Gemotions

The phone vibrated on the table, a jarring sound in the quiet apartment. Jessica flinched, even though she knew it was just an Amazon notification. Across the room, Leo was cheerfully browsing through cat toys online, the glow of the screen reflecting in his excited eyes. He wanted a cat, he’d made it plain. She found herself recoiling.

She’d spent years carefully cultivating a sense of order, a carefully constructed bubble of control. The thought of a cat, with its unpredictable nature, its sharp claws, its independence, threatened to shatter that bubble. The corners of her vision seemed to darken. Her heart was hammering against her ribs.

"Look at this one, Jess!" Leo exclaimed, holding up a picture of a feathery toy.

"Maybe later," she replied, her voice sounding far away, too quiet to even hear her own words.