Walking Dead Game Collection

"Harmed Twice"

Title: Harmed Twice
Characters: Clementine, Violet, Marlon, Aasim, Louis
Summary: Violet starts self harming and, to try and get her to stop, Clem does it too. After Marlon, Aasim, and Louis take notice of Clementine's arms, they talk to her about what's going on.
Author's Note: Thank you all for being so considerate of me taking my time off. I'll still be slow coming back, but I'm doing my best. Thank you for being so kind to me through this. I owe you so much.
Requested By: Anonymous
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Clementine had always been more gentle with Violet, but the rest of Ericson never knew why. The rest of Ericson thought it was seemed off.

Out of everyone she could have been close to, could have been gentle toward, could have been sweet to, why Violet? Why the very one that had made her feel anything less than welcome when she and AJ had first arrived? Why?

Clementine could never tell them it was because she had seen those signs before. She knew the warning signs of a shattering human. Of someone so damaged from the soul out that they were cracking and begging. She couldn't tell them that.

She couldn't because she had promised Violet she wouldn't, no matter how badly the silence was killing her.

"Violet, it's okay if you're hurting. You don't need to be hurting like this." She had said.

The first night Clem discovered what was going on, it was storming. Everyone was too panicked to sleep and was clustered in the library, huddling under blankets. Ruby was trying to calm the younger ones. Louis was trying to make them smile. But Violet wasn't there, so Clementine left to find her.

She'd found her in her room, a pocket knife to her wrist, blood scattering the tattered towel beneath her. At the time, Violet said it was because she'd assumed everyone had already gone to their rooms to wait out the storm. After all, on the rare nights that it did storm, there wasn't a lot to do in Ericson. She didn't expect anyone to come looking for her.

"You don't understand, Clem." Violet spat. "This is the only way it stops."

"But the pain for the people that love you only grows."

"That's not true."

Slowly, Clementine had reached out and removed the knife from her palm. Violet didn't fight back, she didn't wrestle with Clementine to let go, she'd just accepted it. Clementine couldn't tell if that meant she wanted it taken away, or if she was too intrigued to see what Clem would do next.

Clementine sliced her own arm.

Violet jumped. "Clem, what--"

"Every time you do it, I do it." She said, eyes fierce, determined, brilliantly bold. "Then you can feel the pain that I feel."

Violet's eyes settled on hers, wavering madly. It heightened as she watched Clementine add another slice.

Ever since, for the month that had passed since they made their deal, Clementine upheld her half of the bargain. Violet hadn't stopped, so neither had Clementine. Every day Clem saw a new cut, she made a point of popping into Violet's room that night, and adding a new soon-to-be-scar to her own.

Every time, Violet seemed pained, but she didn't stop. So, neither did Clementine.

Earlier in the day, Clementine had spotted another fresh cut. Violet had rolled up her sleeves just before she began hauling chopped wood to the fire pit. In classic Violet fashion, she had rolled up her sleeves just before grabbing the wood and tugged them down the instant it was dropped off.