Gemotions

"What's this?" Chloe asked, holding up the crumpled piece of paper she’d found tucked into Liam's wallet. It was his bucket list. *Climb a mountain. Learn to speak Italian. Adopt a dog.* Chloe felt a rising tide of unease. They'd been together for ten years, sharing a life of routine, of predictable evenings and comfortable silences. Now, the words on the paper felt like a jarring revelation.

Her apartment felt small, the walls closing in. She walked over to the window, watching the streetlights illuminate the rain-slicked pavement. A wave of restlessness washed over her, a feeling she hadn't acknowledged in years. She touched a hand to her chest, feeling a pressure, a constriction that made it difficult to breathe. Liam would be home soon. She wondered what he would say.