Gemotions

The news had hit her with the force of a physical blow. Her breath caught in her throat, a choked sound that echoed in the otherwise quiet cafe. Across the table, Ben, her best friend, was talking, but her ears refused to register the words. They were just meaningless sounds.

She focused instead on the way the sunlight streamed through the window, the way the steam from her coffee cup rose and dissipated in the air. She wanted to scream, to lash out, to do anything to stop this from happening. Instead, she sat frozen, her hand tightly gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles bone-white.

Ben stopped talking, his expression shifting to one of concern. She shook her head, unable to speak, the fury so dense it felt like a physical weight pressing down on her chest.