The box
A guest asked for a oneshot of Snowing find a box under Emma's bed whilst cleaninglabelled "Emma's things". They open it believing it to be old memoirs from her childhood and instead find a journal and various sharp objects. The journal has different entries about abuse throughout her childhood. The final entry is from that day where Emma says she can't take it anymore and admits to all the times she attempted to kill herself. So trigger warning of self harm and suicidal thoughts.
Guest who asked for oneshot in 2 parts: Due to real life being manic I can only take one oneshot at a time. Is there anything else I can write for you?
"This is going to take us as long as the cupboards in the living room and kitchen combined isn't it?" Snow moaned as she and Charming opened the door to Emma's room. The floor was littered with paperwork, clothes (from what her parents could see both clean and dirty) and Heaven knows what else. They had been planning a spring clean for a week now and had asked Emma's permission to clear out her room, which she had given, grateful to palm the tidying off to someone else and to get some space to herself whilst her parents were kept busy.
It took them two hours alone to clear her floor.
"Honestly, how did we end up with such a messy daughter?" Snow asked, after flinging yet another t-shirt into the laundry basket. Charming just chuckled as he attempted to sort through some of the paperwork he knew to be from the station by the watermark on the pages.
"Don't ask me. You know how OCD I am about these kind of things. Guess that's just the way she is. What bit shall we tackle next?" Snow looked round the room and decided that under the best was the best bet. She made her way over and started digging underneath to pull things out to sort into piles of keep, throw away, recycle or give to the charity shop. Charming was kneeling beside her with the black bags ready. The first thing Snow pulled out was a shoe box covered in a pale blue gift wrap with "Emma's things" nearly written on a label sticker on the front. Snow's heart was in her mouth. Had Emma kept childhood memoirs from them? Charming was now peering over Snow's shoulder. Both silently asking the same question…did they open it? It was an easily answered question. Emma had given them permission to clear out her room after all. Snow opened the lid carefully, not wanting to rip the paper. But what was inside made Snow and Charming gasp in horror. There was not photographs, little toys or ticket stubs. But razorblades, toothpicks and tiny knives. Sitting on top of the sharp objects was a little journal. Being extremely careful not to cut herself, Charming picked up the little notebook and opened it. Inside were dated entries. Each with a story to tell. Why she had cut and what she had used. Each entry getting progressively worse. Neither parent could stop the flow of tears as their hearts broke through the reading of their daughter's pain. Some of these entries came from after she arrived in Storybrooke. After the curse broke even. Why hadn't she ever mentioned anything? Why hadn't they noticed? Charming turned the page and found the most recent entry.
This is all far too much. I can't take the pain, it's eating me alive. The only small relief I get is when I feel the sharp stab against my wrist. That pain I can understand, that pain I can control. Just for a moment I can almost forget about the inner agony. I want to forget forever. I don't want to live anymore.
Snow and Charming felt like their mouths were dry as dust. Charming dropped the journal on the floor and he and Snow ran straight from the room and right out the house. They had to find Emma. What if she'd already done…something?
The pair searched the whole town for their daughter. Every new place that they couldn't find her making their fear grow even stronger. Eventually, they found her sitting at the dock, feet dangling off the edge. But she wasn't thinking about jumping. No, she was just thinking.
"Emma!" Snow called out, terrified. Emma's head whipped round as she saw her parents running towards her. When they came right over, Charming pulled her right back from the water.
"Hey! What's going on?" Emma demanded.
"We found the box under your bed." Charming admitted sheepishly. "We thought it was childhood things… then we read it and we thought… thought…" Charming didn't need to finish his sentence for Emma to know what he meant. Emma looked down, ashamed. Snow pulled her into a ferocious hug.
"We're going to sort this." Snow promised. "We won't stop until we do." Charming pulled his wife and daughter into his own arms. Emma found herself shivering into them. She was grateful that someone knew. Someone could share the burden of her pain. Her internal screaming could finally subside.