Gemotions

The notification popped up on Amelia's screen: "Chad Reynolds sent you a friend request." Her breath hitched. She slammed the laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing in the otherwise silent apartment. Her hands were clammy, fumbling for her phone. She felt a wave of heat wash over her, prickling her skin. *Chad Reynolds.* Thirty years. Thirty years since she'd last seen him, heard his name, been forced to relive the torment. Now, here he was, a digital ghost resurrected to haunt her.

She paced the length of her living room, her steps erratic. Back and forth, back and forth, like a trapped animal. Her phone buzzed; a meaningless spam email. She shrieked, letting the phone clatter to the floor. The image of his face, the smug tilt of his mouth she remembered so well, burned in her mind.

A memory surfaced: Chad, the playground bully, had stolen her favorite toy truck, stomping on it until it shattered. She felt that same crushing sensation in her chest, the same helplessness. She needed air, needed to be somewhere else, anywhere but here. Grabbing her keys, she bolted for the door, not caring where she went.