Gemotions

The silence in the car was deafening. Jennifer stared out the window, the passing scenery a blur. The news had detonated within her, leaving a void where her sense of self once resided. She gripped the car door handle, her knuckles white.

Her mother, driving, kept glancing at her, her face etched with worry. Jennifer hadn't spoken since reading the results. She couldn’t. The words were caught in her throat, a bitter, indigestible lump.

Her parents had always been everything. Suddenly, they were… something else. Strangers, perhaps.

The car turned into the long driveway of their childhood home. Jennifer stared at the house, a sudden wave of nausea washing over her. She pushed open the door and fled, running into the woods behind the house.