Gemotions

He’d done it, no doubt about it. The telltale crease on the spine of her diary revealed the betrayal. Sarah, her roommate, had been reading her private thoughts. Anger flared, a hot wave that threatened to consume her.

She pictured Sarah, hunched over the pages, likely feeling guilty. And a different sensation bubbled to the surface: empathy. Sarah, after all, had been struggling with homesickness. The distance from her own family was something Sarah never talked about.

Later that evening, as Sarah returned, looking pale, Sarah looked up. "Hey," she began, voice small. "I... I'm sorry." Sarah paused, her voice shaking. Sarah had been planning to apologize all day.

"It's okay," Alex said, though the words tasted like ash. She gestured to the nearly-empty box of chocolate chip cookies on the table. “Want one?”