Gemotions

He’d known. Maya’s stomach lurched as she realized her roommate, Chloe, was humming a line from a poem she’d written, a poem she’d poured her heart into, a poem she'd only ever shared with the blank pages of her diary. A crimson flush stained her neck.

Her breath hitched. She backed away, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Chloe, oblivious or pretending to be, continued humming, occasionally glancing her way. The air in the room felt thick, oppressive.

"That's… that's a nice song, Chloe," Maya mumbled, her voice strained and thin. She wanted to disappear, to dissolve into the bland beige of the dorm room wall.