"It's not him I'm worried about right now!" Sherri tugged at her hair in frustration. "I don't know him. I know you. And you aren't going to hurt me. It's... it's horrible that he did that to your wife, it is, but Brian, you're hurting yourself."
Realizing that getting upset at him probably wasn't going to help matters, Sherri lowered her voice to a soothing tone, the one she always thought of as her big sister voice. "I'll stay away from him, I promise. I won't let him hurt me. Just open the door, let me help." He'd given in and started talking, if she could just get him to give in a little more she could at least make sure that he didn't actually hurt himself.