Chapter 2 - Blocking the Doorway
My hands were shaking, but I reached into my apron pocket with my free hand and pulled out my phone. The little girl whimpered, burying her face deeper into my chest as I dialed.
Seeing the phone, the grandmother panicked. "Claire, stop this! If you call the police, it will destroy this family."
"You destroyed it the second you laid hands on her," Claire fired back.
The great-aunt realized the situation was rapidly collapsing. She abandoned the argument and moved toward the door. "Helen, grab the suitcase. We’re leaving."
"No, you aren't," Claire said. She shifted her weight, planting herself firmly in the doorway of the motel room. She was a slender woman, exhausted by months of pediatric oncology wards, but at that moment, she looked like an immovable wall.
"Move, Claire," her mother demanded, stepping aggressively into her daughter’s personal space.
"911, what is your emergency?" the dispatcher’s voice echoed thinly from my cell phone.
"I need police at the Starlight Motel, room 114," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "Two women are attempting to kidnap a pediatric cancer patient. There has been a physical assault."
Hearing the word kidnap, the great-aunt lunged. She didn't go for Claire; she went for the little girl in my arms. She thought if she could just grab the child, they could force their way out.
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I turned my back to her, taking a sharp blow to my already bruised shoulder, shielding the child with my entire body. Claire screamed and grabbed her aunt by the hair, throwing her backward into the television stand. The TV rattled violently.
"Don't you ever touch her again!" Claire roared.
