Gemotions

The music in the crowded bar faded into a dull drone. Chloe tapped her foot, her smile fixed, brittle. Across the room, David, her David, laughed at something the woman beside him said. She approached them, heart hammering against her ribs, her carefully crafted opening line lost in the sudden, echoing silence of her own ears.

"David?" she said, her voice a little too loud.

His gaze flicked over her, a flicker of something she couldn't interpret – confusion, maybe, or something else. "Do I know you?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

The cocktail in her hand suddenly felt heavy, like a lead weight. She took a large gulp, the alcohol burning a path down her throat.