Loose ｡ Henry Mills [2]

31 - SICK OF ALL THE LIES

Teresa Holmes was sick and tired of all the lies, and just wanted someone to tell her that truth for once. She wanted to know everything about her life that she had forgotten, everything that her friends and best friend slash boyfriend have been keeping from her since the moment she woke up in the hospital a week ago. But nobody would tell her anything, not even Henry Mills, and that hurt the most.

But, no matter how much Teresa wanted to know these things, she had ultimately decided not to dwell on the past. She wasn't going to spend whatever time she had left in this world being angry at everyone and trying to remember the person she used to be. She wanted to move on and discover the new Teresa Holmes that had been reborn the day she woke in the hospital.

She started by sleeping in later than usual this morning and getting a long shower, before she finally made her way downstairs to join Snow White and Neal for the day. The toddler was sitting in his highchair eating some Cheerios while his mother was sitting at the kitchen table, recording a video with her cell phone. When Teresa realized it was a video for David, she kept herself out of sight to give the woman some privacy.

"Hey, Charming," Snow began, and baby Neal cooed in the background as he played with his Cheerios. "Remember when I said I wanted things back to normal? Well, look at us now." She tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Maybe this is our normal."

Teresa's face fell and her heart ached for the raven-haired woman that was desperately trying to contain her emotions. Even though she didn't remember much about Snow White and David and their epic love story, she knew that they were the kindest people in all of Storybrooke and that they didn't deserve to have a sleeping curse put upon their shared heart.

When the woman continued going on and on, saying so many things that she wanted her husband to hear, Teresa knew she should give Snow White some space. But the moment she stepped back to leave, she bumped into some of Neal's toys and they started making loud noises. Teresa grimaced and sighed before turning the corner and entering the kitchen, where she found Snow White looking at her.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, that's okay," Snow White reassured. She turned back to face the camera, saying things like goodbye and I love you to her husband before saving the video and setting the phone on the table. "I was just leaving David a message for when he wakes up. To be honest, recording videos and leaving him notes is the only thing keeping me sane right now."

"I'm sorry," Teresa frowned. "I can't imagine what you're going through. What you both are going through right now."

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it," Snow White sighed. "It's been really hard, being so close yet so far away at the same time. I just wish things could go back to the way they were."

Teresa scoffed as she entered the kitchen in search of some food. "You and me both." Once she had poured herself a bowl of cereal, she joined Snow White at the table, and the woman looked at her with a curious expression.

"Is everything okay?"

The teenager hesitated, before finally shaking her head in response. "No, it isn't. Something happened yesterday and I'm just . . . I don't know how to deal with it yet."

"What happened?" Snow White asked.

"I know everyone has been hiding something from me ever since I woke up in the hospital," Teresa told her, and Snow White blinked in surprise, clearly having not expected the conversation to go down that route. "I'm not sure what kind of things have happened to me, but for some reason, all of you are protecting me from the truth, which I have a right to know."

"Teresa . . ."

"No, please, let me finish," Teresa cut her off, and the woman nodded in response, remaining silent as she leaned back in her chair. "I confronted Henry about it when he took me into the woods yesterday. He told me that I'm his girlfriend. Or, well, that I was his girlfriend. None of that really matters now, though. The old Teresa died."