"We are family. With family, thanks are not necessary," Andy replied reassuringly. After a short moment of silence, he looked at Sheryl and added, "Don't worry. I will inform you once I hear anything."
"Thank you very much." Sheryl made sure to express her gratitude. She bid Amy goodbye before going back to Dream Garden. When she arrived, she was surprised to find Charles already standing at the gate, waiting for her.
Sheryl couldn't believe it. She looked at her watch. "It's so late. Why are you still up? You didn't need to wait for me." After such a long day, Sheryl felt beyond exhausted. In addition, she was not at all ready for surprises. Finding out that Charles hadn't slept either definitely was a surprise.
Charles held Sheryl's hand and said, "I heard about…" Suddenly, he was unsure about how to proceed. But looking at Sheryl's eyes, he found his voice again. "I heard about what happened to Sue," he continued.
Sheryl did not respond. Charles kept his eyes locked on Sheryl and added, "Don't worry. I have someone investigating this matter. And I will let you know as soon as I hear anything new."
"Thank you," Sheryl managed to say softly. The weariness in her voice rang in Charles' ears.
Somewhere in the east of the city, light from the moon illuminated the roof of a deserted garage.
Sharp pain shot across Sue's lower back from her hands being tied behind her back. She straightened her back to get rid of the pain. Immediately, it was gone. But she knew it wasn't for long.
A few feet from her sat Allen and Peggy. Peggy had managed to find potatoes from God knew where and had roasted them promptly. After carefully arranging them on a makeshift plate, she handed a bunch of these over to Allen and said, "My son, at least have a bite. It's only a matter of time before we get out of this damned place."
"For the last time, stop forcing me to eat those disgusting things!" Allen exclaimed, pushing Peggy's arms away. Some of the potatoes, still smoking, fell onto Peggy's hands and arms before falling to the ground and rolling in the dirt. Peggy yelped in both pain and shock.
Hearing Peggy's shrill cry of pain, Allen quickly realized he had hurt his mother. He immediately felt guilty and went to her aid. "Mom are you..." He looked for signs of burns or bruises on his mother's skin. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. I'm fine." Peggy shook her head slightly. She held on to the makeshift plate, which now held much less food for the both of them. Then she put on a big smile and added, "It's nothing. It's just that they were still too hot. I will be feeling much better later on. Don't worry."
Allen then heaved a deep sigh of relief. "You can have those." He motioned at the remaining potatoes. "I'm not hungry anyway."
"I know you must be sick of having these potatoes every single day." A breath of resignation escaped Peggy's lips. Allen didn't want to look at her. "Listen to me," Peggy continued. "We are running and fighting for our lives. We are fortunate enough to still have food to eat. If you don't eat now, how could you have the energy to go any further? The most important thing for us to do right now is to survive. Once we leave the country, you can eat whatever you want." Peggy had to keep pleading Allen to eat.
"But I really don't want to eat these any more," Allen replied with a disgusted expression on his face. He looked at the potatoes; a decision he immediately regretted. He was just so sick of them. "Since we started trying to get away, I have never had anything but these. Look at my face! It's almost the same color as these potatoes! If this goes on, I'm gonna go crazy."
He paused, looked around, and continued, "And if we spend another second in this place, sooner or later, I will go crazy."
"I know, I know," Peggy accepted defeat. She was left with no other choice but to nod her head. After taking a moment to think, she said, softly, "I know it's unfair that we have to hide out here. But you also know that if you want to eat anything else, that means having to go out. And leaving, even for a short while, can mean danger, even death, for the both of us. And what's more, we don't even have any money right now. So just hang in there. I know you don't want these now, but keep them handy in case you feel hungry later on. After a coupe of days, we..."
Instead of finishing her sentence, she handed the remaining potatoes over to Allen. She would rather starve herself than her son.
"I already told you! I don't want any more of these disgusting things! Why can't you understand that?" Allen's voice echoed within the walls of the garage. Running out of patience, he pushed Peggy's arms away again and yelled, "Eat them yourself! Leave me alone."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Real Wedded Bride