READER IMAGINES [1]

Henry Mills x Reader

#HenryWeek - Part two of the Cancer!Reader imagine, as promised.

Dt: hollandmyhole SimplyPossible Booknrd187 flowercrownpan PureAwesomeness001 Fairytale_Daydreams Alexa_D_D Truthful_Change SophieXC7 Pentaholic72 little_loca x_Duckass_x nalufanforlife FloridaWritesBooks tykia789 lancie20

Word count: 3,362

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Henry never noticed how sweet the words are. He never understood the deeper meaning or recognised the detail. Even the people he never really noticed. But now, everything is different. Now Henry can see how much she loved the story. And how much he loved her.

After (Y/n) died, Henry wasn't himself. He didn't like the taste of hot chocolates or the stories David would tell him about the Enchanted Forest. He was just numb. He hadn't realized that a part of him died along with (Y/n) until he read the words from her favourite book.

It was placed on the table next to her hospital bed. The buzzing sound from the heart monitor made Henry's vision unfocused. His hand held hers, but she was cold. Tears ran down his cheeks which he didn't feel. He couldn't feel anything.

His best friend was dead. His only love was dead. And here he is, standing over her as her lips turn purple.

He wanted to look away, but he couldn't. He knew he had to tell everyone that she was gone... but how could he? He couldn't even move. He couldn't even breathe.

Finally, the heart monitor buzzing brought Henry's feeling back. He twitched and then let his hand slip out of hers. The buzzing was becoming too loud for him now.

Henry stumbled around the bed and pressed down his hand on the book. He tried to steady his breathing, but was failing. He couldn't look at her again. Not like this. So, he grabbed the book and ran out of the room towards the waiting room.

Regina was the first to notice his distress. Then Mary Margaret and David turned as Henry clutched the book close to his chest.

"She's gone."

They had tried to comfort him, but his mind was elsewhere. Everytime he closed his eyes he saw her lifeless on the hospital bed. Cold and broken. She was dead and Henry had watched her die. He sat there as she exhaled her last breath. How could he do that?

The funeral was like any other. Everyone was sad and of course it rained. Emma encouraged Henry to speak at the service, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. If he opened his mouth he'd break down in tears.

Instead Archie spoke. He talked about her smile and her friendship with Henry, but he was nowhere to be seen. He was away from ear-shot of the service; under a table in a room of the church. His hands gripped the book at his fingertips as he read the title.

(Y/n) had mentioned this book to Henry many times when she was alive. It was her favourite thing in the world. Sometimes he thought the book got more attention than he, which annoyed him. But looking back at it now, Henry found it pointless to have felt so in the first place.