Gemotions

John had a knot in his shoulder blades that had been there for a week. He'd been waking up earlier and earlier, the sun's glare hitting him right in the face. His wife was away on a business trip, and the responsibility for their son, Liam, had fallen solely on him. Liam had been acting distant lately, glued to his phone, locking himself in his room. John had chalked it up to typical teenage behavior.

Then, last night, while trying to find a recipe online, he’d stumbled across a message from Liam’s friend. The friend mentioned Liam’s second account, the one where he “posted his real stuff.” His heart began to thump against his ribs. He felt a deep weariness creep over him, a sense of having been running a marathon, without rest.

He found it, of course. A series of anonymous posts, complaints about his life, his family, the things he felt he couldn’t say. He felt a crushing sense of inadequacy. What had he done wrong? He closed the laptop, the screen reflecting his own tired face back at him. He poured himself a glass of whiskey, a habit he'd been trying to curb.