Gemotions

“This can’t be real,” Jessica muttered, staring at the screen. Her diary, a cherished confidante from her youth, had been scanned and posted online. The entries about her struggle with eating disorders, her feelings for a best friend, the dark thoughts she’d struggled with in isolation. All of it.

A wave of nausea washed over her. She gripped the edge of her desk, her knuckles white. She felt a deep, chilling emptiness spreading through her. She felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach.

She wanted to vanish, to disappear from the face of the earth. She imagined the scrutiny, the pitying glances, the whispers. She was alone in this. Absolutely alone.