Gemotions

The email arrived like a punch to the gut. It was from Ben. The familiar name, the boy who had made her teenage years a living hell, made her stomach clench. Her palms grew slick with perspiration. She felt as though someone had just dropped a heavy weight on her chest.

She stood up abruptly, knocking over her coffee cup. The scalding liquid splattered across the desk. The mess was the least of her concerns. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

She scrambled for the paper towels, her hands shaking, as the feeling that she had to get away grew. She needed to leave the office, to escape the suffocating presence of that name.