Violet's Pov:

I was at it again. Out in the garage looking for another object, except this time it wasn't for my benefit.

It was getting darker and darker as the sun set. Just a few rays left over the horizon to give me the light outside. But it wasn't enough for the inside of the building.

Not wanting anyone to know what I was doing, I kept the lights off and pulled out my flashlight that I kept under my pillow. Then I began my search.

I looked in each drawer and cabinet. "Screwdriver, no. Hammer, no. Wrench, no. Pliers, no." I can't seem to find what I'm looking for so I start searching for another option.

I get on my hands and knees and start looking around the floor. I pull out a crate that has some odds and ends in there. I find some rusty nails which are close, but not what I was looking for.

I'm starting to get frustrated and I grit my teeth and let out a long sigh. My grip on my flashlight tightens and I dig my nails into my hand. But it's not enough of a relief. I need more.

I need to cut.

I shine the flashlight across the cement floor one more time and out of the corner of my eye, I see a slight glint in the corner. I rush over and I find what I've been looking for.

Glass.

Laying on the floor is a broken piece of glass from the door of an old cabinet that's a couple of inches long. It's not big but it's enough.

I roll up my sleeve to reveal my scarred arm. I set the flashlight down and pick up the piece of glass. I lift it up and stare at it in the light and I can see my breath billow out in white puffs as I take in shaky breaths. It has a sharp point at the end which is perfect.

I take in a deep breath before I touch the point to my skin. Then all of a sudden I drag the shard down swiftly. It leaves a white mark but no blood shows. I hadn't done it hard enough.

This time I go in for the blow and I stab the glass into my arm. I tense at the pain, but after the sudden shock, it starts to feel good. And I drag it down my arm again. A thin stream of blood starts to appear and I feel satisfied. So I do it again and again and again.

Blood streaks, like claw marks, coat my arm. Just like when my dad had thrown glass at me. But this time I don't feel the pain. It's soothing to me as I rake the shard down my arm. The glass is now coated in red and I drop it on the ground. My arm is now bleeding profusely and I grasp it with my other hand trying to stop the blood flow. But my hand comes away slick with blood.

I start to panic as I realize that my arm is totally red. I'd only meant to cut a little, but the sensation had felt so good.

It had been another terrible night, filled with nightmares about my father. I'd been stressed all day and everything had only made it worse. No one understood and my friends didn't help. So I was left with only one choice. Self-harm.

Thought I'd found a way. Thought I'd found a way out. But it never goes away. So I guess it's gonna stay now. Oh, I hope someday I'll make it out of here. Even if it takes all night or a hundred years. I needed a place to hide from it all but couldn't find one near. I hate that I had to resort to this.

Now I was faced with a situation. I didn't want to get caught by my mom with my arm all bloody. I didn't want her to know I had done self-harm. So I was left with one choice.

I slid my hoodie sleeve back down and then applied pressure to my arm. The shirt fabric soaked up the blood and left dark red stains across my arm. But it was slowing the bleeding which was good. Next, I turned off the flashlight and stand up. Then I carefully exit the garage.

It was dark outside but I could see the lights on in the house knowing that my mom was still inside and awake. So I sprint through the backyard and down the driveway and I run down the sidewalk. I don't look back, hoping that I wouldn't get caught.

I kept running until I made it through the familiar neighborhood that belongs to my girlfriend. I result to speed walking as I go down her street. It's dark outside but it's still early and I'm hoping that I don't run into anyone on my way in.

I pull out my key and unlock the Everett's front door. But as luck would have it Lee is sitting in the living room watching TV as I walk in. "Violet, is that you?"

I quickly hide my arm behind my back and I nod as I come into view.

Lee doesn't seem to notice and he smiles at me. "Clem's upstairs in her room." He tells me.

I nod and turn around and carefully head up the stairs, hoping I don't alert AJ to my presence. I can hear him in his room from behind the door as he plays with his toys. But I bypass his room and head to the one across the hall.

I can see light from under the door so I know Clem is still up. I slowly open the door and I walk into the room shutting it behind me. I can see Clem in bed reading a book, but she looks up as I enter. "Hey, Vi." She smiles at me. "Whatcha up to babe?"

I hide my arm from her and slowly approach the bed. She pats the spot next to her for me to sit down. "Did you come to cuddle with me again?" She jokes.

