Loose ｡ Henry Mills [2]

4 - I HATE YOU, I LOVE YOU

Teresa wasn't sure how long she wept, but eventually she found herself walking home. Her body was physically exhausted and now a knot had formed in her shoulder from the awkward position she had been laying in on the park bench. The moon was still shining amoungst the stars, so she knew she hadn't been there until dawn. That's a plus, she thought, kicking a nearby stone. Although the teenager was sad, all she felt now was disgust. Disgust for herself.

Before she met Henry, she had never felt an ounce of jealousy and rarely ever cried; she was strong-willed, had her walls always standing strong, and never faltered. But now it seems she has changed. Perhaps for the better, or perhaps not. She wasn't sure what to think anymore.

When she finally got home, she was surpised to find none other than Henry Mills himself sitting on the porch steps. The porch light was off, suggesting that Henry had been inside and spoke with Snow and David before waiting for her to return home. His knee was bouncing up and down and his expression was one of immense worry and impatience. She bit her lip and ducked her head as she began walking towards him. However, before she could even touch a step, he noticed her.

Rising up, Henry began showing just how concerned he had been for her. "Where have you been?" Is his first question. When she remained silent and simply kept walking pass him, Henry reached out and grabbed her arm. Her head turns at his touch and her eyes meet his. In them, she can see determination, but most of all, worry. She feels a twinge of guilt for making him worry so much, and her eyes even soften for a moment, until she remembers the way she cried over him.

She rips her arm from his grasp and turns away. "I don't want to talk to you right now," she mumbles, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Teresa, please," he says, walking around her to block her path. She sighs, impatient, and takes a step back, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

"Henry, I'm not in the mood right now, okay? Just please go home," Teresa tells him.

"I'm not going anywhere," Henry tells her, his features going from worry to frustration. Teresa raises a brow. "I thought we were having fun, the three of us. When we turned around to find you gone..." Henry pauses to lick his lips, and he shakes his head. "I thought something happened to you, Teri. I've been searching for you for hours! I called you countless times! I thought...I thought Hyde had..."

"That's just it Henry." She shook her head. "You think everything is perfectly fine, but it's not. I'm not even sure it has ever been fine."

"What are you talking about?"

Teresa laughs in disbelief. "Just forget it. Henry, I'm very exhausted right now, alright? I've laying on a park bench for God knows how long and now ─ "

"Why were you laying on a park bench?"

"Good night Henry," Teresa says, walking around him to go inside. But Henry, again, jumps in front of her. She sighs, beginning to lose her patience with him. "Henry..."

"I'm not leaving," he insists, "not until you tell me what's going on."

Teresa crosses her arms over her chest as she shifts her weight onto one foot. "You really want to know?"

"No, I've just been running around, calling you endlessly and sitting on your porch steps for fun," Henry replies with a bitter tone.

"I went to the park to cry because I hate you," Teresa reveals rather quickly. Her eyes then widen when she realizes what she has said.

Henry feels as though his heart has been split into two. He stumbles back a step, a dull pain making his chest begin to throb. A crestfallen expression twists onto his features; he feels as though he can die right then and there.