Gemotions

The world seemed to shrink around Chloe. She caught sight of a familiar pen mark on the cover of her journal as she walked into their shared dorm room. It was her pen. She felt a burning sensation in her throat, a silent scream trapped within. She wanted to tear the room apart.

She avoided Emily for the next few days. When they were forced to interact, she kept her responses short, her voice flat. She busied herself with studying, filling her mind with facts and figures, anything to distract her. But the images of Emily's eyes scanning her words, the words *meant* only for her, would not leave her.

One afternoon, she found herself staring at the journal in her hands. She couldn't read it. Her own words now felt alien and tainted. She started to shake, the paper rustling between her trembling fingers. She wanted to erase every word she had ever written.