Gemotions

He stared at the ceiling, the familiar popcorn texture suddenly feeling alien. The silence of his childhood bedroom was no longer comforting. He had expected to feel nostalgia, a sense of homecoming. Instead, there was this unsettling feeling, a subtle but insistent itch beneath his skin. He couldn't quite define it.

The sound of his mother’s footsteps on the stairs caused him to snap from his thoughts. He scrambled out of bed, and tried to act natural. But the feeling of being watched, analyzed, or scrutinized, was still present.