The Girl With Lost Memories - Parts 1 & 2 (An OUAT Fanfiction)

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 52: 𝒪𝒻𝒻 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑀𝒶𝓅

Henry—the lucky bastard—gets to skip dinner. He's been at a friend's house all afternoon. This may be Henry's last day of groundment, but he's working on a project with this friend, so Regina allowed the visit and staying over for dinner. If it's taking this long to finish the project, I bet they're not working on it at all. They're probably playing video games, watching movies, and spreading rumors about new girls in town. The usual stuff boy friends like to do instead of homework.

Regina and I eat dinner together—with no buffer. It's the most awkward dinner I've ever had. We spend the first twenty minutes in quiet tension until Regina coughs into her napkin to clear her throat. After another fifteen minutes, I clink my glass on my plate while setting it down. Then one of us finally speaks, with Regina asking again what I'm planning to do now, and again, I have no answer. Leave town and go back to the foster home? Stay? Leave and live on my own while avoiding the system for the next two years? I don't know. Life's hard. I'm starting to think I'm not strong enough for it.

Afterward, I change into more comfortable clothes; a black tank top and grey sweatpants. I roll down the waist of the pants a couple times because, apparently, a size medium for some brands is a large for others. I don't care. They're sweatpants. They're not supposed to look good on anybody.

As I untuck the comforter from Regina's guest room bed, giddiness swells within me at the chance of sleeping on the queen-sized mattress. A queen-sized mattress. I've never been given the opportunity to sleep in any bed larger than a full. Tonight will be glorious. If I won't end up crying myself to sleep about today's ruthless events and rerun all my life's regrets, fears, and ghosts in my head like episodes of Friends.

I hated today. It sucked. My eyes are puffy and heavy from my pity parties earlier, and I may or may not have had more afterward.

The uncertainty about my parents is a constant companion, nagging at me like an itch I can't scratch. They could still be somewhere in Storybrooke. I need to go to Regina's office and find documents on them, but she fucking won't let me. There must be a Storybrooke census somewhere in the Town Hall or library. Every town has one, right? To keep track of the population? How could I convince her? She's as stubborn as those old ladies who always request to speak with the manager.

But what if Regina's right? The DNA test results are right? What then? What now?

The thoughts spiral into doubt and frustration, churning within me.

Henry's involvement stings. He led me on a wild goose chase, avoided, and then refused to help me for this? Was it all a prank? To get my hopes up only to shatter them later?

But he wasn't the sole conspirator.

I got my hopes up for nothing. I led myself astray and set myself up for disappointment. At the start of all this, I knew there was a slim to nothing chance of finding my parents here, but I came anyway to escape like Regina said...like Henry said. I'm a runner, but I wouldn't take back this experience for anything. I just wish I found my mom and dad. That would've made this experience everything.

The waterworks burn behind my eyes, so instead, I focus on my anger rather than my sadness. I haven't seen that sucker for two days, and that includes today. Henry's either avoiding me or been busy...Busy, my ass. He knows I'll punch him in the face if I see him, so it's for the best I haven't encountered him. Actually, it's for his best—not that I care or anything. But, man, do I want revenge? When he gets home, could I push him down the stairs and make it look like an accident? Probably, but I'd never push a child down the stairs...Maybe into a lake—if they can swim, of course.

Got it! I could return the favor and spread rumors about him. Whereas Henry's rumors are false, mine will be true. How about the one where he told me he'd kill Mr. Gold? I could also "slip" that he said Mary Margaret thinks she can solve everyone's problems, how David smothers people, and Hook is a villain who can't be trusted. I could also tip Regina off about how Henry spends a lot of time at his friend's house. It's possible she doesn't know about all these frequent visits. I'm sure she also doesn't know about him trying to start a tiff with a group of teenage boys in a gas station parking lot. Or that he hit Curt over the head with his storybook, knocking him unconscious. I don't care about these things, especially the last since it was in my favor, but I'm sure Regina would most definitely care. So much so, I think she'd increase Henry's groundment to a month or two.