Gemotions

He saw her across the crowded street. It was “SunshineGirl,” the girl he'd met in the online support group. He had shared his deepest insecurities. She'd been a lifeline. He felt a strange combination of disbelief and terror course through him.

He ducked behind a parked truck, heart pounding in his chest. He watched her from his hiding place. She laughed at something a friend said, and it felt like a betrayal. He felt a surge of panic, an urge to run, to vanish.

He stayed there until she disappeared around the corner, his relief tempered by a lingering sense of dread.