Gemotions

“Well, this is a… predicament,” Miles heard the radiologist say, his voice thick with condescension. The scan hung on the screen, a bizarre swirl of color he didn’t understand. Miles felt a wave of heat wash over him, a burning in his chest. “A very… unique situation.” It was the way the man said “unique,” like it was a punchline.

Miles hadn't expected this meeting to go well, but the doctor's lack of tact still took him aback. He’d spent years feeling like an outcast, a walking anomaly, and here was someone confirming that, but with a palpable sense of disdain. The man tilted his head as if he were studying a painting he didn’t like. Miles clenched his fists.

“And?” Miles asked, his voice strained. The doctor just stared back with a placid expression. It felt like he was being mocked, reduced to a problem to be solved, not a person. Miles bit the inside of his cheek, a sharp, angry sting.