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chapter twenty-two - stolen kisses
emma found tally marks on the walls of the cave neal had lived. she was looking closer, explaining what she found.
"neal stopped counting," emma spoke.
"'cause he got off the island," mary margaret added.
ophelia walked over to the wall. "no, he was here longer. he lost hope."
regina made her way over too. "you got that from scribbles?"
"i got that because it's what we did every time we went to a new foster home. we counted days until counting seemed pointless," ophelia admitted. "some places quicker than others."
"you think the same thing's happening to henry," david theorised. he tried not to think about her final utterings. he didn't want to think of what ophelia went through in foster care. he always knew she went through things she hadn't even shared with emma
"pan said that it would," ophelia muttered.
"hey. we're gonna rescue him."
ophelia scoffed. "yeah, i know that and you know that, but henry doesn't know that. pan wants him to lose faith."
"so what, you want to send him a message? because i haven't seen a neverland post office," regina retorted. "what are you suggesting?"
"we take a page from pan and we start being clever. we need to send a simple sign, a sign that we're coming," emma suggested.
"yeah, with lost boys running around, trying to kill us all," regina dismissed.
"yeah, maybe it's time we used that to our advantage," mary margaret suggested.
"how?"
she began leaving the cave. "follow me. i'll show you."
everyone went to follow. hook grabbed ophelia's arm. she stopped, raising a brow. "swan."
"what? we're wasting time."
"i—uh..." he paused. ophelia frowned, waiting for him to continue. "i just wanted to let you know that i too know what it feels like, to lose hope."
david could see so clearly what hook was trying to do but ophelia couldn't. she knew he was flirting. that much was obvious. she didn't know he was being sincere. and david knew that hook meant it. he actually liked his daughter and he hated it. his gaze narrowed.
"i'm not in the mood for you trying to get into my pants, hook. my nephew is missing. and you still talk funny."
she walked away, ignoring the fact that her heart had sped up when he was that close to her. if he'd shifted slightly, his lips would have brushed hers.
david had stayed behind, glare set on hook. "let me give you a bit of advice, hook. she's never gonna like you."
