"For you I'll bleed myself dry."—Coldplay.

••

I didn't think I would ever witness the day that my mother, the woman who swore she loves me more than anything in this world, classes me as a whore. She has called me so many names.

'Harmony'

'Sweetie'

'Baby'

'Sweetheart'

But a whore? Never got that one before.

Before now.

"So, this is what you spend your college days doing? Having sex with all the boys at Homewood?! Like a little harlot? A little low-class prostitute?"

"Watch your mouth, ma'am." Blaze inserts. "With all due respect."

"Blaze." Mr. Blake signals for him to stay out of it, his glare hard and rebuking.

Blaze frowns at his father and looks away before Mr. Blake diverts his gaze to my mom. He suspires, and his voice is calm. "Haylee, you're being too harsh on her. She's old enough to date."

My mother shoots her eyes to Mr. Xander, and at this moment she appears unrecognizable. "I will reprimand my own daughter Mr. Blake, it has nothing to do with you nor your son." Then her eyes narrow at him, as if a thought just flashed across her mind, and her finger motions between Blaze and me. "Hold on, you knew this was going on, Blake?"

His expression is culpable as he opens his mouth and closes it.

She takes his guilty reaction as confirmation and continues. "Oh my God, so all along, you knew this, Blake? You knew they were fooling around and you kept it from me? I even left my daughter here thinking I could put my faith in you but all along you were covering up their inappropriate behavior. How could you let me down like this? You knew all along that your son was messing around with my daughter!"

Blaze's face hardens. "I am not messing around with her, your choice of words is very unfitting."

"Blaze, stay out of it." Mr. Xander warns him again. "Haylee, listen. The kids are obviously in love. Just leave them be. They found each other before us and they deserve to be happy..."

My mom doesn't like the sound of that. She turns her face away from Mr. Blake and grasps my wrist so painfully, I wince. "Come, we are leaving right now, Harmony Skye!"

Her hold is firm, and I feel like my wrist might be disintegrated as she pulls me with her toward the door.

Blaze motions around his dad and grips onto my opposite hand, and my mom halts her steps to look at him in disbelief. "What are you doing, young man?"

"Blaze." Mr. Blake sighs. "Let her go."

"Care to tell me where you're taking her?" Blaze challenges, and I bring my face up to look at him. He's so impressive and dazzling right now.

My mother swallows. If there is anything she hates, it's a challenge. "I suggest you let her go."

"Blaze, let her go." Mr. Xander enjoins, but his son is too focused on glaring at my mom to heed his instructions.

"Let my daughter go!" She orders.

"No, you let her go Mrs. Skye, can't you see that you're hurting her?" Blaze continues, and my mom snickers, shaking her head.

"Just because you saw her naked, does not mean you have the right to own her now, kid. She's my daughter, I call the shots."

"Then if you love your daughter, just leave her alone. She deserves to be happy and we are happy together."

I smile up at him, appreciating the feeling of his hand tightly enclosed around my wrist.

He's fighting for me. He's even going against my Mom for me.

"I am sorry, but I need to protect my daughter from you," she states simply. "I am saving her the heartbreak and I am saving you the trouble of having to drop her later."

"I wouldn't do that. You know nothing about me."

"Exactly," she sneers. "Exactly why I should take her with me. I know nothing about you...and apparently," she brings her eyes to Mr. Xander's. "I didn't know your father either."

"Haylee," Mr. Blake sighs, and she ignores him and yanks my hand forcefully away from Blaze's grasp, then drags me with her like I am nothing but a rag doll.

A whore of a rag doll, if we are to use her labels.

••

Harmony's sorrowful green eyes latch onto mine as her mother drags her feircely through the door. Anger expands within me, and my jaw clenches as I gesture to follow, but my dad steps into my path instantly, pressing a disapproving palm against my chest.

"Do not, Blaze."

"What do you mean, Blake?" My brows furrow. "Did you not see how she slapped her? What if she does it again? I can't have that—"

I try to go around him, but he grips my arm tightly. It's taking everything within me not to punch him in his nose right now.

"Stop it. She's her daughter Blaze, give them space."

"Space to do what? Taunt the poor girl?"

