Gemotions

The silence of her childhood home was oppressive, a suffocating blanket that settled around Emily the moment she walked through the door. Her mother’s cheerful chatter was like a high-pitched, insistent drill boring into her skull. She felt a constant, gnawing unease.

She knew she had to leave. She found herself retreating into her old bedroom. The room was pristine, unnervingly so. Her mother had kept it exactly as she’d left it years ago. The bed was made; the teddy bear sat perched on the pillow, staring.

She couldn’t breathe. It was as if she'd stepped back in time and was no longer an adult. Emily wanted to run. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed, her hands trembling.