The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1038 He Ran Away

Peggy cast a dubious look at her son. "What for? Are you going out?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yes," Allen answered impatiently. "I can't bear to eat that rubbish anymore. It makes me feel sick. I must eat something fresh. Give me the money, mom."

However, Peggy was having none of it and refused to let him go out. "No way! I'm not letting you out. They're looking for us everywhere. If you go out now, you'll be caught. Can't you just try to bear with it for a few more days?"

"I can't bear it anymore," Allen said as he approached her. "Trust me. I'll be careful and come back as soon as possible after dinner."

"No. I won't allow you to leave yourself in danger," Peggy firmly denied him. Even if she had somehow managed to talk him out of his bratty way of speaking, he still wouldn't change his mind.

It seemed that he still hadn't realized the gravity of their situation.

"Give me the money quickly!" he insisted again impatiently, almost rudely. When he saw that Peggy didn't move at all, he lunged forward and quickly snatched the money away from her pocket. As he turned around to leave, her hand reached out to grip his arm.

"Listen, Allen, we can't go out today. Maybe another day..." Peggy tried to convince him one last time.

"Another day, another day! How many another days have you said? I nearly had nothing every day except the damned porridge. I want to eat something healthy now. Look at my face; can't you see how terrible it looks? Let me tell you something I will go and you can't stop me. That's all!" Allen yelled at his mother.

He couldn't take it anymore, so he gave in to his anger. After his last words, he roughly pushed Peggy away, and she fell on the floor. Before she could get up, he took the chance to run away.

Peggy could only sigh and smile bitterly. She slowly stood up, and ate the porridge. After a few moments of silence, she turned to Sue and said, "You can have all the food."

Sue glanced at Peggy and observed her for a bit. "Mom, you have always treated him like a baby. Don't you feel tired of it?" she asked.

"You don't understand," Peggy said sharply. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed deeply once again.

"He's my son. I gave birth to him, so I'm glad to please him. Don't say anything against him! Nothing could come between my son and I. Remember that," she warned.

"I didn't mean to. I just don't understand," Sue said as a wry smile danced across her lips.

The air was silent while Peggy thought for a while. "I can't explain. You wouldn't know the feeling till you have your own boy," she murmured a few moments later.

"Maybe," Sue said. They said no more about it after that. It was clear that Peggy couldn't see anything wrong with her son. Sue just lowered her head and thought about her ill-mannered brother.

She decided that if she ever gave birth to a boy, she would never overindulge him like Peggy did he might turn out the same as her brother.

It was late afternoon, but Allen still hadn't come back. Peggy waited anxiously for him and paced back and forth in the junkyard, her face full of worry and her hands balled into fists. "Where's my son? It's been a few hours already. Why isn't he back yet?" she muttered repeatedly.

Her face suddenly turned pale when an idea crossed her mind. "Something must have happened to him. Did he get caught?" she guessed.

"Don't worry so much about him," Sue consoled her. "If they had taken him away, the police would have found us. He must be safe since the police hadn't shown up.

Maybe he's just playing around and forgot the time. He will be back soon." Sue looked out the window. Peggy craned her neck to look out as well, but there were no signs of Allen.

"Maybe you're right. If they had caught him, they should have come to look for us already," Peggy murmured in an attempt to calm herself down. "We'll just wait and he'll surely be back soon."

It was already nightfall when Allen came back. When Peggy saw him safe and sound, she sighed deeply in relief and rushed out to meet him.

"Oh my boy, you're finally here. I was so worried about you," Peggy said when they got inside. At that moment, nothing was more important to Peggy than her son's safety.

"What are you worried about? Can't you see I'm back?" Allen responded lazily.

The big smile on his face indicated that he was happy. "I told you that I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby anymore."

"For me, you're no more than a baby. You'll always be my boy no matter how old you are. Now, you must promise to stay here and not to leave again. We must be careful in our current situation, or else the police may replace us," Peggy reminded him once again.

"Take it easy. I won't leave from now on," he answered with a smile. "That's my boy. Oh, you must be hungry. I'll cook dinner for you."

Peggy stood up and proceeded to the kitchen. By "dinner" she meant "porridge".

She didn't bother to cook a while ago until her son came back. Now that he was back, she was delighted to make something for him.

She was about to leave when Allen stopped her.

"No need. I've already eaten outside. I have something for you," he said as he handed her two boxes. A sly smile crept at the corners of his mouth. "We'll have vegetables and meat for the next few days." "I know I have a good son." Peggy's eyes shone in delight as she praised him. She felt like she was flattered, and a hearty laugh escaped her lips.

"But still, you can't risk it anymore. We can't be seen by the police at this dangerous time," she warned him again.

"I know, I know," Allen impatiently replied with a wave of his hand.

"Stop nagging at me now and just eat your food. I'm going to check the outside."

Peggy simply smiled and nodded at him, then untied Sue. She handed one of the food boxes to her.

"He does care about us. He's your younger brother and my son after all." Peggy continued to babble.

"Look, the food is still hot." She touched the side of her food box. Peggy continued to prattle on about what a good son Allen was, but soon enough her words simply drowned in Sue's ears.

When Sue opened the box, she was a little surprised to replace that there was only one simple dish-fried cabbage with minced meat. However, Peggy ate it almost gratefully. It was clear that she was so easily pleased by her son.