When Harmony was told what happened on the day her mother died, time stood still as her eyes widened and she held her breath in her trembling chest.
She stood there, frozen, not even able to blink for a while as she stared at him.
Though she was filled with anticipation and hope when she had arrived, she was now left in nothing but sorrow.
Now with her breath unsteady, tears welled up in her eyes then streamed down her face, each tear representing the words she couldn't express.
When she faced the floor and shut her eyes, her body trembled harder and a choked sob escaped her quivering lips, and it grew in intensity and volume until it echoed through the room.
When she felt a presence before her, she wasn't even strong enough to look up. The truth completely crushed her.
"I'm sorry," Liam said, his own breath faltering.
As soon as he touched her shoulders, she pushed his hands away and stepped away from him while still facing the floor, until her back hit the wall.
She slid down and buried her face in her hands, the sorrow only getting heavier.
She didn't want him anywhere near her.
Unable to be in the same room as him, she picked herself off the floor to leave.
With a trembling hand, she twisted the door knob but paused when he spoke.
"Please don't just leave like this. Say something."
She looked over her shoulder, parting her quivering lips.
"When my mother died, my life was miserable."
Thinking back to how much she had been through, there was a physical pain in her chest along with all the grief.
Having said the only words she could, she opened the door and unintentionally slammed it loudly after leaving.
Even though she wiped her tears, more only streamed down her face.
But when she ran into Justin and Mr and Mrs Hawkins, she wiped her tears once again.
She thought back to the day when they had all ganged up on her, warning her to stay away from Liam and how Mrs Hawkins had gone as far as personally showing up at her apartment to make sure that she was staying away from him.
She wondered if they did that only because of what the real truth would do to her, but she didn't even bother to ask. She just wanted to leave that place.
It was for this reason that when Justin tried to stop her by stepping forward and blocking her way, she maneuvered to the other side, pushing past Mrs Hawkins and rushing outside.
She instantly took out her phone and first called Blake, begging her to come over, and she was so worried that she was already on her way.
After getting into a cab, she then called Dean and couldn't believe that was the truth he had been hiding from her.
She dialed his number, hoping he would pick up. They hadn't spoken in a while.
"What's up?" he said as soon as he picked up, his tone a little irritated.
She could only choke on her sobs once again.
"Hey, what happened?" His voice was now laced with concern.
"Please, I need you. Can you come over?"
"Wait, what happened?"
"I... I can't talk about it. Please just come over."
"Take it easy. I'm on my way."
~
When she got home and Blake arrived shortly after, she didn't have the strength to say the same thing twice as it would only hurt her more. She wanted to wait for Dean to arrive as well.
However, her sorrowful state was still enough for Blake to comfort her.
She rested her head on Blake's chest, thinking about everything Liam had said to her.
When Dean showed up, he sat right next to Harmony on the other side.
She held onto his hand, wondering if she should've listened to him all along, but it didn't make sense at the time because she didn't know the reason behind it.
"You were right," she said, her breath faltering.
"About what?" Dean asked, gently squeezing her hand.
"About Liam hurting me."
When she explained to them what happened at the hospital, Blake was so hurt by it that tears ran down her cheeks, but at the same time, she tried to comfort Harmony.
However, Dean wasn't as shocked because he knew the truth all along, but seeing Harmony in so much pain, and Blake struggling to keep herself together, he wrapped his arm around Harmony, bringing her closer so her head could rest on his chest.
"I hate to say this, but I told you so," Dean said.
"Do you seriously think this is the time for that, you dumbass?" Blake yelled at Dean, wiping her tears.
"I was only trying to-"
"I don't give a shit what you were trying to do! It's not the time!"
Dean sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
As Blake rested her head on Harmony's back and gently rubbed it, Harmony held onto Dean tighter as she continued to sob in his chest.
Even with the two of them around, she needed to talk to family, which was why she planned to go to Aunt Leslie.
That night, she couldn't eat or drink anything and every time they brought her some water to drink, she only ended up spitting it back out.
Not planning to leave her alone, her friends decided to stay over for the night and Dean slept on the couch.
As Blake gently patted her back while laying next to her in bed, she advised her to get some sleep but it was easier said than done because she still had so a range of emotions running through her.
The man she had fallen for was the man she shouldn't have fallen for and she wished she could turn back time, so things would've worked out differently.
Though Blake was fuming and had a lot to say about Liam, she made it a point that she wouldn't because that wouldn't make Harmony feel any better.
Even after Blake finally managed to fall asleep, which was much later in the night, Harmony could only stare at the ceiling, thinking about all she could remember as part of her life.
Most of it was awful, but when she had met Liam, it was beautiful and it shattered her heart to learn that the reality behind it was the worst thing that ever happened to her.
She remembered his guilt as he explained what had happened to her on the day that her mother died, but it didn't mend her shattered heart in any way.
Though she had once mentioned to him that she was the spitting image of her mother, she wished he had seen the necklace much sooner in the hopes that he would've remembered everything.
Now that he brought her nothing but sorrow, she didn't know how she would ever face him again.
~
Early in the morning, Harmony was woken up when Blake began to dress up.
