Gemotions

The cheap stationery crackled under Thomas’s fingers. He’d written this to his former best friend, a man who’d betrayed him with calculated precision. The letter was a plea for understanding, a clumsy attempt to bridge the chasm that had opened between them. He’d laid bare his soul, hoping for a shred of empathy. Now, rereading it, he tasted bile.

He saw the carefully chosen words, the hesitant phrasing, the desperate hope that clung to every sentence. The friend, of course, had never responded. Thomas tossed the letter into the fireplace, watching the flames devour the paper, the heat a welcome sting against his skin.