Gemotions

The silence in the house was almost worse than the constant chatter. David sat at the kitchen table, the half-eaten sandwich in front of him slowly growing stale. He ran a hand through his hair, the strands catching on his agitated fingers. He couldn’t seem to concentrate.

His phone buzzed with a notification, a text from a former colleague, asking about the job hunt. He tossed the phone aside, the screen reflecting the dull grey sky outside. The pressure felt immense, the weight of his parents' unspoken disappointment pressing down on him.

He pushed back from the table, his chair scraping loudly against the linoleum. He needed to get away, to clear his head, to stop feeling this constricting weight. He grabbed his keys and let himself out the back door, the slam echoing through the empty house.