Gemotions

The image on the screen swam before Amelia's eyes. That stupid, godforsaken porch. It was just the way it had always been, the chipped paint, the rotting wood, the same stupid swing she used to hate. A coldness settled in her stomach, a familiar ache she hadn’t felt in years. She clicked the mouse, zooming in on the listing. "Cozy Cape Cod, Perfect for a Family." Perfect. The word practically spat at her.

She slammed the laptop shut, the metallic clank echoing in the sterile silence of her apartment. Years of therapy, the move to the city, the conscious effort to build a life away from that place, and it all boiled down to this. This digital betrayal.

She grabbed the bottle of wine, a cheap Pinot Grigio she wouldn't normally touch, and poured herself a full glass. Maybe this was what she needed. A good cry, a solid dose of anger at the world, and then, hopefully, she could forget it all ever existed. But she knew that was a lie.