Gemotions

"But Liam, it's just a hamster!" Chloe pleaded, her eyes wide and pleading. Liam stood rigid at the doorway to the shared bedroom, arms crossed, his face a mask of disapproval. The room seemed to shrink, the colorful posters on the wall closing in on him. He ran his hand through his hair, a nervous habit he hadn't realized he'd developed.

“Think about it, Chloe,” he said, his voice flat. He felt a pressure building in his head, a headache blooming behind his eyes. He imagined the tiny cage, the constant cleaning, the obligation to be *there*, always there. The sheer impossibility of escape was crushing. He longed for solitude, for the simple freedom to move through the apartment without considering the needs of anything else.

“I’ll take care of it, I promise,” Chloe said, her voice small. Liam just sighed, a sound that carried the weight of the world.