Gemotions

The request blinked on the screen, a digital phantom from a past he couldn’t escape. It was from Gary, who had revelled in tormenting him. He still remembered the sting of his words.

His small, isolated house was cluttered, reflecting a life lived in isolation. He was unemployed, his days filled with inactivity and inertia. He'd barely left the house in weeks.

He felt an overwhelming need for approval, for direction. The request was a chance, perhaps, to mend a fractured past, to finally get it right. It was a dark, seductive thought.