Gemotions

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about," the neighbor had said, her voice a little too high. "Just a small… incident." But when Emily looked it up online, "incident" turned out to be a double homicide.

She sat on the edge of her bed, arms wrapped tightly around herself. The air in her bedroom felt thick, oppressive. She’d always loved the floral wallpaper, but now the patterns seemed to swirl and distort, as if the images held secrets she couldn’t comprehend.

Sleep was impossible. Every noise – the wind, a car passing, the distant bark of a dog – sent a jolt of alarm through her. She kept checking the locks on the doors, the windows. She felt like she was constantly on alert.