Turn for the Worst

Chapter 25

Most of the group sits in the station cafeteria, drinking coffee or hot chocolate with cinnamon on top. They are waiting to get any results from Emma's recovered phone, like fingerprints, some form of DNA and the location of the last cell phone tower her phone pinged from.

"Whenever I smell cinnamon, I always think of you and your hot chocolate," Neal muses to his son. Henry gives a small smile.

He's the only one as Mary Margret, Regina, David, Killian, Elsa, Anna and Lacey are pretty much boring holes through Neal with anger and discomfort. Ruby couldn't handle breathing the same air as Neal and left for home awhile back. Zelena went to deal with some paperwork, Robin went home to deal with Marian and his son, Graham had a gig to go to, Violet was picked up by her sister, MeyLing went to go skating to relax and Aurora took the rest of her family home.

Neal can feel the tension in the room, it was like a match in a fireworks factory. He knew that everyone hated him for what he did to Emma and Henry and he didn't blame them. His decision had been rather impulsive. The one thing that no one else knew was why he took off so suddenly instead of leaving gradually. His father had told him that he was getting divorced, after less than two years of marriage from his younger wife. He had been having an affair with an even younger woman and actually had the guts to ask his son to deliver the divorce papers to his unwanted step-mother. Neal knew it would fall apart, but for some strange reason, he saw himself in his father's situation, ruining his son's and fiancée's life if he kept up his lifestyle. He had been having one night stands behind Emma's back and avoiding both of them more and more, his fear of becoming his father grew greater and greater with each passing day. His father's phone call was what set him off that night and he packed everything he wanted, left a note and took the first bus out of Boston, never looking back. It was his greatest shame and he'd live with the guilt of leaving the woman he loved and his son behind.

Neal had to start completely from scratch, getting a new job at an auto dealership, renting an apartment and basically starting over. He'd done this when he was much younger and on the run from the police for petty crimes, but he kept his path straight, never breaking the promise both he and Emma had made after Henry was born, to live a better life because of him.

The one thing he dreaded telling anyone was that there was a new woman in his life and he was in fact engaged to her now. Her name was Tamara and she was so lively and happy, everything Neal wanted in a woman. He honestly thought that he would never date again as the anxiety of becoming his father still loomed in the back of his mind, but he accidentally bumped into her one day, spilling coffee all over her scarf. To apologize, Neal bought her a new scarf and they ended up spending the day together. They started dating and they had just recently become engaged. He had not actually proposed marriage, she had and he thought that since it had been three years since he left, he should try and be happy. He was not looking forward to telling his son, or anyone else for that matter.

"Where are you living now Neal?" Regina asks, breaking the long, awkward silence.

"In Phoenix Arizona, I own my own car dealership."

"Really?" Henry says.

The teen had his own whirlwind of emotions. His dad had restarted his life without him or his mom and it made him sick. His dad was actually more successful now than he had ever been. When Neal was with them, he worked two jobs, one as a janitor and another as a cashier. He claimed that he could never get a better job because of his criminal history, but he never brought that up with his son. Henry started to wonder if his dad was married now or had kids, he, checked his father's hands and the only thing there was his high school ring.

"Yes, it's a good job," Neal says. "It pays the bills and keeps me sane."

Killian eyes Neal with special distaste. This man had hurt Emma beyond belief, almost ruined her life, leaving her broken, and he could never forgive someone for that. Emma was an amazing person, with a passionate and loving soul, she was rough around the edges, but she was sweet and nice to everyone she met (except for those she arrested). Killian couldn't imagine what Emma had been put through, this bastard let with nothing more than a note, abandoning his family and breaking Emma's heart. Then again, he'd never have met and had the chance to be with Emma if he hadn't left. However, the thought of Neal abandoning his only son is even more sickening and hardly forgivable either and now he shows up to find his ex-fiancée and probably expects everyone to accept him.