Gemotions

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee, usually a comfort, now only heightened the internal ache in Avery. She watched, without looking at her roommate, Jake, as he prepared himself a cup. Her shoulders were tense; the discovery of the violation had settled deep inside her. The words, the secrets, the vulnerabilities... all exposed.

He'd done it. The journal wasn’t where she'd left it, and she'd known, the second she saw him, that he’d been through it. The forced cheeriness, the fake apologies, the way he seemed to be trying to avoid her gaze... it was all too much.

She hadn't spoken to him properly since. The silence between them grew longer with each passing hour, thick with unspoken resentment. She felt a profound sense of isolation, even in the small confines of their shared room.