Gemotions

The house felt too warm, too close. She pulled the covers over her head, trying to shut out the world. The sounds of her parents moving around downstairs – the clinking of dishes, the murmur of the television – were a constant irritant.

She didn't answer her phone when her friends called. She couldn't face them, couldn't pretend. She needed to be alone. She wished they would just leave her alone.

She spent most of her days in bed. She didn't read, didn't watch television, just lay there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for something, anything, to change.