At the time Kimmie was holding her water glass, in fact squeezing it … hard. All she remembered was a pop, which sounded like it was coming from behind her. The next thing she knew, water was all over her lap and her mother had jumped up so fast she nearly toppled their entire table over.

Kimmie didn’t feel any pain, but when Danielle grabbed her right hand and wrapped it in a napkin, the white cloth turned red incredibly fast. She was surrounded suddenly by the restaurant manager and two waiters, everyone freaking out over the amount of blood.

And just like that, Kimmie was back in Dr. Becker’s exam room. As she stared at her gauze-wrapped hand, Kimmie noted that she felt a little better, though better might not be the right word. She felt calmer somehow. No, that wasn’t it, either. What she felt was the momentary absence of misery, and the absence felt like nothing, which Kimmie more than welcomed.

Dr. Becker didn’t think stitches were necessary. Instead he used some surgical superglue to seal the deepest of the three cuts on her hand and put Band-Aids on the ones remaining. He sent her mom off to the waiting room. He wanted to talk to Kimmie alone. For the second time in two hours, Dr. Becker stared Kimmie down, peering at her over his fashionable rimless glasses. “Was this really an accident?” he asked softly. “Look me in the eyes and tell me the truth.”

“It was an accident. The glass was defective,” Kimmie said. “It’s not like I’m the female Hulk or anything. It just … happened, I swear.”

Dr. Becker didn’t respond right away and Kimmie panicked. “Oh god, do you think I’m crazy? I read how some people lose it after trying drugs once. Is that what’s happening to me?”

“Kimmie, you’re going to be fine,” Dr. Becker answered in a calm tone. “You’re a strong girl and I want you to know that given everything you told me earlier, what you’re experiencing is normal. Teenage girls have a lot of social pressure these days, and it’s perfectly healthy to have emotional outbursts and freak out. But when healthy crosses the line … that’s when the blood shows up. Self-harm is not okay.”

Kimmie met Dr. Becker’s eyes with her own deadly serious gaze. “It was an accident.”

“Okay, good. Accidents happen. I should know. Now, do you need another heart-shaped lollipop? Normally one is my limit, but it’s Valentine’s Day, so…” Dr. Becker smiled.