"Antony is right. You should go upstairs and get some rest," Laura echoed as she turned to face Sue.
Sue headed up the stairs and went into their bedroom. Perching on the edge of the bed, she stared blankly ahead. She had met Peggy and Allen in the day, and they were alive for now.
But since her mother and brother were visibly thinner, she inferred that they must be having a hard time even getting food to eat. However, she had to understand that, family or not, they were not her concern now. And she needed to focus on resting, not the fate of those two heathens.
Anthony urged his mother to keep an eye on Sue in his absence. After having a little talk with Laura, he ascended the stairs to the second floor. As he entered the room, he found Sue sitting on the bed in a daze. He walked over to her and hugged her tenderly.
"What's going on? Are you still worried about them?" Anthony asked tenderly with nothing but love in his eyes.
His voice drew her out of the trance. Sue forced a smile and replied honestly, "Yes. They don't see me as their family, but they are my kin. They are in trouble now. I am afraid that they..."
"Don't bother yourself with this anymore," Anthony comforted. "You need not worry yourself with their foolishness anymore. The fact that they call themselves bold enough to threaten you, means that they are not as bright as they think they are. I am going to take care of them. They will never bother you again, and they will not get anywhere near close enough to you to bring harm to you or our baby!"
Although Sue nodded her head in acknowledgement at him, he could still see her apprehension and understood that she was still anxious about them.
He convinced her to go to sleep and tucked her in. Once he realized that Sue had completely fallen asleep, he quietly let himself out of the room and gave Sheryl a call. He invited her to his house to spend some quality time with Sue and offer her some kind words to comfort her and help her to not worry herself on account of her deviant mother and brother.
'After all, Sue might actually listen to Sheryl's advice more than mine, ' he thought.
Sheryl agreed without any hesitation. The following day was Saturday and she got up early, got dressed and dropped by Antony's house.
As she rang the bell, Laura opened the door. Watching Sheryl walk upstairs, Antony's mother prepared a tray of fruit. She brought it for the young women and left them alone to talk.
"Hello, Sher, what are you doing here?" Sue asked, dumbfounded. It was a bit unusual for Sheryl to stop by on a Saturday morning. After all, Sheryl had come by the other day.
As Sue was about to sit up, Sheryl dashed forward and stopped her. "Oh no. Don't try to get up. Just stay in bed," she suggested.
"I'm fine," Sue said calmly.
"I don't think so," Sheryl snapped with a frown. "Anthony told me what happened to you. If he hadn't come to you in time, you and your baby would have been in grave danger."
Lowering her head to look at her belly, she patted it gentlely. She felt sorry to have put her child in danger.
"You are lucky that both you and your child are okay. Otherwise..."
"Yes, thank God that my baby is safe and sound," Sue returned with a hint of delight.
Sheryl settled herself on the edge of the bed, and took Sue's hand. Her eyebrows arched as she began, "Antony told me what your mother and Allen did to you... I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Sue assured her bestie. She looked up at Sheryl and continued, "I don't give a damn about it. Really."
"I don't want to see you suffer. But it's a fact and you have to face it." Sheryl observed Sue's facial expression as she continued, "They don't deserve your care and love. You are really a fool. They are so bad to you, but you are still worried about them. You have to let them go."
"I know that," Sue responded with a self-mocking smile. "I know I should just leave them alone. But I'm just not able to do this."
"Leave Peggy and Allen to Anthony. He will make sure they are taken care of," Sheryl exhorted. With a glance at Sue, she advised, "All you need to do is take care of yourself and have a baby. Don't bother yourself with other unnecessary things."
"I don't want to think about them, but I can't help it," Sue responded with a wry smile. 'I should get them out of my mind, but it's very hard, ' she thought.
"But you have to," Sheryl said commandingly as she took a stern look at Sue. "When I got pregnant, I was drugged and I found it hard to keep sober. But I got through it with my strong will. I can make it, and I believe you can do it as well."
As her bestie didn't say anything, she continued, "You can do it but you are not willing to do it."
"You child is lucky. If you get in trouble next time, your baby will be in danger too. What if anything happens to your child? It will be too late. So you should stop meddling with their matters and let them mind their own business," she added.
Sheryl shared her pregnant days with Sue in vivid detail. She had mentioned it to her friend roughly once.
After hearing Sheryl's story, Sue was awestruck.
"Sher, I can't even imagine how you made it through all of that," Sue said with a frown.
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