Gemotions

He watched from the window. Sarah’s car hadn’t even pulled up yet. A wave of heat washed over him as he pictured the other people who *would* be there, laughing, congratulating her. The party he’d poured his heart into, abandoned. Abandoned, because her friends had something better to do, or because they’d realized they didn’t care enough.

He clenched his fists, knuckles white. The air felt thick, suffocating in the small room he'd helped decorate. Each balloon a reminder of a future that wouldn't happen. He kept picturing them, the group, laughing as they all arrived and got to the house. He felt the phantom sting of their camaraderie.

He walked over to the stereo and turned it to full volume, the music a loud, jarring counterpoint to the hollow silence. The volume seemed to vibrate his bones, each thrum a frustrated pulse.