Gemotions

“I thought I’d be over this by now,” she muttered under her breath. The words were a physical manifestation of the turmoil she felt. It was a decade, at least, since she'd last seen him. The notification had appeared in the corner of her screen. David Carpenter. The boy who'd once convinced everyone she had cooties.

Her shoulders slumped. She let out a small, involuntary sigh. She felt the urge to cry, but she also wanted to laugh. She wanted to scream. She took a deep breath. She felt the blood drain from her face.

She felt a phantom pain in her side, recalling a particularly cruel incident from her youth. She closed her eyes, and then, slowly, reached for the phone, the movement agonizingly slow.