Gemotions

The email arrived like a punch to the gut. Emily saw the name, "Jason Miller," and her hands went clammy. It wasn't a friend request, but a message – a short, bland sentence asking how she was. She could still feel the phantom sting of his words from the school bus, the way he’d publicly ridiculed her art projects.

Emily abruptly stood from her desk, the sudden movement causing her coffee mug to rattle. She felt a burning sensation behind her eyes, the beginning of tears. The sunlight streaming through her window seemed too bright, too intrusive.

She closed her laptop with a snap, the sound echoing in her quiet house. The air was thick, laden with memories she thought she had abandoned.