Gemotions

They sat across from each other at their usual coffee shop, a silence hanging between them like a physical barrier. The job was awarded to neither of them. Sophia watched as Leo took a sip of his coffee. His expression was inscrutable.

She fiddled with her spoon, swirling the sugar in her lukewarm latte. The conversation that had been so easy before was now stilted, fraught with unspoken anxieties. They were both still friends, she assumed, but the very fabric of their camaraderie had been subtly altered.

She felt a strange ache, a hollow space in her chest that words couldn’t fill. She felt adrift in the wake of the news. A confused, disconnected echo.