soon as he saw Regina's name flashing on the screen, his entire senses cleared up and he got into full alert mode.

It wasn't like he could help it. It was late, almost close to midnight, and experience had taught him that if the mother of his boy called at such an ungodly hour, it was because something happened.

Be it Roland being sick, her car breaking down in the middle of the night, or that time when she had to be rushed to the hospital and she needed someone to take care of Roland… whatever it was, these calls never brought any kind of good news.

This was probably the reason why he answered in such a hurry.

"What happened?"

Regina drew in a deep breath from the other side, he heard her loud and clear. "Hey, I'm just… can I drop Roland at your place? I know it's not your weekend, but I don't.. I need you to take him tonight."

Straightening up, Robin ran a hand through his hair, his senses even more alert because yeah, she wasn't saying much, but he definitely detected the way she was trying to hold herself together.

He knew better than questioning her though, so he decided to find out what was bothering her when she came by.

"Sure… I'm not at my parents' but yeah, I'll send you a pin."

"Okay." Without saying anything more, Regina cut the call… leaving Robin wondering what was happening now…

TBC