Gemotions

He’d seen the photo online. A selfie, angled to show off the freshly inked serpent winding its way up the man’s leg. It was, unmistakably, his design. A sketch he’d created years ago, now rendered permanent. The man’s grin, so expansive, felt like a threat.

His chest felt tight, constricted. He hadn’t felt this sort of tension since… well, since that night. He shut down the laptop. The image lingered, burned onto his eyelids. He wanted to scream, to lash out, but the words caught in his throat.

He started pacing, a frenetic energy coursing through him. He checked the locks on his doors again, even though he had just done so. The shadows in his apartment seemed to lengthen, to shift and change in the dim light. He felt the prickle of eyes on him, even though he knew he was alone.