Gemotions

The doctor’s words hung in the air, heavy and unreal. “Your father… he had another child, before you. A son.” Ethan felt his vision blur. He gripped the arms of the chair so hard his fingers ached. He was no longer the sole inheritor of his father’s legacy.

He felt a deep tremor, a shudder that ran through his entire body. He wanted to scream. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to disappear. He felt the blood pounding in his ears. He focused on the patterns in the carpet, trying to regain control.

He pictured his father, a man of rigid control and secrets. He saw a hidden layer to the man he thought he had known well. Ethan needed to know this new person. Now.