Emma's POV
Emma walks through her front door, kicking her heels off in the process. She makes her way toward the island in her kitchen and puts the bag of groceries that previously occupied her arms down. Reaching into the bag, she pulls out a small box containing a cupcake. She places a candle on top of the cupcake and lights it. Sighing, Emma closes her eyes and makes a wish.
"I want a new start. In a place where no one knows me. I want to find a place where I belong, a place to call home." Emma whispers to herself, a single tear sliding down her cheek.
Emma walks into the living room with her cupcake, wiping her face roughly. Another year alone.
Another year of being abandoned. Another year of feeling worthless. Just another year. By now she was used to it, but still, it didn't hurt any less.
Emma is weeping now, trying to catch her breath after every whimper. Was she ever good enough? What did she do to deserve to have no one?
Beyonce's "Single Ladies" starts blaring from her phone, and Emma wipes her tears. No more crying. She picks up her phone and answers it.
"Hey Rubs." Emma says, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"Happy Birthday Em!" Ruby squeals.
"Thanks, you're the only one who remembered."
"Oh hush, I'm sure Natalie remembered your birthday! Say, how is she?"
"We broke up." Emma says flatly, feeling tears resurface.
"Oh. Well more fun for you, right? Em, you should take some time off of work for a while, take a trip." Ruby says, trying to cheer Emma up. She shouldn't be this sad on her birthday.
"I should, shouldn't I? But to where?"
"Oh my gosh Emma, you should come visit me! You've never been to Storybrooke! You can finally have some of Granny's lasagna, which by the way, everyone raves about!
"I don't know Rubs.. I don't want to be a bother. I'm fine, really!" Emma sighs, for the third time tonight. Biting her nails, she looks at the calendar. Maybe she could take a few days off, after all, she did deserve it.
"You're definitely coming, or I'll drag your ass here myself! We'll give you a room at the B&B. C'mon it'll be fun. I promise I won't embarrass you with stories about the time you-" Emma cuts Ruby off, cringing at the flashback of what she knew Ruby was about to say. She didn't need a reminder.
"Fine, fine I'll visit. Only for a few days though. I need to be back before the full moon, I don't need to see you in full wolf mode, again." Emma teases Ruby, and she knows on the other side of the phone, Ruby's face is blood red.
"We don't talk about that Emma! I was wasted, as were you. Maybe we should talk about the time you decided to dance-" Emma stops Ruby, refusing to travel down memory lane.
"Okay Ruby, gotta go, see ya tomorrow." Emma hears Ruby's low cackling before hanging up.
Emma trudges through her apartment, stripping down into just her tank top and panties. She climbs into bed and engulfs herself into her blankets. She feels safe in bed, as though nothing could hurt her anymore. She dozes off, thinking about her trip tomorrow, and the bear claw that she will have for breakfast.
Emma wakes up to the sound of Beyonce, her phone bellowing through the apartment. Stumbling out of bed, Emma silently curses Ruby, because she knows Emma is not a morning person.
"Good morning sunshine!" Ruby sings through the phone.
"What do you want Ruby?! It's-" Emma stops to look at the clock, seeing that it's past 1pm. "Well I'm just waking up."
"Exactly. So get your ass up and come see me! I have so much to fill you in on!" Ruby sighs.
"I'll be there soon." Emma hangs up and walks into the bathroom, getting in the shower. It's been a long time since she'd seen Ruby. The last time had to be when Ruby came to visit her, where they'd gone to a strip club and gotten completely wasted. Emma smiles as she runs her finger through her hair, feeling glad that she had a friend like Ruby.
Emma gets out of the shower, and sighs. She'd love nothing more than to spend her weekend watching Netflix. She pulls on her signature outfit: her red leather jacket, white tank top, blue jeans, and black combat boots. She looked in the mirror and smiled. I look hot.
Once her bags were packed and she had her bear claw, Emma climbed into her yellow Bug and left the town. She drove for hours, before finally seeing the sign she'd been looking for.
Welcome to Storybrooke.