Gemotions

He stared at the letter, his heart hammering against his ribs. The scholarship, the lifeline that had pulled him from a life of certain hardship, was a clerical error. Liam swallowed, his throat suddenly tight, as if something was lodged there. He felt a wave of nausea, a hot flush spreading across his skin.

He wanted to throw the letter across the room, to shatter the pristine illusion of his future. Instead, he carefully placed it back on the desk, his hands shaking slightly. He thought of his mother, the way she’d beamed when he’d told her the news. He pressed his palms to his eyes, trying to block out the image.

The silence of his apartment pressed down on him, amplifying the frantic rhythm of his pulse. He picked up his phone, his thumb hovering over his mother’s number. He couldn’t tell her. Not yet. He paced, back and forth, each step a measured shuffle, his breath shallow and quick.