Gemotions

The car keys jangled in Emily's hand as she paced the driveway. The sun was setting, casting long, dramatic shadows. Her son, Ben, had been grounded for two weeks, and she felt like she was constantly on edge. She’d stumbled upon his secret TikTok account that morning, filled with videos of him mocking her and her rules.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm the tremor in her hands. Each inhale felt shallow, insufficient. The sight of those videos, the casual cruelty, had ripped something inside her.

"Of all the nerve," she said to herself, her voice a low growl. She kicked the tire of her car, the metallic clang a sharp punctuation mark. Two weeks seemed like a lifetime, and it wouldn't be nearly enough.