Gemotions

The house seemed to hold its breath, waiting. Sam felt it too, a clenching in his stomach, a dryness in his mouth. His sister, Lily, hummed as she opened dusty boxes, but he could only watch her with a wary eye.

He started avoiding her. He found himself hiding in the shadows, listening to the drip of the leaky faucet in the kitchen. Every creak of the floorboards felt like a threat.

"Don't worry," Lily said, trying to be reassuring. "It’ll be okay." But her words only made the sensation inside of him worse. He felt a desperate urge to run away, to leave everything behind.