Gemotions

She slammed the laptop shut, the metallic clack echoing in the otherwise silent house. Her jaw clenched, a muscle jumping in her cheek. The email notification, bright and insistent, had been the final straw. David Miller. The one who'd spread the vicious rumor about her in high school. The one who had systematically undermined her confidence for years.

Her hands were balled into fists, resting on the kitchen counter. The cheap linoleum felt cold against her skin. She walked to the sink and turned on the faucet, letting the water run, a useless, frantic attempt to calm herself. She stared at her reflection in the darkened window, seeing the tightness around her eyes, the rigid set of her mouth.

She grabbed the bottle of dish soap, squeezing a glob into the sink. The scent, a cheap lemon fragrance, did nothing to soothe her. She scrubbed at a non-existent stain on the counter with a vengeance, the plastic scrub brush scraping across the surface with an abrasive screech. Why, after all this time, was he trying to connect?