Gemotions

The text message notification brought with it a sudden, sharp ache in my head. I looked down, squinting at the name. Jason Carter. My pulse quickened. The world around me seemed to be slowing, the sounds of the TV fading into the background. My limbs felt heavy, my muscles aching. I just wanted to lie down.

I remember all the times he’d cornered me in the schoolyard. All the times I was the punchline of his jokes. A wave of exhaustion, thick and suffocating, came over me. I wanted to scream, to run away from it all.

I wanted to just turn off my phone. To just *be*. But the message, taunting, remained. My fingers fumbled with the screen. I finally clicked ignore. The silence that followed was deafening.