Gemotions

The phone call had come at the worst possible time, mid-meal, the pasta sauce splattering on the pristine tablecloth. "There’s someone," her mother's voice cracked. "Someone you need to know about." Claire felt a wave of nausea.

She found herself gripping the phone so hard her knuckles were white. Her appetite was gone. She pictured her life, her family, every carefully constructed detail. Now, there was this fissure in the foundation.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice thin. She felt a cold sweat break out across her brow. The world had shifted, its axis askew.