Chapter Four

It had been several months since Regina had heard from Emma, and she guessed Emma was right: her time really was nearly up at that home, and they must have sent her back shortly after their last conversation. The more time that went by, the more Regina worried about where Emma might be now, and not hearing from her and having no possible way of reaching her herself was troubling.

So, of course, it was a relief when her phone rang at three a.m. on a Tuesday night.

"Emma?" Regina asked, hopefully, when she spotted the Minnesota area code with an unfamiliar number attached to it.

"Hi," Emma replied, quietly, but Regina could hear the smile in the girl's voice and instantly felt relief wash over her.

"Oh, Emma, I was worried about you."

"Really? I thought you probably forgot about me by now," Emma responded, the surprise quite evident in her voice. Regina supposed Emma was probably used to being forgotten by now, and, like it did nearly every time they spoke, she felt her heart breaking for the girl all over again.

"Of course I didn't forget about you. Where have you been? A new home? Are you alright?"

Emma had to laugh at how Regina sounded like a worried parent through the phone, but given her current situation, it was nice to be worried about at all.

"I'm okay. I went to a group home a few days after the last time we talked, 'cause I told my social worker how they were leaving me home alone. I was there for a couple weeks then went to this new house, but Regina, they were terrible," Emma explained.

"They were terrible? You're not there anymore?" Regina asked, to clarify, as the idea crossed her mind for a split second that if she were still in a terrible home, Regina should hop on a plane to Minnesota and bring her home with her.

But that would be crazy.

"No," Emma confirmed. "I, uh, I ran away."

"You ran away? Emma, where are you now?"

"Um, well I met a friend. Another girl. She's like me, an orphan. And my age. And a runaway. And she's been on her own for a while and she showed me how to survive. We, um, we kinda broke into this summer cottage and we're crashing here. No one's gonna come here for a few months, so it's safe."

"Emma!" Regina gasped, in disbelief at what she was hearing. "You can't just stay at a cottage alone! You're only thirteen!"

Emma swallowed hard. She had guessed Regina's reaction would be like this, and she'd debated even calling her at all. But the truth was, she didn't feel safe at all and she desperately needed to hear the woman's comforting voice. Calling from the last home hadn't been an option, but Emma figured the people who owned the cottage wouldn't get their phone bill right away and she and Lily would be long gone by the time they did.

"I, uh, I gotta go," Emma stammered, her nerves getting the best of her. She knew there was no way she was going to convince Regina this was a good idea, and if she stayed on the phone much longer she knew she would break down and call her social worker and end up in yet another home that didn't want her.

"Emma, please don't hang up."

Emma cringed and hung up the phone anyway, fearing she'd just made a huge mistake.

Regina had call display, what were the odds she'd call the police and give them the number Emma had just called from, and inform them of the location of two thirteen year old runaways?

Emma bit her lip as she tiptoed back to the large bed where Lily was still sleeping, and climbed back in. She wondered if she should wake Lily up and tell her what had just happened, so they could run again, but she didn't want to risk making her first and only friend hate her for screwing this up.

So she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force herself to sleep, and hoped that Regina would leave well enough alone.

It was another two weeks before Regina saw another unfamiliar Minnesota number on her call display again. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday, and her heart skipped a beat.

After she'd called the police and gave them the number of the cottage to have Emma and her friend picked up, she really didn't expect to ever hear from the girl again.

But she really hadn't had another choice. She couldn't let Emma suffer as a homeless teenager, even if Emma thought it was the best thing for her.

"Hello, Emma," Regina said, tentatively, into the phone. She had no doubt that Emma was the caller, even if she didn't recognize the number.

"Hi," came the quiet response.

"Are you okay?"

There was a long pause, and Emma finally answered. "Yeah. I'm at a new house now. Something happened."

"What happened, Emma?" Regina asked, as the idea suddenly struck her that perhaps Emma hadn't put two and two together to figure out it was her who had called the police.

"Well, it turns out that friend I had? Lily? She was lying to me."

"Lying? About what?"

"She wasn't an orphan. Not really. She got adopted as a baby. That cottage we were staying in? It was actually her parents'. They found out we were there and came and got her, and called CPS on me. I think it was my fault."

"Emma, how could that possibly be your fault?" Regina asked.

"Well, I dunno, maybe 'cause I used the phone? I mean, no one was supposed to be there, so maybe the phone company called them? I don't know… I don't know how else they figured it out but they showed up and Lily's dad was really pissed."

Regina bit her lip. She debated for a moment telling Emma that she had called, and likely the police called the owner of the phone line the number she gave them was connected to. Then again, perhaps it was better if Emma didn't know, since she was still willing to talk to her at this point.

