Gemotions

The email arrived at 3 AM. He’d woken up, heart racing for no reason. It was a link to his girlfriend, Chloe's, new book. He hadn't known she was writing a novel. The first chapter described him, in excruciating detail, as a passive, indecisive man, forever in need of rescuing. A shudder went through him.

He read on, each sentence a stab. The plot revolved around a woman who, in his view, was completely in the wrong, and was always being forced to make up for a useless boyfriend. Her internal monologue, filled with contempt for his perceived weaknesses, was a punch to the gut. The air in the small apartment suddenly felt thin and hard to breathe.

He got out of bed, and felt a pressure inside his head. He started pacing, then threw the phone against the wall. The screen cracked, a spiderweb of damage mirroring the cracks forming in his image of her.