The Monster Within

Chapter 22

"What's the point of buying things like that if the baby is going to grow right out of it?" Regina questions. She was examining the storybook aisle, taking any volumes that peaked her interest off the shelves. Much like Emma, none of them were to her taste; she preferred classics like The Velveteen Rabbit or Goodnight Moon, none of the tv show books that now lined the shelves. How would babies understand this anyways?

"Because it's cute," Lacey answers, picking up a stuffed bear that could glow in the dark. "It's better to enjoy the moments while they last."

That remark makes Regina a little upset. This whole trip was depressing her just a little bit, still so much a reminder of the life she might never have. Her relationship with Robin was doing well and Roland had also taken a liking to her, but Roland was five and out of the various stages that the real-estate agent longed to go through.

"Oh, you certainly know how to seize the moment and the attention," a voice says behind them.

All turn to see a lawyer in a tight skirt, black pantyhose and a green top that seemed to be cut too low. Unbeknownst to the women as they had been browsing the store, they were being watched by another. One with fiery red hair and wore lethal looking heels. Her eyes narrow and her teeth grind together.

Many of them roll their eyes at the approach of Zelena.

"What do you want Zelena?" Regina huffs.

"I was in the neighbourhood and I happened to see both Mary Margret and Emma's oversized bodies and decided to investigate. Should have known you'd be looking for clothes to hide those horrendous figures."

Emma grinds her teeth together but says nothing. She holds the new mother's hand and shakes her head, convincing her that they don't need to get involved.

"How rude can you be?" Ruby snaps. "You miss your morning massage this morning?"

"For your information, I was in court, saving a local wildlife reserve from being torn down and granting them a million dollars to expand the land. What have you done besides bend over so men can see your thong?"

"Please don't talk like that Zelena," Mary Margret begs. "There are children around."

"Whatever pudgy, why are you even shopping? I thought you already popped out your mistake."

Mary Margret's face flushes red, but Emma keeps a grip on her arm.

"Oh right, Hi Emma, glad you're okay, how are you coping with your mistake?"

Regina steps to face her sister, very much prepared to punch her lights out. "Take a hike in those heels. Why are you even following us? Did you feel left you because everyone hates you?" She mocks her half-sister more by making a pouty face. "The few things you got from mom was her poor attitude, the inability to care about other people's feelings and the fact that no one ever wants you around."

"I don't even know why you're here Regina. It's not like you're never going to need this stuff."

The brunette sister flushes a shade of dark red and clenches her hands into fists. She bites her tongue and takes a step back, fighting off the tears. An image of that night in the car flashes through her mind, the sight of Daniel going through the windshield causes her to shudder.

"Get lost Zelena, no one wants you here."

"It's a public place, I can be here if I want to."

"And why would you want to be in a baby store, you're so thin, you can't ever get pregnant anyway," Ruby adds.

That causes the red-head to step back in fury.

"At least my chances of getting pregnant are better than yours..." Zelena then goes on to insult Ruby's sexuality.

Ruby is infuriated and tries to march over to punch her out, but Lacey and Elsa hold her back.

"You little..." the waitress says through gritted teeth.

"Let's go, everyone," Emma says. "There's nothing in this store that is worth it now that she's contaminated everything."

The words fall easily off the pregnant woman's tongue and the original group of women compose themselves and exit the store without another word to the acid-tongued lawyer.

Zelena is left seething with so much anger, that she might burst. She ends up punching the nearest shelf, causing a toy to squeak in protest. Her heels then punish the floor as she too exits the store. She watches the group go towards the mall and likely the food court. The red-head wants to make them suffer, especially her half-sister. Regina always got everything and that needed to change. An idea began forming in her head. She smiles with glee.

...

"Sorry that she ruined our shopping trip," Regina apologizes as the five of them and the baby sit in the food court, eating lunch. "I always knew she got the worst parts of my mom."

"It's fine," Emma shrugs, sipping her berry blast smoothie. "At least we got the last word in."

"You shouldn't have to apologize for being related to her..." Lacey adds, sipping her bubble tea.

"I want to ruin her face so badly," Ruby hisses, poking at her Kung-pau chicken.

"We all do, but violence is never the answer," Elsa says soothingly.

"It is if they are an obnoxious bitch."

"Let's try to forget about it now."

Regina's phone buzzes in her pocket. She assumes it's a work text. She scrolls through the messages and her jaw drops. She blinks a few times to make sure she's not imagining things and even refreshes the screen.

"Oh my God..."

"What is it, Regina?" Emma asks.

The real-estate agent shows her potential client the message. Someone just placed a very large bid on the house the small family was steering towards, much larger than Emma and Killian could even afford. It was very generous and made the value go up even more.

"Someone just outbid you for the house..."

"WHO?!"

I think we know who... Please read and review