Gemotions

The neighbor, a gossipy woman with too much free time, had cornered him at the mailbox. “Oh, did you hear? About the… incident?” The words hung in the air, weighted with malicious glee. David felt his face flush with heat. He wanted to tell her to mind her own damn business. He wanted to shout. He wanted to disappear. He simply gritted his teeth and walked away, the blood pounding in his ears. Back inside, he grabbed a hammer and began pounding nails into the wall, the rhythmic strikes the only way to silence the unwanted chatter in his head.