Gemotions

The coffee tasted like ash, though she'd just brewed it. Her hand trembled slightly as she scrolled through the fake account. The carefully constructed persona felt alien, a stranger inhabiting her child's face. Her daughter, Chloe, had always been open, almost painfully so. Now she felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff.

She pulled up the family photo album on her phone, scrolling through pictures of Chloe at different ages. A wave of dizziness washed over her. She gripped the phone tighter, the smooth metal feeling cold against her palm. She thought about the things that remained unspoken between them, the casual assumptions she made.