Carmen's mouth was dry and had the strangest taste to it when she woke up the next morning. As if she had gargled with old wine and then chewed on mint leaves.
Aunt was ecstatic that Harman was home, she could see the hope in her green eyes. She was whole again, her family was whole again. It had always been hard on her. There were days she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, because she had no idea whether or not Harman was alright. The stress in her voice and weight in her heart disappeared. And it happened to Carmen a little bit too. Even though Harman had sworn several times that he hated his family, it didn't matter.
He was back.
And their whole family was mending. The same way that they broke when he left. And he knew that. Harman knew that better than anyone else. And he took advantage of every piece of hope that he could find. That he created. As he always would.
And when she woke that morning, it was not to the beams of sun shining through her window. It was to the sounds of shuffling and banging. When she heard a door creaking open, she knew exactly what was happening. Throwing a dress over her head, she sprinted out of her room and outside the inn. Pausing for a second, she ran to the right, her bare feet slipping in the cold mud. It was early, her muscles still aching, but she couldn't stop. Because he was breaking her heart again.
"Harman!" She shrieked as she caught sight of a tall man in a yellow tunic.
He turned around, shocked. "Carmen!"
"What are you doing?" She screamed.
"I have to go."
"It's only been one day."
"I know."
"What about me?" The tears slipped down Carmen's face.
Harman sighed.
Carmen burst into tears.
"I have to."
"What about your mother?" Carmen sobbed. "Don't you know how happy she was to see you? How happy the whole family was? We knew that you wouldn't stay forever, but longer than a day at least!"
He walked over to her and hugged her tightly. She let him, even though she didn't want to. "Don't cry. I hate crying."
"Why?"
"It hurts."
"Then are you leaving?"
He ripped her apart to arms length. "Because I hate it!"
"You're an ass!"
Harman smirked. "You always were better at insults."
"This isn't a game!"
"I'll miss you," He hugged her once more, and turned to leave.
"I'll miss you too," she whispered, watching him walk away.
Carmen ran back to her room, wiping the tears off her face. She cleaned the mud off her legs and changed into a different dress. As she slipped on her boots, Carmen realized that she would have to be the one to tell her family what happened to Herman.
She would have to see their pain.
She couldn't do that.
And it was all Harman's fault.
Braiding her hair, she rinsed out her mouth with the water left in the washer. The golden earring that she wore before they entered Paris was at the bottom of her bag. She stuffed it into her purse pocket. Carmen ran out of the inn, rushing to the cathedral. It wasn't the right thing to do. She should have waited up to tell them all, but she shouldn't have had anything to tell them.
