Gemotions

He slammed the results report onto the kitchen counter, the flimsy paper slapping loudly against the granite. Thomas slumped, his limbs heavy, his head throbbing. He felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room, leaving him breathless and hollow. He'd always felt… off. A sense of displacement he couldn't name. Now, the test confirmed it: Not a blood relative to the people he had always known as family.

The taste of the coffee he'd just brewed was like ash in his mouth. He couldn’t bring himself to eat the toast, the thought of it clogging his throat. He thought of all the holidays, the birthdays, the inside jokes shared with the only family he knew, and a wave of nausea washed over him. He felt betrayed, cheated, robbed of something he couldn't define. He stared at the photographs on the fridge, snapshots of a life that now felt distant, unreal.