Gemotions

The news arrived via email, the impersonal subject line a slap in the face. Liam’s palms began to sweat as he read the words, a knot forming in his stomach. He felt the blood drain from his face. His carefully constructed plans, the elaborate scaffolding of his future, suddenly dissolved.

He slammed his laptop shut, the sound echoing in the small, cramped room. He wanted to shout, to rage, but the words caught in his throat. He paced his apartment, back and forth, the worn carpet a path to nowhere.

He kept replaying the scene in his head, the hopeful feeling he’d had when he’d first sent the application. That feeling seemed so distant now, a dream from another life. He felt the cold realization creeping in, the fear of the unknown, the fear of remaining where he was.