Gemotions

Liam slammed his textbook shut, the sound echoing in the otherwise quiet room. His shoulders hunched. A knot of unease tightened in his stomach. He'd been battling writer’s block for days, the pressure to finish his screenplay for the film festival weighing heavily on him. He glanced at his roommate, Ben, engrossed in a video game, oblivious. The door to Liam’s side of the room was ajar, his journal lying face up on his desk. He hadn’t left it there. A sudden, cold feeling gripped him.

"Hey, Ben," he started, his voice a strained croak. "Did you…uh…see my journal?"

Ben looked up, eyes glazed over from the screen. "Yeah? Why?"

Liam felt the urge to pace, to flee. He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, a familiar tic. The silence felt deafening.