Gemotions

The list was on a scrap of paper, tucked inside his partner, Olivia's, favorite hiking boots. "Hike the Appalachian Trail." He felt his throat tighten. They’d talked about hiking, about getting outdoors more. But the Appalachian Trail? That was a serious undertaking, something she had never mentioned wanting.

He picked up the boots, turning them over in his hands. He felt a prickling sensation on his skin. He realized that the life he thought they were building was, in a way, just an illusion.

He stood, wanting to run, wanting to escape the confines of their house. He wanted to escape the quiet, the things left unsaid, the truths he hadn't known.