What Is Happening

30

Regina woke up in her bed, naked and alone. She glanced both ways to check no one was there, having known she should have guessed this. Regina quickly sat up to check around the room, seeing all trace of Emma had disappeared. Water glassed over her eyes as she knew this, feeling foolish that she believed Emma would still be there.

"You asshole, Emma Swan" Regina mumbled to herself, rubbing her eyes to relieve stress.

She couldn't help but let her tears fall, curling up into a ball to hide her face in case someone came in. Regina grew annoyed at herself for being upset, heading straight out of the bed in a huff. That's when her door knocked, causing a sigh from her. She went over to open it, slipping into a thin robe to cover her naked body. Rita walked straight in and looking around, a confused expression on her face.

"Where is she" Rita quickly asked, glancing up at the brunette with a frown.

"What? Who"

"Emma"

"She's gone, remember" Regina replied with a huff, heading into the bathroom.

"I heard you two last night, you aren't exactly quiet" Rita questioned, looking confused at why her sister lied.

"She came back last night but she's gone again" Regina simply said, sadly crossing her arms to shield her body.

"Oh, Gina" Rita softly sighed, instantly knowing what had happened between the pair.

"I thought she was staying, she asked me to marry her and stupidly I believed her" Regina continued, tears fighting her eyes to escape.

Rita quickly embraced her sister in her arms, holding the broken woman close. Regina didn't hug her back, she just hugged herself and hid her face. She was going to finally let tears out when she heard someone running down the main stairs.

"MUM? MUM, WHERE ARE YOU" Marco shouted, looking around the bar and heading straight out back. Regina looked confused at Rita, glancing at the open door just in time for him to come crashing in. "Is she in here"

"Your mum? No, why" Regina questioned, growing worried that he'd have been able to hear them.

"Her car is parked outside" Marco quickly replied, looking confused at where the blonde was.

"What" Regina and Rita both asked, looking at the young blonde in shock.

"It's parked out front, I just saw it" Marco replied, now unsure of where his other mother was.

"She was here last night but she was gone when I woke up" Regina explained, looking down as she tried to figure this out.

"Wait, she came back last night" Marco quickly asked, shock consuming him as he heard the words.

"Yeah, while I was closing down. She turned up, asked me to marry her and, clearly, left this morning" Regina sighed her response, still feeling stupid for accepting the blondes proposal.

"She actually done it" Marco questioned, his face frowning even more and his mouth dropping.

"What do you mean" Rita asked, looking between him and her sister.

"Was this planned? Did she plan to always come back and propose" Regina quickly asked, stepping closer to make sure her son doesn't lie.

"No, she was admitted about leaving. She said that if she was going to take you with her, she'd ask you to marry her. Mum, she came back for you" Marco explained with a slight smile, unsure how he should feel.

Regina just looked down as she thought, trying to process all of this. She headed out of the room and straight into the bar, looking around the place. No sign of Emma at all. This didn't surprise Regina, she was already on her way out of the bar. As she got to Emma's car, she saw it was unlocked.

"Gina, what are you doing" Rita asked, quickly following behind along with Marco. Regina ignored the comment and opened the door, instantly climbing in. "Gina-"

"Keys are still here, her phone too" Regina cut in, looking across the car to find anything relating to Emma. She looked into the cut holder to see a note sat beside the phone, quickly grabbing it. "Here, there's this"

How can I say such tough words to you, my darling regina? Even with your love, i had to leave. Let yourself move on from this and know im sorry. Please dont blame yourself. My love, regina, is not enough to keep us together. Eventually, you will understand why i wrote this. - emma

Regina's heart began to break with every word she read, finding it hard to make it to the end. She simply handed the note to her sister, unable to look at the pair. Rita frowned in confused, looking down to see it; her and Marco read through the note.

"Oh, Regina, I'm so sorry" Rita softly said, giving Marco the letter as she move to her sisters side.

"It's done, nothing to be sorry about" Regina simply replied, feeling like an idiot for letting herself love Emma again.

"There is something off about this note" Marco commented, studying the writing on the scrunched up paper. Regina and Rita both looked up at the boy, frowning to show their confusion. "This is her handwriting but the grammar in it is awful"

"So? She was probably in a rush" Regina questioned, unable to see how this was important.

"1- The only subject mum said she was good at was English. 2- Even in a rush, these are obvious mistakes; not even a capital letter for I. The only capitals are at the begining of each sentence" Marco replied, turning the paper to show the two while also able to see it.

"What are you getting at, sweetie" Regina asked with confusion, knowing the young blonde has a point.

"Me and mum use to like writing codes to entertain us when I was younger. I think she left a code in this and I think she done it with capital letters" Marco quickly answered, looking between the two sisters. Regina and Rita just frowned in confusion, still not understanding it. "Have you got a pen"

"Here"

Rita handed the boy one she found in her pocket, forgetting why it was there. Marco placed the paper against the window and used it to lean on; he underlined each capital letter before writing them below.

"They probably spell out a word. H. E. L. P. M. E" Marco said as he wrote, looking in shock at the word. He glanced up to see a similar look from the pair, promoting Regina to quickly stand up from the car. "Help me" he read out, holding the note to his mother.

"Where the hell is Emma"