"T-that...," Anthony stammered with his head lowered.
The way he played with the tip of his finger made Joanna realise that something was wrong.
"What did you hear or see that made you want to sleep in my room tonight?" Joanna asked the boy who dared not look at her face for reasons best known to him.
"Anthony Anderson, you better stop playing the mute game on me and tell me the reason you said you want to sleep here so you can protect me," Joanna said sternly when she saw that her soft approach didn't work on Anthony.
"Who or what do you want to protect me from?... You better tell me the truth because this is the last time I will be asking you this question," Joanna ordered in an intimidating tone.
"Grandma will spank me if she learns that I told you about it...,"
"I won't tell her anything and I promise you that she will not overhear anything we will say here so go on and tell me what she did hmm," Joanna said.