Gemotions

The notification blinked: "Chad Miller sent you a friend request." Amelia sighed, a slow, drawn-out exhalation that seemed to deflate her very being. Sunlight warmed the kitchen, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air, but she felt a chill settle in her bones. She reached for her mug, the ceramic cool against her fingertips, and sipped the now-tepid tea, the flavor failing to register. Her thumb hovered over the "Confirm" button. The small, gray square seemed to pulse with a low thrum.

She thought of the scraped knees, the stolen lunch money, the whispered taunts that echoed in her memory. A small tremor went through her.

She tapped the button. It was done. A little weight, she didn't know how to define it, lifted from her chest.