Gemotions

The phone vibrated on the bedside table. He saw the name flash on the screen, a name that wasn't hers. A knot tightened in her stomach, a physical thing, twisting and churning. He rolled over, feigning sleep, but the lie felt brittle, thin.

She waited. Every tick of the clock was a hammer blow against her skull. When he finally reached for the phone, she turned away, burying her face in the pillow, her nails digging into the soft fabric. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but the words were trapped, a strangled cry within her. The world had turned upside down.