Gemotions

“Impossible,” Ethan murmured, staring at the message on his phone. Dr. Kim, his advisor, was leaving. The room seemed to shrink, the walls closing in. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if someone had physically squeezed his heart.

He rose from the couch and started to pace the living room, the rhythmic movement failing to calm his internal turmoil. The air felt thick, heavy with unspoken dread. The carefully laid plans, the future he'd envisioned, seemed to crumble before his eyes.

He picked up his phone, then put it back down, unable to reach out to anyone. His chest tightened; he felt trapped. He needed to think, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess. He felt trapped.