I shake my head no and I bite my lip out of nervousness. I'm so scared to show her. But I know Clem can tell somethings up by the way she studies me. "What's wrong Vi?"

I bite my lip again and shake my head. I'm scared about how she's gonna react. I don't want to be in trouble. But at the same time, I need my arm to be patched up.

Clem sends me a comforting smile. " It's okay. Baby, you can tell me. What's ...wrong..."

Clem's words stop as I slowly reveal my arm. She can see the dark red stains on my hoodie. But I don't stop there as I gently roll up my sleeve to reveal my wounds.

I can see Clem's eyes widen and her voice shakes as she speaks. "Vi-Violet..."

Her eyes lock onto mine and suddenly I see rage cross her face. I quickly roll my sleeve back down and hide my arm once more out of fear. Was she angry with me?

But her next words surprise me. "Violet who did this to you?"

She thought someone else had done this but it wasn't true. So I shook my head no.

Clementine throws off the covers and steps out of bed. "I'll find out in a minute. Right now we need to get you patched up. Come with me." And she takes my hand.

Clem leads me across the hall and to the upstairs bathroom. She flips on the light and closes the door behind me so we have some privacy. Then she turns to me with her hands on her hips. "Take off your sweatshirt Vi. I wanna see your arm."

I do as she says and carefully remove my hoodie leaving my arm exposed. I toss my hoodie aside and then Clem takes my arm in her hands. My skin is dyed red from the blood, but four red and bleeding gashes on my arm are frightful to look at.

"Oh, Violet," Clem says with sympathy in her voice.

Then she turns on the sink and waits till the temperature is lukewarm. Then she pulls me over and helps me rinse the blood off my arm.

The sink runs like a red river and I almost gag at the sight a few times. Once my arm is clean Clem turns off the water and I'm just left with four gashes on my arm. Then she opens the medicine cabinet and pulls out a bottle that I'm all too familiar with.

Peroxide.

"I'm sorry Vi, but this is going to sting a lot." She tells me.

I nod. I know what it does and I'm not happy with it. But I know this is necessary for cleaning my arm. I could risk a serious infection if I don't take care of it properly.

So I hold my arm over the sink and I nod to Clem to tell her to pour the peroxide. She does and I grit my teeth at the pain. My arm fizzes with white bubbles as the peroxide works its way into my wounds. It stings but I let the substance bubble knowing it was cleaning out any infection present.

Once Clem seemed satisfied she reached back into the cabinet and pulled out a roll of white bandages. "Time for the fun part." And I held still as she wrapped my arm up. "You're lucky you don't need stitches, Vi. This could have been a lot worse."

Stitches. I hadn't even thought of that. How could I have been so stupid?

Once she was done she put the rest of the bandaging away then turned to me with her hands on her hips. A sign that she was being serious. "Now you want to tell me who did this?"

I look away shyly not meeting her gaze. "Was it your mom?" She asks me, and I shake my head. "Well, then who was it?"

I look up at her and tears fill my eyes. And I see Clem's face turn into a frown as she pieces things together. "Violet, you didn't..."

I nod as tears fall down my cheeks. I sit down on the toilet lid and I just allow myself to cry. I'm so scared that Clem is mad at me now.

But instead, she kneels in front of me. "Baby why would you do something like that? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

I only cry harder at this because I now see how stupid it was of me to do it. It just felt so good to get my frustration out at the time. But Clem continues to talk to me in kind. "Baby, why didn't you come to me sooner. I could have helped you. Why did you do this?"

I pull out my phone from my pocket in order to type out a response. "I had another bad night and nothing was working. So I took my frustration out on myself. I'm so sorry."

I hand her the phone and she sees what's written. "I'm sorry that happened Vi, but I don't want you hurting yourself because of it. That's not good."

I look down at my shoes in shame. I feel really bad that I've upset her. I just hope that she wasn't mad at me.

"I'm just happy that you're okay now," Clem tells me. "But I don't want you doing this anymore. Okay?"

I nod and wipe some tears from my eyes. "Good." Clem seems satisfied and she stands back up. " You want to go and cuddle now? I think it'll make you feel better."

I nod and she helps me up and we head across the hall to her bedroom again. I text my mom and tell her that I'm staying at Clem's house tonight before I crawl into bed with Clementine. She scoots over and I cuddle up to her. I lay my head against her shoulder and I see Clem pick her book back up. Which I don't mind. I'm just happy to be here next to her and I drift off while she reads.