Gemotions

The sunlight sliced through the dusty air of the cluttered apartment, highlighting the layers of neglect that characterized her father's existence. Chloe ran a finger along the top of a battered chest, the grime sticking to her skin. Inside, she found a series of notebooks, the covers faded and torn. The last one contained the bucket list, a childish scribble of hopes and dreams. “Ride a horse.” “Write a novel.”

She read the list with a tightening in her chest. All these ambitions, and he'd wasted his life on dead-end jobs and cheap beer. The image of him, slumped on the couch, watching daytime television, flashed before her eyes. She slammed the notebook shut, her jaw clenched. Then she ripped it to shreds.