Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windows, mirroring the tempest inside Amelia. She stared at the invitation, the glittery script mocking her. Liam's party. Laser tag and pizza. It was the same date, same time, as hers. She’d spent weeks planning her pottery painting gathering, meticulously choosing the perfect wildflowers for the tables, imagining the laughter. Now, her meticulously laid plans felt like sand slipping through her fingers.

She crumpled the invitation, then smoothed it out, a nervous habit she’d picked up lately. Her stomach churned. The thought of Liam, laughing with someone else, filled her with a hollowness she hadn't known existed before. She hadn’t spoken to him since he'd ended things.

Amelia’s apartment, usually a haven of creativity, felt suffocating. Sunlight struggled to penetrate the grey day. She picked at the dried clay on her hands, a stark reminder of her abandoned project. Maybe she'd just cancel her party. The thought brought only a fresh wave of that awful ache.