Gemotions

The basement air was cold and damp, clinging to Leo’s skin like a shroud. He stared at the photograph, his mouth a tight, thin line. His father, the stoic, reserved man he'd always known, was laughing, his arm draped around a woman who was not his mother.

A deep chill settled in his stomach, spreading through his limbs. He felt trapped, pinned down by the weight of the secret. His breath hitched in his throat, and he found himself clenching his fists. The world around him seemed to blur, and he could barely hear the sound of his own thoughts. He needed a way out, a way to escape this suffocating revelation.