Confused or misunderstood rules.
Caretaker tells Whumpee not to hurt themselves (in reference to attempts at self-punishment). Whumpee gets a paper cut and panics because they’ve accidentally disobeyed, so they punish themselves in secret (hurting themselves far worse), to prevent Caretaker from finding out that they were bad.
Caretaker asks Whumpee not to use the stove or oven on their own because Whumpee is still weak and they don’t want Whumpee to get hurt or accidentally cause a fire. But Caretaker had previously said that Whumpee was welcome to food whenever they wanted. Whumpee takes that combination to mean that they aren’t allowed to eat anything cooked. For a while it’s fine since there’s a lot of food that doesn’t need to be cooked, but eventually Whumpee gets sick from eating something unsafe (raw chicken/turkey?). Caretaker is horrified at their mistake and from then on, overanalyses everything they say to Whumpee, which Whumpee notices and takes to mean that Caretaker thinks they’re stupid.
Whumpee goes outside without letting Caretaker know one day, and when Caretaker finally finds them, they ask Whumpee not to do that again (meaning not to go outside without telling Caretaker first). But Whumpee interprets it as them never being allowed to go outside, unless Caretaker is directly asking them to go somewhere with them. Caretaker might never find out, but Whumpee is terrified to go outside without permission, possibly even to go anywhere at all even inside the house. Caretaker would find out in the latter situation and be devastated that *they* were the cause of a new fear in Whumpee, when they were just trying to keep them safe.
Caretaker asks Whumpee not to answer the phone shortly after they arrive when they see Whumpee have a panic attack the first time the phone rings, intending the rule to be a reassurance. But Caretaker gets unavoidably called away a few months later, and they have to leave Whumpee home alone for the day. Everything is fine for Whumpee until the phone rings in the evening. It’s Caretaker, calling to tell Whumpee that they won’t be home until morning and to tell Whumpee not to worry about them. But Whumpee remembers the rule about not answering the phone (a rule Caretaker had forgotten, so they didn’t tell Whumpee to answer for just that day), and they don’t answer, too afraid of possible punishment, even if they are wondering if Caretaker is the person calling. Caretaker calls again and again, leaving a voicemail each time, which Whumpee hears, but none of the messages tell Whumpee to answer the next call, so they don’t, even as Caretaker’s messages get more and more frantic. Caretaker is miles away and assumes Whumpee got hurt or something else happened to prevent them from getting to the phone. When Caretaker eventually gets home and finds Whumpee perfectly fine, they get mad at Whumpee for ignoring their calls and making them worry. Whumpee might take Caretaker’s anger in silence if they’re still too scared to talk back, or a slightly more confident Whumpee might protest, telling Caretaker they were just trying to obey the rules.
