Gemotions

The email notification chimed, a small, irritating sound. Sarah froze, staring at the sender: David. David, who had relentlessly mocked her weight as a teen. Her fingers, usually steady, felt clumsy as she reached for the mouse.

She opened the message, her pulse quickening. David was asking, genuinely asking, how she was. He was offering an apology, she realized with a gasp, a strained emotion welling in her chest.

She read the words again and again, each one a sharp stab. The words were a plea, a sign of something she could not quite grasp, and she found herself wanting to look away, to hide. She just wanted the aching to cease.