Gemotions

He nearly dropped the eviction notice, the paper slick in his sweaty palm. His stomach lurched, a cold, sickening sensation. He felt a ridiculous urge to hide it, to crumple it into a ball and pretend it wasn’t real. He looked over his shoulder, even though there was no one there. The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly before him, the other tenants’ doors like watchful eyes.

He imagined the landlord, Mr. Henderson, with his perpetually pursed lips and judging gaze. He pictured the whispered conversations in the elevator, the shared glances, the unspoken judgments. His face burned with a sudden, unwanted warmth. He shoved the notice into his back pocket and hurried back inside, a knot forming in his throat.