Gemotions

A notification popped up, the blue glow momentarily freezing Amelia’s hand as it reached for her coffee. The name – Mark Henderson – slammed her back in time. She remembered the skinned knees, the stolen lunches, the whispered insults that had echoed in the hollows of her childhood. Years had passed, but the sting of it was still sharp. She huffed, the breath catching in her throat as she stared at the request.

Her thumb hovered over the ‘ignore’ button. It was tempting, a clean break. But curiosity, that persistent itch, got the better of her. She clicked on his profile.

He was a successful-looking man, judging by the photos. Smiling with a wife, children. A life that seemed to have smoothed over the rough edges. A flicker of something unpleasant rose within her.