Gemotions

A cold sweat slicked down Mark’s palms as he listened to his brother, David, detail his newfound faith. The living room, usually a haven of laughter and shared football games, felt alien, the furniture shifted and rearranged into a disturbing tableau. Mark kept tugging at his collar, as though it was suddenly too tight.

“So, you’re… you’re really going through with this?” he asked, his voice a strained croak. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs, a frantic, trapped bird. He watched David, his face alight with a fervent glow, a stranger in his own home.

He excused himself to “grab a beer from the fridge,” and spent an extended amount of time staring into the darkness of the refrigerator. The cold air offered some small measure of comfort, but the feeling remained, a knot twisting in his stomach.