Gemotions

He ran a hand through his thinning hair, a gesture he’d repeated a dozen times in the last hour. The email was still open, the subject line screaming “Friend Request: Brenda Miller.” His heart hammered in his chest, a relentless drumbeat against the silence of his apartment. He felt a familiar knot forming in his stomach, the same one he’d gotten every time Brenda had cornered him in the school hallway. Now, years later, the same feeling resurfaced, a wave of nausea washing over him. He slammed his laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing in the room. He needed to get out, he thought.