Gemotions

"You can't," Beth said flatly, her gaze locked on her best friend, Amy. The words felt too brittle, too raw.

Amy tilted her head, confused. "Can't? Beth, this is a great opportunity."

Beth crossed her arms, a stubborn line forming around her mouth. She felt a tightening in her chest, a physical manifestation of her reluctance. She didn't want Amy to have anything new, not if it meant a change in *their* dynamic.

She pictured the future, a future without the regular coffee dates, the weekend brunches, the late-night talks. It was a bleak landscape, a desert where everything familiar had disappeared. She wanted it all. All the time spent together.

She felt a desperate urge to argue, to convince Amy to stay. But the words wouldn't come. Instead, she just stood there, the silence stretching between them, thick with the unvoiced longing.