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As Clementine stirred awake, her surroundings gradually came into focus, and she realized she was in a hospital room. The steady beeping of machines filled the air, mingling with the sound of her own racing heartbeat. With a sense of disorientation, she glanced down at her arms, finding them securely wrapped and her wrists restrained to prevent self-harm.
Feeling a surge of frustration and discomfort, Clementine grunted as she attempted to move her wrists, only to find them firmly held in place. With determination, she reached for the remote control by her bedside and pressed the button for assistance, hoping someone would come to her aid and provide some answers to the whirlwind of questions swirling in her mind.
Clementine watched as her dad and another doctor rushed into the room, her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. "D — Dad? W-What happened?" she stuttered, her voice wavering as she looked between her dad and the doctor.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Lee, I'm your doctor. How are you feeling?" Dr. Lee asked gently, her presence calm and reassuring as she circled around the bed, checking Clementine's vitals.
Ignoring the doctor's question for the moment, Clementine's attention remained fixed on her dad, the floodgates of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke, her voice trembling with remorse. "I'm really sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry," she cried, her words choked with emotion.
Caleb approached his daughter with tears streaming down his face, his heart aching at the sight of her pain. "No, I'm sorry. This is all my fault," he confessed, his voice breaking as he enveloped her in a tight embrace.
As Dr. Lee excused herself from the room, leaving father and daughter alone, Caleb shook his head in self-reproach. "Why would it be your fault?" Clementine asked, her voice filled with confusion and concern.
"I was never here and I wasn't here the first time when you were hurting yourself, and this time, it was worse. It's probably because I'm back," Caleb admitted, his anguish palpable.
Clementine's eyes widened in disbelief as she reached out to him. "No, dad... none of it was your fault. I'm sorry for yelling at you that day... I was mad. You're a good dad, and you were doing your job," she reassured him, her voice trembling with sincerity.
Caleb broke down, his own guilt weighing heavily on him as he sat beside his daughter's hospital bed, finding solace in their shared embrace.
Caleb looked down at his daughter with a mixture of concern and relief etched on his face. "Just explain to me, Clem, why would you hurt yourself? Please, I'm so worried about you. Maybe we should try therapy. I know you don't wanna do it, but it would be really good. We could have you start after the new year starts," he suggested, his voice laced with earnestness as he searched for a way to help his daughter.
