Gemotions

The eviction notice lay on the kitchen table, a stark white intruder in Leo’s cluttered domain. He’d barely glanced at it before, but now, he found himself repeatedly going back to it, his eyes devouring each phrase. His jaw muscles clenched, a dull ache spreading through them. He slammed his fist down.

He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it down, as if that could somehow calm the rising tide within him. The apartment, usually a haven of comfortable mess, now felt like a prison. The walls seemed to be closing in, the shadows growing longer. He needed to be *somewhere* else.

He knew he should start packing, start making calls. But the thought of tackling the task, of all the uncertainty that lay ahead, made his chest tighten. He found himself staring out the window, a dull throb behind his eyes. The city lights seemed to mock him, a glittering, unattainable world.