Gemotions

The friend request from Brian "Bully" Brown felt like a punch to the gut. Michael's breath hitched. He felt his face heat, and his ears began to ring. His hands shook so violently that he had to set down his coffee cup to stop it from spilling.

He sat, frozen, his eyes glued to the screen. Why? He’d moved on, built a good life, a life where the memory of Brian Brown was a distant echo. The world seemed to shrink around him, the walls closing in.

He stood up, needing to move, to get away from the intrusive presence of the past. He went to the kitchen and began to wash the dishes, his movements jerky and mechanical.