Gemotions

He felt a sudden chill, despite the July heat. The sweat on Mark’s palms made the mouse slick beneath his fingers. He had been trying to find a new place to live, and the search had become an endless scroll through listings, each one more depressing than the last. He saw the notification on his screen: a friend request. From Jason “Jaws” Johnson.

His chest constricted, as if a weight had settled upon it. The small of his back felt tense. He had tried to ignore the past, to build a life where those years didn’t define him. Now, here it was, in a digital notification, a reminder.

He closed the browser with a jerky movement, the screen displaying a picture of a house with a neatly-mowed lawn. The house seemed to mock his current situation. His throat suddenly felt tight, and he coughed, the sound lost in the quiet apartment.