Gemotions

She kept running her fingers through her hair, over and over, as if trying to physically smooth out the tension that had coiled around her neck. This morning, Sarah had accidentally left her journal on the kitchen table. Now, the memory of seeing her roommate, Emily, sitting there, idly flipping through it while she waited for her coffee, gnawed at her insides.

The air in the library felt thick and heavy. Sarah found herself avoiding Emily’s usual table, instead choosing a secluded corner, the silence amplifying the echo of her own disquiet. Each page, each secret exposed, felt like a brick added to a wall closing in. She kept her head down, pretending to study, unable to focus.