Chapter 15

Suddenly, she was lost.

A memory. Not her own. But hers.

Janet clicks up the resistance, sweat beading on her back and seeping into the fabric of her tight gray exercise top. She can feel her body moving like a machine, the muscle groups contracting in a practiced, tightly orchestrated movement. Her friends have told her she has a figure to die for, and her husband pulls her close in unexpected moments to run his big, strong hands over her tight curves. But it's all an illusion, as she has come to realize, hiding the broken bits underneath.

Her heart is pounding now, at the anaerobic threshold. She can feel the lactic acid building up and the burn in her legs as her muscles demand oxygen. Janet fights for breath but still pushes harder, testing herself, looking for that endorphin rush to break her mood and erase those memories. She is a winner, and she has the medals to prove it. There is absolutely nothing that she can't do once she puts her mind to it. It doesn't matter