Gold

{29}

I AWOKE to my ringtone going off the hook. I groaned and searched for my phone, finally finding it on the nightstand. I sat up and looked at the screen.

18 Missed Calls from Mary Margaret

I immediately dialed her back and waited for her to answer. I knew something had to be wrong for her to call that many times. She answered after the second ring. "Claire? Thank God." She exclaimed. "What's wrong?" I asked her and she sighed into the phone.

"It's Emma. She's gone." She told me and I stiffened. "What? What do you mean, gone?" I asked her and she sounded like she might be crying on the other end. "When I came downstairs I saw she was gone and she hasn't called me back. I think she left Storybrooke." Mary Margaret told me.

"No, she wouldn't do that. She knows how much Henry needs her." I said in denial. Gold must have heard my raised voice because he sat up in the bed and gave me a questioning look. "I think she would, Claire. Listen, can you come over? I know you're probably with Gold, but I really need my best friend right now-"

"Of course, I'll be there in five minutes." I cut her off and heard a relieved sigh. I ended the call and glanced over at Gold. "What's going on?" He asked me and I sighed, standing up and grabbing my clothes.

"Emma's gone. Mary Margaret thinks she left Storybrooke." I explained, throwing my clothes in quickly. "Left? She can't leave? She needs to break the curse." Gold said and I shook my head. "I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon." I told him and he looked conflicted. "Promise to be careful. I don't know how desperate Regina will get and when she gets desperate, she gets dangerous." He warned me and I nodded.

"Of course. I love you." I said, sliding my ring on my finger and giving him a kiss. "I love you too." He told me and I smiled softly at him before walking out of the house.

I closed his door and made my way to the apartment, walking as quickly as possible. When I made it there I quickly made my way inside. I found Mary Margaret aggressively cleaning the kitchen. I knew she was trying to channel her anxiety into cleaning.

"Mary Margaret? I'm here." I said, announcing my presence to her. She immediately dropped the sponge she was holding and walked over to me. "Thank God." She said, pulling me into a hug. I was surprised by the gesture, but hugged her back.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as I saw the tears on her face. She pulled away and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just thought that when you didn't answer your phone-" she trailed off. "That I'd gone with Emma?" I asked and she nodded. "I wouldn't do that. My life is here." I assured her and she nodded.

The door opened then and Emma walked in. Mary Margaret's face looked relieved for a second before hardening. "I thought you'd left." She said as we watched Emma toss her bags onto the floor.

"Mary Margaret. Claire.." Emma started, but Mary Margaret cut her off. "But I couldn't tell for sure because you didn't bother to say goodbye."

Emma looked away guiltily. "Do you remember when I left, when I ran, what you said to me? You said, 'we have to stick together. That you, Claire and I are like family." Mary Margaret told her.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left." Emma said, looking down. For some reason, the casualness of her answer made both Mary Margaret and I mad. "You're right! You shouldn't have!" I said angrily. I didn't like that Emma thought she could just leave our lives at any given moment. It bothered me also because she was my niece. Literally, other than Mary Margaret, the only family I had.

"So why, after everything, did you just go?" Mary Margaret questioned her. Emma shoved her hands into her pockets. "I don't wanna be Sheriff. I don't want people relying on me. I don't want this. Any of it." Emma said, her voice breaking. It seemed to me like she was running away from something. Some sort of responsibility. Did she know about the curse?