Gemotions

The phone rang, shattering the silence. Liam stared at the caller ID, his hand hovering over the 'decline' button. He answered, the sound of his mother's voice felt like an accusation. She knew. Of course, she knew.

He was a mess. His apartment was a disaster, the remnants of a pizza night scattered across the coffee table. He was on a perpetual loop of doom scrolling, reading and re-reading the comments below his published diary entries. They were, he noticed with a sinking feeling, more cruel and dismissive than he had ever feared.

He could feel the familiar weight of disappointment. He'd disappointed himself, and now he was disappointing everyone else. He hated the boy he had been. He hated his parents, who had always told him that he was wrong.