Gemotions

The phone vibrated in Amelia's hand, jolting her. She nearly dropped it. Sunlight streamed through the kitchen window, highlighting dust motes dancing in the air, a fact she'd never noticed before. Her heart thumped a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She glanced at the screen, a new friend request from Mark Jenkins. Mark Jenkins, the boy who used to steal her lunch money and call her names in the schoolyard. Her fingers tightened around her phone.

Amelia’s eyes darted around the room. She felt a prickling sensation on her skin, as if every hair was standing on end. She quickly scanned the familiar space. The chipped mug on the counter, the half-eaten bowl of cereal. Everything seemed ordinary, yet wrong.

She leaned closer, scrutinizing the profile picture. It was him, older, a forced smile plastered on his face. She breathed a shallow breath, holding it momentarily. Why now? After all these years? She needed coffee.