Gemotions

The coffee shop buzzed with chatter, but all Clara heard was the silence inside her head. Her hands trembled as she stirred her latte, the spoon clinking against the ceramic cup. Her journal, hidden beneath her bed, had been tampered with. She felt the warmth drain from her face, leaving her chilled. The easy camaraderie she’d fostered with her roommate, Emily, now felt like a carefully constructed facade. The truth – her deepest insecurities, her secret desires – now belonged to someone else. The thought made her skin crawl, and she wished she could just vanish.