Chapter 3 - THE BLUE BLUR
The old woman’s right elbow bent backward.
The heavy ceramic plate lifted higher, catching the glare of the recessed ceiling lights.
She aimed the thick, rolled edge of the plate directly at the boy’s brown hair.
Before her arm could swing downward, a shadow tore across the kitchen floor.
The sound of heavy denim rubbing together rushed past the refrigerator.
A woman in a light blue button-up shirt slammed into the edge of the marble island.
The impact sent a bowl of lemons spinning across the counter.
The mother didn't check her balance.
She lunged across the open space.
Her left hand shot outward, her fingers spread wide like a hawk’s talons.
She clamped her hand around the old woman’s wrist.
The grip was absolute.
Her fingernails bit deeply into the fragile, translucent skin beneath the maroon sleeve.
The old woman gasped, her eyes snapping wide open in shock.
The mother twisted her wrist violently to the left.
The old woman’s fingers splayed open.
The white ceramic plate slipped from her grasp.
It plummeted toward the floor.
CRASH.
The porcelain exploded against the marble tiles.
A hundred jagged white shards sprayed across the kitchen, sliding under the cabinets and bouncing off the boy’s sneakers.
The mother did not look at the broken glass.
She didn't look at the children clinging to each other.
She planted her left foot solidly on the floor.
She drew her right arm back, the blue fabric of her shirt stretching tightly across her shoulder blades.
She swung her hand in a wide, flat arc.
Her open palm collided with the side of the old woman’s face.
The sound was a sharp, wet crack that instantly silenced the crying little girl.
The force of the impact snapped the grandmother’s head violently to the side.
Her grey curls whipped across her forehead.
She stumbled backward, her orthopedic shoes squeaking against the tile.
She crashed heavily into the stainless-steel refrigerator, the metal groaning under her weight.
The mother stood perfectly still.
Her right hand hovered in the air for a second, her fingers tingling with a burning heat.
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She slowly lowered her arm, her chest expanding in one long, terrifying breath.
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