Chapter 2 But now Grandma was gone . She'd jumped in to save a neighbor's kid from drowning and got water in her lungs . Pneumonia set in , She was bedridden for a long time . Right before she died , she told me , " Chloe , honey , stop being stubborn with your parents . " " Deep down , they know they messed up . " They just need a way to save face . " They feel too guilty to deal with you , that's why they left you here with me . " No. They weren't guilty at all - I'd always knew that . ust at my second week at the local school , a new friend noticed my hearing wasn't normal . Grandma took me to the hospital , and that's when we found out I was deaf in one ear . Too late for treatment . I'd need a hearing aid for life . refused to wear it . ' d rather get by with one ear than let everyone see I was disabled . Grandma called my parents and ripped them apart . After she hang up , she told me , " When they get here , Grandma's gonna hit them back for you . " But they never came . Even knowing they'd made me deaf , they didn't show up . Because of work . Because they had to drive Layla to school . They were too busy to get away for me . Bottom line : they just didn't like me . I didn't matter . Grandma said , " Honey , in this life , a lot of things don't have winners and losers . " In the end , you just have to forgive yourself . " Let it go , Chloe . Just let it go . " Ten years . I never called them Mom and Dad once , wen when they visited Grandma on holidays , I wouldn't say a word to them . Ten years , and I never shed a tear over them . But when Grandma said " let it go . " I broke down sobbing . I wasn't ready to give up . They never apologized , never got punished , never made it up to me . Why should I just let it go ? But Grandma was running out of time . So to give her peace , I made a promise , 22:23 From ' Beloved Daughter ' to ' Dead Burden ? Now Watch Your Perfect Family ' BURNI 31.7 % Chapter 2 " Don't worry , Grandma . I'll go home with them . " " It's been so long - 1 don't even care about that stuff anymore . " It was a lie . How could I really not care ? Even if I wanted to stop caring , my ear wouldn't let me . Sometimes it rang - not painful , just this endless noise I couldn't shut off . It drove me crazy . I wasn't trying to hold grudges or cling to old pain . The pain from ten years ago had never let go of me . 22.22