Gemotions

The email notification pinged, and Chloe felt a jolt of something akin to being punched in the gut. The carefully crafted decorations in her apartment, the streamers and banners, suddenly seemed ridiculous. She kicked a stray balloon across the room, the sound a sharp crack that echoed in the sudden quiet. A wave of heat flushed over her, prickling her skin. The party favors, little personalized trinkets, felt heavy and worthless in her hands. She sank onto the sofa, the meticulously planned evening collapsing around her like a house of cards.