strange and beautiful (I'll put a spell on you)

Chapter Twenty-Three

STORYBROOKE, Maine

Rebekah really did not want to go to this 'Welcome Home/We're Glad You Didn't Kill Kathryn' party Emma and Henry had put together for Mary-Margaret and yet there she was. Standing alone in the corner of Mary-Margaret and Emma's apartment. The last twenty-four hours had Rebekah wanting to curl up in bed for the rest of her life, only leaving her home when absolutely necessary. Jefferson hadn't returned home. And it wasn't like Rebekah could go to Emma and file a missing person's report because Jefferson had escaped from the mental institution; and if Emma found him, he'd likely be sent back. And that wasn't what Rebekah wanted. She didn't want Jefferson back in that awful place, drugged so badly that he thought they were married and that Regina was the Evil Queen from some fairytale. Though...it was odd that Jefferson's hallucinations were the same thing Henry still actively believed in.

Fairytales weren't real. There was no such thing as happy endings unless you paid for them. And there was no such thing as True Love.

Rebekah could feel bitterness burning inside her, her heart turning black after Jefferson had left her. Maybe he had been lying -- maybe Regina had been telling the truth. Maybe he was just a jerk who liked screwing with the Mills sisters. She didn't know. But Rebekah was done wearing her heart on her sleeve. No wonder she wasn't able to tell Jefferson that she loved him. Ha! She thought, You would have looked like an even bigger fool. The voice in her head sounded oddly like Regina's voice and not like Rebekah's. Maybe that's what bitterness did to a person; turn ed them into someone with no heart. And Regina did not have a heart; Rebekah was sure of it. She may have fooled Rebekah into thinking she was a caring sister for a while, but now she saw through that.

Rebekah was tired of being a mockery to everyone. She loved too quickly, forgave too easily, and recklessly didn't listen to all the warning signs going off in her head. She followed her heart blindly and look where that left her--knocked up, bitter, and alone while her friends celebrated the fact that Mary-Margaret wasn't a murderer after all.

Emma kept watching her most of the night but never said anything to her. The same went for Mary-Margaret. For two women who claimed to be Rebekah's best friends, they sure weren't acting like it. In fact, when Rebekah showed up with Henry, Emma looked downright upset that Rebekah had even come.

Ruby spoke to her briefly but after Rebekah snapped at the young woman for bringing up Jefferson, Ruby left Rebekah to be by herself.

She had isolated herself more than Leroy, the town drunk, ever had at this point.

Rebekah watched from across the room as Henry gave Mary-Margaret her welcome home gift and a card from his classroom saying how glad they were that she hadn't killed Mrs. Nolan causing the room to awkwardly chuckle. Emma mentioned to Henry that they needed to get him home before Regina found out where he was and the little boy quickly ran over to where Rebekah stood, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

She tried hard not to let her emotions get the best of her when she was hugging him back, sniffling a little to try and fight back the tears. Henry pulled away, a sad look on his face as he tilted his head to look at his aunt. "Are you okay?"

Rebekah nodded her head and forced a smile. "Just tired. My feet are killing me." She lied, not wanting to upset the boy.

"You should go sit in my seat next to August. He says he hasn't met you yet," Henry suggested before running over to Emma so they could leave. She looked over at the table Henry had been sitting at and saw the man, August, watching her. Rebekah sighed, knowing Henry must have said something to him and made her way over to the table, taking Henry's vacant seat.