When I woke up again, I could hear Grandma's voice, thick with suppressed rage.

"Chloe almost died this time! I don't care if you take the dog with you or give him away, but he cannot be around Chloe anymore!"

I struggled to open my swollen eyes. For once, both my mom and dad were standing by my bed.

Mom was biting her lip hard, and Dad said nothing.

"My baby isn't going anywhere. He's not just a dog; he's family!"

Mom's eyes were red. Forcing her to give up the dog was like asking her to cut out a piece of her own heart.

Grandma was so angry she started coughing, slamming her hand on the table in a rare outburst at my parents.

"You two treat an animal like a child, and your own child like an animal! What kind of parents are you?"

The word "animal" cut my mother to the core.

She shot back at Grandma, "I'll say it again, Teddy is not an animal, he's family! I'm only speaking to you calmly right now because you're James's mother, so please, don't cross the line!"

Grandma's long-simmering anger finally erupted.

"You shut your mouth! Do you have any idea how much Chloe has suffered because of that dog? And you two even gave her allergy pills to shut her up! Are you even human?"

In my mind, Grandma was always timid and silent in our house.

This was the first time I had ever seen her this furious, and it was for me.

I clutched Grandma's hand tightly, hoping she would stop being so angry.

I was so scared that Grandma would be blamed again because of me.

Mom was stunned by Grandma's outburst and, for a moment, had no comeback.

After a long pause, she suddenly burst into tears, hitting my dad as she cried.

"What was so wrong about giving her allergy pills? It worked fine before! How was I supposed to know she'd be stupid enough to poison herself? And now that's my fault too?"

"What did you promise me back then? You said if I just had the baby, I could go back to my old life and do whatever I wanted! Now you screw up taking care of her and you turn around and blame me!"

"Did you think I wanted this child? You all forced me to have her, and now you want to use her to trap me for the rest of my life."

"Well, I'm telling you, it's not going to happen! I will not sacrifice myself for a child!"

Dad just stood there while Mom screamed and hit him, not daring to say a word back.

He knew that when it came to having a child, he was the one who owed her.

Mom stormed out, crying.