Gemotions

The thought of it made me physically ill. Mrs. Hawthorne. My face flushed, my chest constricted. I'd spent years trying to forget the woman, and now, my daughter was going to be under her charge.

I suddenly felt intensely vulnerable, as if all my past misdeeds were etched on my face, visible for everyone to see. My legs were like lead, heavy and unwilling. I desperately wanted to run away.

My daughter, Sarah, was talking a mile a minute about school supplies. I could barely hear her over the frantic pounding of my heart. I wanted to tell her we couldn't go, but the words wouldn’t come.