Gemotions

The constant buzzing of the fluorescent lights in the library grated on Elara's nerves. She’d been sitting at the same table for three hours, pretending to read, but the words swam before her eyes. The news had hit her like a physical blow. A cross-country move. Without her.

She tapped her pen repeatedly against the open book, a staccato beat that mirrored the quickening pulse in her temples. Each tick was a reminder of the chasm that was about to open between them.

A headache began to bloom behind her eyes. She wanted to yell, to scream, but the library was a place of hushed whispers. She closed the book with a snap, the sound echoing unnaturally loud in the otherwise silent room. She shoved the chair back and swiftly left.