Gemotions

He’d always felt like an outsider, a square peg in a round hole. John had chalked it up to personality quirks. The DNA results gave him a terrible answer. The stark reality of the test results was like a physical blow. A secret he hadn't known was the reason for all the disconnection.

His breath hitched. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut as if to physically block out the knowledge. When he opened them, the world was a different place. The familiar scent of his wife's perfume felt suffocating, and the cheerful sounds of the television in the background grated on his nerves.

He needed to be alone. He pulled on his coat and let himself out of the house, the door clicking shut behind him. The air outside was cold, but he barely noticed the chill. He walked without direction, his mind racing, as he tried to grasp the implications of his ancestry.