Gemotions

The hum of the refrigerator seemed deafening to Clara. The diary, her sanctuary, lay open on the desk. She knew her roommate, Olivia, had read it. She could feel it in the way Olivia had been avoiding her all day, in the stiff silence that hung in the air.

She hadn't realized that the words she wrote could be so easily stolen. The weight was unbearable. The world had gone gray, and even the simple things felt like a challenge.

She heard a soft knock. "Clara?" Olivia’s voice, a bare whisper, drifted in.