"Maybe you're right, but you can't blame yourself, Emma. That girl had parents, and they would have found her eventually either way."

"Yeah, I guess. It was all Lily's idea, though, but her dad still acted like it was my fault. He called me a street rat and told me to stay away from her," Emma continued.

"Oh, Emma… you're not a street rat. You're-"

"No, it's okay. That's not what bothered me," Emma said, cutting Regina off before she could start listing Emma's good attributes.

"What was it then?" Regina asked, when the girl wasn't immediately forthcoming.

"Um, nothing," Emma replied, offhandedly. "I'm in a new house now."

"Yes, you said that. Is it okay?" Regina asked, silently willing Emma to tell her everything was great and she was happy.

"So far, it's alright. The other kids here are kind of tools, but the mom, she's alright. She's a single woman, her name's Ingrid. She's nice to me, and I was gonna run away on my first night but she kinda talked me out of it."

"I'm glad, Emma. I know you think you'll be better off alone, but you need a home."

"Yeah, I know. It's the finding one that's the hard part."

Regina nodded silently to herself, unsure of what to say to that. She supposed it really wasn't all that easy, and Emma was at the mercy of the foster system. She got no say in where she went. It was all the luck of the draw.

She couldn't imagine how damaging that must be for a child.

"And you're allowed to use the phone there?" Regina asked, finally, not wanting the conversation to diminish to nothing.

"Yeah. Ingrid's kinda cool like that. I think she kinda likes me better than the other kids here, but I don't wanna get my hopes up, you know?"

"I know."

"There's something else I kind of want to tell you, but I don't know if I should," Emma said, tentatively. "But I don't know who else to tell. I don't have friends."

"Neither do I," Regina agreed. "You can tell me anything, Emma."

"You won't judge me?" Emma asked, hopefully.

Regina let out a sharp laugh. "Oh, trust me, I'm the last person on earth who should be passing judgment on anyone. But I only want you to tell me if you want to."

Emma paused for a moment, deciding what she should do, before finally thinking up a compromise. "How bout this? I tell you something, then you gotta tell me something. It's called quit per crow," Emma insisted.

"Quid pro quo?" Regina asked.

"That's what I said."

"I'm quite sure it wasn't."

"Whatever. Either way, it means if you want me to tell you something, then you gotta tell me something."

"Yes, actually you're right about that," Regina acknowledged.

"So are you in?"

Regina smiled to herself, shaking her head. "Fine. But you have to go first, so I can decide what sort of confession would be equal to yours."

"Do you really have that many confessions to pick from?" Emma asked, and Regina couldn't tell if she was teasing, or actually wondering the answer.

"Secret. Spill it," Regina prompted, opting not to answer the question at all.

"Okay, here goes," Emma sighed, taking a few more breaths before finally speaking again. "That night that I spent in the cottage with Lily…. I kissed her."

Regina had to smile to herself at how young and innocent Emma sounded. Of all the things she expected the girl to confess, that hadn't even crossed her mind. "You did?"

"Yeah. All the girls I know, they're all into boys and I'm not and I though maybe something was wrong with me, but then Lily… she told me she likes girls and I just kinda… went for it."

"And did you like it?"

"Yeah," Emma replied, blushing. "But it doesn't matter now because she's long gone and I'll never see her again. Now it's your turn."

Regina thought for a moment, debating on what kind of confession she could make that was on par with Emma's and also appropriate to reveal to a thirteen year old. In the end, the choice was obvious. "I've kissed a girl, too."

"Really?" Emma asked, more excited than Regina had expected. Then again, she guessed the girl was likely relieved that they had something in common and she wasn't weird.

"Yes, really. Several times, actually, but… maybe those are stories for when you're a bit older, hmm?"

"You'll still talk to me when I'm older?"

"I don't see why not," Regina replied, with a shrug. "We may have met in an unconventional way, but the way I see it, we both need a friend, don't we?"

"I know I do," Emma admitted. "But, it's almost dinner time, I should go… maybe I'll call you again in a couple days. Maybe I'll tell you why Lily's dad upset me so much."

"I hope you do."

"Bye, Regina," Emma said, with a small smile on her face.

"Goodbye, Emma."

Emma continued to smile, even after she hung up the phone. When CPS had picked her up from Lily's parents' cottage, she thought it was game over for her. Yet, two weeks later, here she was, in a home with a decent mother who seemed to genuinely care about her, and a woman in another state who wanted to be her friend.

As much as Lily's betrayal still stung, Emma couldn't help but think this was the best situation she'd ever been in. Maybe things were about to start working out for her.

Because, really, it was about time.