Gemotions

The bustling coffee shop felt unusually loud and crowded, each voice a pressure, each movement an intrusion. David, hunched over his laptop, scrolled through their chat history. "Nova" had been his anchor, a beacon of understanding in the storm of his life. Learning she was in the same city triggered a visceral reaction. He had the feeling he was being watched. He'd never considered how fragile this safety net truly was.

He felt a sudden, almost desperate need to bolt. He had to escape, to run from the imagined weight of the expectation that came with it. He closed the laptop with a snap, the sound echoing in his ears, and stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. He needed to be anywhere but here, to break free.