Gemotions

The apartment was still, the sunlight streaming in through the open blinds. The book on her lap lay closed. Clara was meant to be writing, but the words wouldn’t come. A notification on her phone, a friend request. It was from Justin, who had cruelly broken up with her in high school and then spent the next few months publicly making fun of her.

Her breath came in shallow, uneven gasps. The old hurts, buried for years, resurfaced with a stinging intensity. She felt a profound sense of emptiness, a hollowness that seemed to consume her from the inside out. She closed her eyes, the familiar ache of abandonment returning with devastating force.