Gemotions

The news hit Brenda like a punch to the gut. She’d been at the company for fifteen years. Fifteen years, all poured into this place. The announcement came through the company intranet, the usual jargon. Her fingers fumbled with the mouse, her eyes darting to the clock, then the calendar.

She felt a hollowness in her chest, a physical ache that tightened with every passing second. Her mind raced, a whirlwind of anxieties. The mortgage. The car payments. Her aging parents. The job was all she had.

She closed her eyes, and then opened them. The office, once familiar and comforting, now seemed hostile and constricting. The beige walls, the bland furniture, all mocking her efforts. She could feel the walls closing in, the air growing thick.

Brenda stood up, pushed back her chair and walked toward the bathroom.