"Just let it go."

"I am sorry, I can't do that, do you know how mad it made me to see her do Harmony like that?!"

"I know it hurts, and I know you feel like you have to 'save her' but Haylee is her mother. She is allowed to do whatever she wants to her. We can't intervene."

"Well if someone had intervened when Liz was beating the fucking shit out of me in the past, maybe I wouldn't have ended up so crazy and mentally deranged. I don't want anything happening to Harmony, especially because of me!"

Blake sighs. "She will be fine, just give them some space then you can call Harmony later and check if all is well. And you backtalking the woman was partially disrespectful."

"How was it?" I screw my face up at him. "I didn't tell her to go fuck herself now, did I?"

"No you didn't, but you hindering her was out of your post."

"It wasn't, as someone who cares for Harmony, it is my right. Maybe if you had just given even a tiny bit of fuck, just a little bit for me, then maybe I wouldn't have become a sociopath." I throw that at him before walking out angrily.

He lets out a loud sigh behind me, but I could care less at this moment. I am still trying to find it within me to forgive him for what he did.

••

"You are not going to see him anymore!" My mom orders, opening the door and throwing me in against the passenger's seat. "Stay far away from him! You disgust me!"

She slams the door so hard the car jerks before she storms around to her side and gets in, snapping her seatbelt hastily as if she's trying to get away from a house of mobs. "You are so disappointing and distasteful, Harmony Skye! I shouldn't have sent you to that wretched school in the first place!"

She starts up the engine, and I wipe my eyes, sobbing softly in my seat as she drives away, very fast may I add that I have to grip the straps of my seatbelt, the tears flying from my eyes.

"Out of all the boys, you chose Mr. Blake's son! You're still immature Harmony that wants to eat everything from her mom's plate!"

I shoot my eyes to her. What is that supposed to mean?

"You didn't want his son until I told you how I feel about the man! I don't deserve to be happy now, do I?! You're the only one who should feel love and be loved and I am suppose to just take care of you and not have a life outside of you and your brother! You just had to spread your legs to ruin my happiness! You have no self respect and no self worth!"

"Mom, stop it!" I finally retort. "Your words are offensive and I fell in love with Blaze first! I met him first!"

She turns her face to stare at me in awe. "Do not back-answer me over some college boy, Harmony Skye. When he leaves you to date a more level-headed girl who makes him fight for what is between her legs then you will understand that back-talking your mother for a boy was stupid and unwise! I am paying for your tuition and while I am working hard, God knows how many other boys you were on top of!"

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"Then stop making me have to talk to you like that, by acting like this little...." She rakes me up and down then focuses back to the road.

"Like this little what? This little whore? Say it Mom, you already said it enough!"

Her face shows no sign of remorse. "Yes, a little whore! And just so you know, you won't be attending that college anymore! After that little musical you have coming up, you will be enrolled into a different institution! An 'only girls' institution, where there will be no boys for you to sit on top of!"

I glare at her in awe, tears slipping from my wild eyes. "Wh-what? You cannot do that!"

"Of course I can young lady. Why? I am your mother! I call the shots! My money is paying for everything, even that clothes you're wearing and even the underwear you took off so Mr. Blake's son could take advantage of you! It will backfire! He will leave you for someone else!"

"You don't know anything about us!" I yell.

"Oh I know all there is to know!"

"You can't quarrel with me just because Mr. Blake doesn't want to be with you!" I shriek. "That's unfair and immature! You are using your hurt and emotions to bruise my feelings, and I don't deserve it! Dad must be looking down, feeling so grateful that he died because being with you must have been a secret nightmare! You don't think before you talk and maybe that is exactly why Mr. Blake does not want you!"

The car is silent after my rant, and I realize how harsh those words really were. I wish I could take them back, but that's impossible.

A deep hurt flashes across her face for a second, then her stern countenance resurfaces. "After you finish that musical, I am enrolling you into 'Hayston's Institution For Girls', so say goodbye to all the bad friends you made at Homewood and Mr. Blake's son whom you opened your legs so efforlessly for because you will not be seeing them anymore."

I look out the window, and a warm tear streaks down my cheek.

This just isn't fair.