Gemotions

It had been a particularly bad day. He'd woken up with a knot in his stomach, the world feeling wrong. Then the ping. A friend request from Kevin Peterson. He stared at it, the blood draining from his face. Kevin, the boy who delighted in tormenting him.

The apartment was cold, the heat having switched off hours ago. He hadn't bothered to turn it back on. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn yesterday, and the day before. The fatigue was a physical thing, dragging him down.

The request felt like a personal affront, a deliberate act of cruelty. He felt a deep, abiding sadness, a sense of worthlessness that clung to him like a second skin. He found himself unable to move.