Gemotions

The blood drained from his face. His personal thoughts, his vulnerabilities, all laid bare. The journal, open on the desk, the ink still visible and wet. Across the room, Michael, his roommate, was fiddling with his earbuds, his gaze averted. A wave of nausea swept over him.

He took a step backward, then another. He felt a sudden, desperate urge to escape the confined space. “Michael,” he managed to whisper, the word catching in his throat. Michael slowly looked up, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. “Yeah, dude?” The question echoed in the sudden, expectant silence. He felt trapped.