Gemotions

The chipped mug slammed onto the kitchen counter, splattering lukewarm coffee across the floral print. Sarah snatched a paper towel, but her movements were jerky, inefficient. Across the room, Liam, oblivious, was humming as he packed a box labeled "Kitchen Essentials." The audacity of it! Moving. Across the country. Without even a heads-up.

Her chest felt constricted, a vise tightening with each beat of her heart. She wanted to scream, to lash out, to throw something, anything, just to shatter the facade of cheerful indifference she was trying to maintain. "When were you planning on telling me?" The words, tight and brittle, seemed to scrape against her throat.

Liam paused, a sheepish look flickering across his face. “Well, I… thought I’d tell you when I had all the details solidified. Didn't want to get your hopes up." The explanation felt hollow, inadequate. Her hopes? It wasn’t about her hopes! It was about the gaping hole his departure would leave.