Gemotions

The photograph, a grainy black and white image, stared back at her. A young man with her father’s eyes. A half-brother. Emily tossed the photo onto the already cluttered coffee table, the action snapping the already stretched tautness of her nerves. She picked up a remote and changed the channel. She had wanted to relax, to do anything other than think about the past.

She turned off the television. The silence in the small apartment was almost deafening. Every little noise amplified by her heightened state. She paced the length of the living room, her steps quick and agitated, a caged animal desperate for release. She clenched her fists at her sides, her nails biting into her palms.