Chapter 5: One Word, One Slap
“No?” My mom laughed again, louder this time, meaner. “You think you have a choice? You think you can just show up here with nothing, ruin my things, talk back to me, and I’ll just let you stay? You’re living under my roof. You follow my rules. End of story.”
“I won’t let you treat my daughter like garbage,” I said, and my voice didn’t shake even a little bit. “I’ve done everything you asked. I’ve cooked, cleaned, spent every dollar I have trying to pay you back. I’ve swallowed my pride so many times I don’t even know what it feels like to stand tall anymore. We’re here because we have nowhere else to go—not because we want your handouts, not because we want to be a burden.”
My father stepped closer, stepping right between my mom and me. The kitchen went dead quiet. Even the fridge seemed to stop humming for a second.
“Watch your mouth, girl,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “You’re in no position to make demands.”
“Or what?” I shot back, and I was surprised at how brave I sounded. “You’ll throw us out anyway? You already said that.”
His hand moved faster than I could process. One second I was standing there, staring him right in the eye. The next, pain exploded across my cheek, bright and hot and blinding. I stumbled sideways and hit the floor hard, my head cracking against the cabinet corner. My ears rang like a thousand bells were going off at once, and I tasted blood where my lip had split open.
“Mom!” Lily screamed, throwing herself on top of me like she could block any more blows. She wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed into my hair. “Stop it! Leave my mom alone!”
My father loomed over us, blocking out the light from the window, that same cold sneer still on his face. “Maybe now you’ll know how to listen,” he said again, like he was teaching a lesson to a misbehaving dog.
Something inside me didn’t break. It didn’t crumble, didn’t cry, didn’t beg. It just… turned ice cold. All the love, all the hope, all the childhood memories I’d held onto for years—they all froze over, right then and there.
I pushed myself up slowly, my legs wobbly, wiped the blood off my lip with the back of my hand, and took Lily’s hand in mine. My fingers were still shaking, but my voice was steady.
“We’re leaving,” I said.
They didn’t stop me. They didn’t ask where we’d go, or offer to help, or even say they were sorry. They just stood there in the doorway, watching, like they were waiting for me to turn around and beg to stay. They had no idea I was finally done asking for anything from them.
