After I Could Hear the Don's Thoughts
His mouth opened and closed slowly, and his words reached my ears one at a time, after a long delay.
The pain stretched it all into a slow execution, a close-up in slow motion.
Richard took my hand, uneasy. "Elise, say something."
His touch woke me.
A pure, physical disgust rose up in me, deep as instinct.
I came back to myself.
I pulled my hand back without thinking.
Then I put everything I had into a single slap across Richard's face.
Crack!
The sharp sound worked like a switch, flipping the whole crowd to silence.
Richard's head snapped to the side.