Gemotions

The balloons for Zoe's party bobbed gently in the breeze, a cheerful facade she could barely look at. Her brother, Ben, was having a party. She looked at the time. Two hours. Two hours until the party was supposed to start. No one had RSVP'd.

Her breath hitched as she imagined the awkward silence, the empty cake, the forced smiles. Her chest felt heavy, as if weighted down by a thousand bricks.

She considered cancelling, but the thought of the disappointment on her parents' faces made her recoil. She felt so vulnerable, so exposed. She knew. This would be a disaster.

The world seemed to shrink around her.