"Don't worry, I can provide for you. If you need to go get your things, you should hurry. Do you want me to go with you?"
Bernice lovingly patted Jacqueline's face. The girl was gaunt, practically skin and bones. That family hadn't treated her niece like a human being. They forced her to do all the heavy, exhausting labor and didn't even let her eat at the table. The fool they lived with often beat her, too. When Bernice had rushed over today, she'd seen the big, burly lout punching and kicking her niece. It made her blood boil.
"That's alright. I can go by myself."
Jacqueline spoke timidly, putting on a worried expression as if she were afraid of being a burden to Bernice. Bernice's expression grew even more tender, her maternal instincts awakening. She took off her own scarf and tied it around Jacqueline's neck, saying softly, "Go on, I'll wait for you here."
"Okay."
