Gemotions

The phone vibrated in her hand. Across the country. The words burned into Maya's vision as if they were written on her retina. She slammed the phone down on the table, the screen shattering into a spiderweb of cracks. The sound made her jump.

Her shoulders slumped, her breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps. The room around her seemed to tilt, the familiar furniture morphing into grotesque shapes. She wanted to throw something, break something. She gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles turning bone-white.

She picked up the shattered phone, inspecting the damage. This was it, the end of everything. She felt the urge to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. Instead, a cold, hard knot formed in her stomach.