Gemotions

The café buzzed with cheerful chatter, but for Amelia, it felt like an echoing void. She stared at the letter, the words about her half-brother swimming on the page. She felt as though the world had suddenly become unbalanced, that the solid ground beneath her feet had crumbled. Her mother had always been her protector, her confidante, the person who made all the tough choices.

The thought of sharing her mother's attention, of losing her place in her mother’s heart, terrified her. A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She felt a desperate need to cling to the familiar, to the routines that kept her safe. She wanted to run home, to her mother's arms, and shut out the world.