Gemotions

“Congratulations, again, on your acceptance!” The bubbly email felt like a slap in the face. Finn tossed the laptop aside, the screen flashing the cheerful banner of the university. The joy that had filled him before now felt tainted, a betrayal.

He stared out the window, at the setting sun, its colors dulled to a dreary orange. The news had dropped a curtain over everything. He started finding it difficult to hold a conversation, the words catching in his throat. He snapped at his family.

He clenched his jaw, the muscles in his neck tightening. He paced the floor. The future he had planned felt like a distant dream, an illusion.

The feeling in his gut was a black hole.