Gemotions

Maria felt a knot tighten in her throat as she scrolled through the feed. Liam’s feed. Liam, her sweet, quiet son, who spent most of his time gaming in his room. This account was a different story.

Her gaze kept darting to the mirror in the hallway. Her clothes, even the ones she'd carefully selected that morning, felt wrong, ill-fitting. The way she had her hair up, it seemed severe, like a teacher.

She found a photo of Liam at a party, surrounded by friends she'd never met. He was laughing, looking… free. A wave of something akin to shame washed over her as she thought of her own recent actions. She hadn't even talked to Liam today. She should have gone outside.

She abruptly shut the laptop, a sudden need to be away from it taking over. She headed towards the kitchen, but she quickly turned back. Maybe she should go change first.