Chapter 4 The doctor's words sent Mom into tears . I wiped her face and told her it was Dad who had hit me . [ ] " Mom , I don't want to live with them anymore . I want to go with you . I don't care if I have to sleep on the floor ! ] My crying broke Mom's heart . When we got back home , we found Dad and Casey eating dinner like nothing had happened . ] Mom went straight to the bedroom and discovered there was no longer a place for me there . My " bed " was just wooden boards set up in the living room . [ ] Mom trembled with rage . She walked over and flipped the entire dinner table , then slapped Dad hard across the face ! " Dave , Let's get divorced ! " ] Dad's face turned ugly . " Jenna , have you lost your mind ? " " Yes , I have ! Riley has lost hearing in her right ear because you hit her . You've been abusing my child . You don't deserve to be a father ! " ] Dad was stunned . " What did you say ? " " That's impossible . She must be faking it " ] Their shouting attracted the neighbors , who gathered around our door . Hearing my parents ' argument , they started speaking up one after another . ] " You don't know the half of it . Mrs. Chen . When you're gone , her dad often doesn't feed Riley . All the good stuff goes to Casey ! " " The poor girl has to beg for scraps from different neighbors . It's so heartbreaking . " " Kids need their mothers . Look what's happened to her in such a short time . " Hearing the neighbors ' accusations , Mom became even more furious . " Dave , either you divorce me today , or I'm going straight to the police station to report you for child abuse ! " Dad looked at me without a hint of remorse . [ ] way to her . " ] " Casey is our only princess . Riley needs to learn to give way to " They're BOTH your children ! Why should Riley always have to give way to Casey ? ! || Dad turned to the neighbors crowding our doorway . " This is family business . Stay out of it " ] Everyone fell silent . Mom didn't waste another word - she grabbed a kitchen knife and pointed it at him . " Divorce me or neither of us is walking out of here aliver " ] Dad was fuming too . " Fine ! Let's get divorced " " But Riley stays with me ! " ] He wanted custody of me ? ] No way ! I looked desperately at Mom . She let out a cold laugh and swung the knife right at him ! ] ] Dad barely dodged - the blade whizzed past his temple and embedded itself in the cabinet behind him , leaving him speechless . with shock . ] Mom barked at him : " If you dare try to take Riley from me , I will end your life ! Mom packed our things right away and took me with her . " We're not keeping this broken piece of junk ! " she said , referring to my makeshift bed She shot Dad one last glare before leading me out the door . Unfortunately , her work assignment kept her extremely busy . She dropped me off at Grandma's house and had to rush back . Grandma took one look at my choppy hair and carefully trimmed it into a cute bob . She got me new clothes , and when she learned about my hearing loss in my right ear , she wiped away tears : [ ] " My poor little darling . Your father has lost his mind . Don't pay him any attention from now on . That bastard - I won't even call him my son anymore . " I wiped away Grandma's tears , thinking to myself that Dad would never hit me again . And now that even Grandma had disowned him , he was the real poor one . A few weeks later , Mom came back with a few hundred dollars in her hand . She smiled at me and said , " Your dad is still living in the house I bought . Since he refuses to leave , I made him sign a rental agreement . He has to pay monthly rent now , or he's out on the street . " Mom was so clever ! She gave the money to Grandma to take care of me , as she still needed to continue her work assignment at another city . " Don't worry , Riley . Once I get settled over there , I'll bring you to live with me . We'll be together again ! " I nodded . As long as I didn't have to live with Dad , Casey couldn't bully me anymore .[ ] 0101