Gemotions

A bead of sweat traced a path down Leo's temple, despite the air conditioning blasting in his cubicle. The friend request from Brenda Thorne mocked him from the computer screen. He’d spent the last decade meticulously avoiding anyone from his hometown. Now, a digital ghost of his past, someone he'd tried to erase from his memory, wanted to connect. He felt pinned to his chair, unable to reach for his water bottle or even blink. His job, in its beige monotony, seemed to be all he was capable of anymore.

The fluorescent lights hummed, a constant, irritating drone. He felt a familiar knot tightening in his stomach, a physical manifestation of his discontent. He hated everything about his life, even the bland coffee he’d just made. He stared at Brenda's smiling face, a snapshot of a life he felt he could never have, a life that seemed to move on while he remained suspended.