Gemotions

He closed the laptop with a snap, the sudden action startling him. The friend request from Mark, his old tormentor, was still there, glowing an obnoxious blue. His jaw clenched involuntarily.

He paced the living room, the worn rug soft beneath his bare feet. The old hurts, buried for years, surfaced like bubbles in a murky pond. He remembered the humiliation, the fear, the isolation.

He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, feeling the familiar prickle of tears behind his eyes. He wished he could just erase the memory of all the times Mark had made him feel small, worthless.

He poured himself a glass of water, the cold liquid doing little to soothe the tightness in his throat.