Gemotions

The dim lighting of the coffee shop did little to alleviate the feeling of lead in Leo's shoes. He’d barely slept since he received the rejection email. Now, his phone buzzed, the sound grating on his nerves. He barely glanced at the notification. He already knew.

The article he'd poured his heart and soul into, the one that should have been his breakthrough, was published. But not under his name. The name belonged to a well-connected, established writer, someone who probably didn't even know Leo existed. The injustice of it all felt like a physical blow.

He stared into his lukewarm coffee, the bitter taste mirroring the bitterness in his heart. The words on the screen swam before his eyes. He longed to be anywhere else.