.jewel.
I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel.
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real.
The needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting.
Try to kill it, all away
But I remember everything.
-Hurt, Johnny Cash covering Nine Inch Nails
A father never forgets.
He doesn't mean to watch her, but the the glint of the silver-encased emerald holds his eyes. Her hands dip in and out of the dishwater. She hums lightly to herself. The engagement ring on his just of-age daughter makes him want to weep for loss. He bites his lip, not making a sound. Her long, dark hair is kept at bay at a messy knot at the back of her head.
Then something else enters his field of vision, and he is taking long strides quickly toward her. She opens her cupid-bow mouth in surprise as he reaches over and turns off the water in the sink. He grasps her elbows, turning the sides of her arms up to the light.
There, deep pink and purple lines climb her arms like ladders. Fresh slices criss-cross ivory skin, jagged and raw at the edges. Her face burns.
"Baby," he whispers, eyes held captive in horror as he stares at her arms, "what did you do?"
She stares up at him through her lashes. Ashamed, she tries to pull away from him, but he waits until she tires herself out from thrashing, the way he used to when she was a toddler. He wraps his arms so tightly around his little fairy. This is all it takes; she begins to cry.
"I'm sorry, daddy," she sobs into the front of his robes, "I'm so sorry."