Gemotions

Liam stared at his reflection, the harsh fluorescent lights of the dorm bathroom reflecting back a stranger. He'd found his journal open, the last entry flagged with a Post-it note – Emily's handwriting, unmistakable. A cold knot twisted in his stomach, a familiar sensation he hadn’t experienced since he was a child, desperately clinging to his favorite stuffed animal.

He sat on the closed toilet lid, the cool porcelain offering little comfort. The memory of his grandfather, lost in the Alzheimer's ward, swam through his mind, the way his wrinkled hand had gripped Liam's. Now, it was his own thoughts, his own carefully crafted world, threatened with disintegration.

Liam took a shuddering breath, the scent of antiseptic and stale air filling his lungs. He needed to leave, to escape. He'd driven that route countless times with his family, headed for his aunt's house, and now he longed for that kind of refuge, that kind of security.