Gemotions

The email shimmered on her phone screen, a malevolent little rectangle of digital dread. Amelia’s breath hitched. She scrolled down, her fingers trembling. The accusations, the comparisons, the undeniable similarities. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird desperate to escape. She reread the offending passages, her own words staring back at her, twisted and contorted in the style of the very writer she’d idolized for years. Her cheeks flushed; a prickling heat crawled across her skin. Amelia slammed her phone down, the plastic case thudding on the table. She paced, her hands wringing, the accusations echoing in her mind.

A jolt ran through her, a current of disbelief and fury. Her gaze darted around the room, landing on the framed cover of her favorite book, now a betrayal, a taunt. She grabbed it, pulling it down, and chucked it against the wall. The glass shattered, the sound strangely satisfying, but only momentarily.

Her jaw clenched, and she took a deep breath. She had to do something.