Gemotions

It was the quietest moment. The click of the mouse, the sudden swell of the words on the screen, a detailed account of her day, her thoughts, her deepest insecurities. She read the first few lines and the air went out of her lungs. The world suddenly narrowed.

She felt a constriction in her chest, like a steel band tightening. Her head swam. She blinked rapidly, as if that would somehow make the words disappear. Her hands, clammy and cold, went to her mouth.

He came in, humming. "What's up?" he asked. She looked at him, at the face she thought she knew, and felt a disorienting sense of unreality. The question bounced off her. She could only shake her head, the words stuck deep inside.