Beane Odette - Reawakened - A Once Upon A Time Tale

— Looks like I am.

— I’m just glad she’s safe, Sidney, — Emma said, getting to her feet. — I hope you stay safe, too. — She dropped a couple dollars on the table, and Glass looked at them blankly.

— Hope springs eternal, — said Glass, still staring at the bills. — It has to.

— Hope is fine, — she said. — But I like evidence. And truth.

He nodded at this.

— One more thing, Ms. Swan, — he said.

— Okay.

— Things are about to change, — he said, — again. You’ll get your truth. But there’s another piece of information you need to have.

— Are we talking about Kathryn again?

Sidney shook his head.

— No, — he said. — We’re talking about skeleton keys.

Emma raised her eyebrows.

— I’m listening, — she said.

— There is a set, — Sydney said. — Regina has them. They open every door in this town.

— That’s ridiculous.

— I know, — he said, — but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

— Why are you telling me this?

Sidney sighed, looked back at the table.

— I don’t know, Ms. Swan. I’m conflicted.

— About what?

— About a lot of things, — he said. — I’ll see you soon.

Mary Margaret had had almost no time to think since she’d been out of jail, and she spent the day after the party cleaning up, resting, and doing her best to process what the last few days had been like. David was on her mind. Of course. The way he’d so glibly betrayed her, the way he was always balking. She had shown him so much faith, so many times. She’d given him so much trust And what had he given her in return? Hesitation. Doubt. Suspicion. She knew she would have to talk to him, but she didn’t know when it would be, or what she would say.

David forced the issue, however, by showing up on the sidewalk outside of her apartment that evening.

She came out at dusk, and he went to her before she could close the door.

She had almost no reaction when she saw him. She felt empty, looking at his face.

— Go away, — she said finally.

— I have to talk to you.

— So talk, — she said impatiently. She began to dig in her bag.

— I need to apologize.

— Yes, you do.

— I get it, — David said. — I didn’t believe you and I should have believed you.

Mary Margaret exhaled and stopped digging in her purse. The words came easily, actually. The message was so simple.

— I will never forget that moment, — she said. — When the world blows you backward, and the one person you thought would be there to catch you is gone.

— I’m so sorry, — David said.

— You should have believed me, — Mary Margaret said. — I don’t care how the evidence looked.

— I’m human, — he said. — It was a good setup. I made a bad mistake. I didn’t have faith.

Mary Margaret shook her head and looked past David, up at the clock tower in the center of town.

— Sometimes I think there are forces trying to keep us apart.

— What kind of forces? — David asked.

— I don’t know, — she said, shrugging. There were people she could name, yes, but maybe that was too easy? A story she was imposing on a relationship that just didn’t work? — All I know is that every time we get close, something seems to poison us. We have good moments. I don’t want them to be replaced with bad moments. That feeling.

— But, Mary Margaret, — he said. — I–I love you.

But the words were not powerful. They didn’t mean what they could have meant.

— I know, — Mary Margaret said. — And that’s what makes it so sad.

Emma was exhausted. She’d spent the last few days just on the cusp of some kind of insight — incredibly close to seeing the truth, but frustratingly unable to get to it. Nothing about the heart in the box made sense anymore, save for one explanation. Regina. She didn’t understand motive and she didn’t understand means. But she understood the person.

It was about four o’clock when Regina herself walked into the station. Emma was surprised to see her, and was even more surprised to hear what she had to say:

— You’re about to receive a major break in your case, — Regina said, — but before you do, I want you to understand all of the circumstances that led up to this.

— I can’t wait.

Regina nodded. Emma couldn’t believe it. So many months of conflict with this woman, and now, here she was, turning herself in. She didn’t trust it, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t delighted.

— Sidney, — Regina called, turning toward the door. — You can come in now.

Emma’s delight turned to confusion as she watched Sidney Glass, head down, come into the room. Regina waited for him with an outstretched arm, as though she were a mother bringing her son to the neighbor’s house to apologize.

— Okay, Sidney, — she said to him. — Tell the sheriff what you told me.

Sidney looked up, sheepishly.

What in the hell is going on? thought Emma.

— I did it, — Sidney said.

Emma waited.

She looked at Regina, back at Sidney.

— You did what? — she said.

— I–I kidnapped Kathryn, — he said. — I held her in the basement of an abandoned summer home by the lake. I bribed a lab tech to get me the heart from the hospital and used the same person to doctor the lab results.

Emma was stunned. She had nothing to say.

— And the other thing, — Regina said, prompting him again.

— I borrowed some skeleton keys from Regina and planted the knife in your apartment.

— My keys, — Regina said, shaking her head. — I can’t help but feel personally violated about that part.

Emma finally found her voice.

— And you want me to believe that you did this… for what reason? — There was no way it was true. She reflected on seeing Sidney the other morning at the diner. There was something between these two. Whether it was unrequited love, a financial arrangement, whatever. There was something.

— My plan was to be the one who rescued her, — he said flatly. — That way I would have a big story I could use to get back in at the paper. Write a novel, turn it into a movie.

He shrugged. Did she see a grin on his face then?

— It was my way to get famous, I guess. It was dumb. It was — I know it sounds crazy.

— Oh, I don’t know about crazy, — Emma said. — False. It sounds false to me.

— I have maps to the house. Downstairs in the basement you’ll find chains and everything. Lots of fingerprints, evidence everywhere. — He was tearing up now.

— Can I talk to you? — Emma said to Regina. Emma stood. — Sidney, you stay in here.

She walked out of the office, and Regina followed. After closing the door, she turned to the mayor, arms crossed, and said, — That was the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard.

— I’m sure that’s not true, — Regina said.

— That poor man. I know you’re behind this, and I understand that you own this game, and him, and you’ve got a rigged system in place. But I am about to start playing a different game entirely, Regina. And it’s one you’re going to lose.

Regina opened her mouth to respond, but Emma was riled up now, and she cut her off.

— All I care about is my kid, Regina. That’s it. I don’t care what happens to you and I don’t care what happens to me. You are a sociopath. You tried to take away someone I love, and now I’m going to take away someone you love.

Regina took a step backward. Emma had the satisfaction of seeing her understand. Regina reached up and took hold of a charm around her neck, began to twist it. She’s scared, Emma thought.