"Hey, go back to sleep," Blake gently said to her.
"I can't," Harmony replied, rubbing her puffy and irritated eyes.
"I'm sorry I woke you up. I have to go to work now."
"I know."
"It's at Greene Hospital."
"I know."
"I feel like punching Liam when I see him."
"I know."
"Shit!" Blake whispered under her break, punching her fist into the palm of her other hand.
Harmony didn't even feel the need to ask if Blake was alright, she knew how deeply her best friend cared about her.
Once she composed herself, she continued to dress up until she was ready to leave.
"Will you be okay?" Blake asked, sitting down on the bed and holding onto Harmony's hand.
"Dean's still here."
Just then, Dean knocked on the door and as soon as he came in, Harmony was almost breaking down because she now had both of them present again.
He got on the bed with her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay. Just let it out if you have to," he said gently.
She buried her face in his chest and sobbed silently.
"I feel like skipping work today," Blake said.
"Don't," he said to her. "I already canceled my plans. I'm not leaving her alone. You have to go to work so you can punch that piece of shit when you see him."
"I can't. I'll get fired. Are you crazy?"
"You know he deserves it."
As the two of them went on and on about all the pain and suffering that Liam deserved, Harmony didn't know how to feel.
She wished she could talk to him again and let him say everything he had to, but she knew it would only hurt more being in his presence again or just hearing him speak.
As much as Dean tried to convince her to eat something, she didn't have the appetite for it.
All the pain and sorrow was too much to handle and at that time, she just wanted to be alone so he gave her the space that she needed.
After spending some time alone in her bed, thinking about everything she had been through so far, the good and the bad, she needed to go to Aunt Leslie's house.
She unblocked her number and called so she could tell her she needed to speak to her, but her number didn't even ring.
As she washed her face and looked in the mirror, her puffy eyes were on full display but she didn't even care.
As much as she tried to block Liam out of her mind, she couldn't, not when he was responsible for everything.
With Dean by her side, they left together to see Aunt Leslie and during the bus ride, he received a call and she noticed the caller ID was Ruby.
As he spoke to her on the phone, she tried not to eavesdrop but he was right next to her.
After the phone call, he turned to her and forced a chuckle.
"That was Ruby. She wants us to have dinner together."
"You should go."
"I told her it would have to be another day."
"I know. I heard you. You should go. Don't worry about me."
"How could I not worry about you when you mean so much to me?" he asked, holding onto her hand.
"Your girlfriend needs you."
"She's not my girlfriend."
"But she will be. Just go. I'll be fine."
"No," he said firmly, raking his fingers through her messy hair. "Until I'm sure, I'm not leaving you alone."
~
After arriving at the doorstep, Harmony took a deep breath as Dean held onto her hand.
She hadn't been there in a while, the last time being when she had left the house.
Though it was once home, she didn't want to just walk inside, so she rang the doorbell.
When Aunt Leslie opened the door, she burst into laughter while pointing at Harmony's puffy eyes.
"What the hell happened to your face?"
"Tell me what happened when my mother died," Harmony said, a lump in her throat already beginning to form.
"What?" Aunt Leslie's laughter instantly faded.
Unable to hold it in, Harmony closed her eyes and sobbed silently.
"What the hell's going on? Can someone here explain?"
After allowing them to come in, Harmony sat with Dean, who still held onto her hand.
Because she wasn't strong enough to explain it once again, he explained everything that happened with Liam at the hospital.
Aunt Leslie chuckled as she wiped her tears.
"In that case," she said with a sniffle, rising to her feet while wiping her tears. "I'm going to demand more money."
Harmony looked up at her with disbelief, her heart breaking further.
"You're still only thinking about money," she said.
"What else am I supposed to think about? I'm going there right now."
"I came here so we could talk, please."
Because Harmony was only eleven years old when her mother died, all she knew was that it was a car accident.
Aunt Leslie never really talked about it.
"Who's the man who took the fall for my mom's death?"
"I don't even remember his name but he gave me some good cash for it."
Dean let out a frustrated grunt.
It had always been about the money when it came to Aunt Leslie, but Harmony felt she could be a little more compassionate while talking about her sister.
"If there's nothing else, let's go and get some money," Aunt Leslie said with enthusiasm.
"No."
"What do you mean by that? They made someone else take the blame and I don't care if they gave me the money through that person. Considering who was actually responsible, that money wasn't even enough so I'm going to get more!"
"But you signed that document," Dean chimed in.
"I don't care." She scoffed.
As Aunt Leslie went up the stairs, Harmony was disappointed that she was more interested in the money than spending time with her at that moment so they could talk about it.
It brought her to tears once again.
"I'm sorry," Dean said to her, wrapping his arm around her.
Aunt Leslie then hurried down the stairs with her handbag.
"I'm off to Greene Hospital!" she said, then slammed the door after leaving.
"Aren't you going to stop her?" Dean asked.
"No," Harmony said, wiping her tears. "I don't care what she does. I'm just so hurt right now."
"Is this about Liam and not her?"
"I just wish things had worked out differently."
"Do you hate him now?"
There was a long pause before she could respond, her heart still filled with a range of emotions.
"I don't know."