Gemotions

The waiting room's floral wallpaper seemed to constrict, the pattern blurring at the edges. Sarah reread the name on the door: "Dr. Ethan Bellweather, LPC." *Ethan Bellweather*. Her stomach churned. It *couldn't* be him. Not the Ethan Bellweather who'd tripped her in the third grade, stolen her lunch money, and declared her existence a cosmic joke. She felt a prickle of sweat trace its way down her spine.

Hesitantly, she pushed open the door.

He looked up from his desk, a pleasant smile immediately forming on his face. “Come in, Sarah! It’s good to see you.” His voice was calm, measured. She recognized the precise, overly enunciated way he spoke as a child. He gestured towards a plush armchair. Sarah felt a peculiar lightness in her legs as she stumbled towards it.

“You… you’re Ethan Bellweather?” she managed, her voice a strained whisper.

He chuckled, a warm, genuine sound that didn’t match her memory. “Guilty as charged. And you must be Sarah. It's been a long time.”