Gemotions

The cafe smelled of burnt coffee and simmering resentment. Sarah tapped her perfectly manicured nails against the table, the metallic click a staccato rhythm against the low murmur of conversation. "Daniel," she'd typed in the search bar, again. His profile picture, the one she’d memorized, stared back at her. He was laughing, a flash of white teeth against tanned skin. Across the room, she saw a mop of familiar brown hair. He was oblivious.

Her breath hitched. All the petty insults, the casual dismissals he’d leveled against her in their online debates, crystallized into a burning knot in her stomach. She rose, clutching her phone. The phone vibrated in her hand. It was a message from “MysticMage,” her online persona, with a laughing emoji. She crushed the phone in her palm, the screen shattering. The smile was wiped off his face.