Gemotions

He stared at the blank screen, the glow of the phone illuminating the dark living room. The silence of the house pressed in on him, heavy and suffocating. A forgotten beer sat half-drunk on the coffee table. He felt a deep, abiding weariness, a profound sense of…well, everything. He should probably get to bed, but the thought of lying there, staring at the ceiling, was more than he could bear. Then the notification. A text. Meant for someone else.

The name flashed up. *Jessica*. He remembered the name as he recalled the face. A ghost. A whisper of a memory. He found himself tracing the outline of her name on the screen with a fingertip. He wanted to scream. Why? Why now? He thought of all the words, left unsaid, things he wished he could change. The beer grew warm, his throat dry.