Gemotions

The photograph sat on the kitchen counter, untouched. His father, smiling into the camera, a picture of domestic contentment. The irony was a bitter pill to swallow. The email about the half-sister had felt like a lie. A betrayal.

He avoided his mother’s calls, couldn’t bring himself to talk about it. How could he? The past he had thought he understood had suddenly shifted and become distorted. He felt a deep, abiding ache, a void he didn’t know how to fill.

He picked up the photograph and squeezed it tight. The edges of the paper cut into his palm. He needed to be alone, to make sense of the mess. He slowly put the picture back down and retreated to his room.