Gemotions

The phone buzzed, vibrating across the dusty coffee table. Another ping. Another friend request. This time it was from Kevin "K.O." O'Malley. The guy who used to shove him into lockers. He flinched, the sound grating. The air in the apartment was thick with dust and a kind of stale emptiness.

He hadn’t showered in two days. The weight of his own body felt heavy, his limbs leaden. He looked at the window and saw a reflection of himself - a pale, gaunt figure. The house felt hollow, echoing with a silence that was more profound than any noise. The scent of her perfume lingered faintly in the air.

He stared at the friend request. He should have deleted it immediately. He should have just ignored it. But he didn’t. Instead, he just sat there, frozen, the phone a heavy weight in his hand, a dull throb in his chest matching the relentless, internal ache.