Gemotions

A tightening sensation wrapped around David's chest. He couldn't sit still, drumming his fingers on the worn tabletop of the diner booth. The waitress, a woman with kind eyes and a tired smile, refilled his coffee for the third time. He hadn't touched it. The phone call that morning, the hospital’s flustered tone, the impossible error, it all swirled in his mind.

He pushed away from the table, the sudden movement causing his chair to scrape loudly against the floor. "Gotta go," he mumbled to the waitress, leaving a generous tip. Outside, the city roared with a familiar, yet somehow alien, energy.

He walked quickly, his gaze flitting from one building to another. He felt a need to put distance between himself and everything he knew, to erase the feeling of unease that had settled deep within him. He started to jog, then run, until his lungs burned and his legs screamed.