Mending Heart |18+|

Chapter 3

Helpless

"The fact that someone else loves you doesn't rescue you from the project of loving yourself." – Sahaj Kohli

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"Let's go!"

"3... 2... 1. Up! 1...2...3."

"Good... Very good!"

"And 5... 4... 3... 2... Low third position! Two forward, two back."

I turned to glare at my best friend, Megan Bennet – or as I like to call her, the devil's spawn. There was sweat dripping down her face and into her low-cut cleavage as she continued to move her body to the beat of the music.

"I cannot believe I agreed to this!" I shouted over the music, completely out of breath.

When Megan suggested that the two of us take a 45-minute rhythm cycling class, I thought why the hell not. Ten minutes into our first class, I was reminded exactly why not.

"3...2... 1... Here we go!"

"Forward... Back..."

"Let your core control this movement."

"How are we feeling y'all?" Our instructor, Gabriella shouted from the front.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

"It's fun!" Megan threw me a sheepish grin. "Fun my ass!" I grumbled as I lifted myself into the next position. My hair was so short, that the ponytail I had tied it in had come undone and my hair was now all in my face. I ran a frustrated hand across my face trying to push it off, but it was no use.

I used to have thick and long brown hair, but after I moved out of my husband's house, I decided it was time for a change. So I did what any twenty-eight-year-old going through a mid-life crisis would do; I chopped off six inches of my hair and dyed it blonde.

Which brings us to today's predicament.

When the class finally ended, Megan and I walked across the street to the juice bar for a smoothie. It was a cute little place, hidden away in the commercial space of a tall glass building. As we entered, the place was bustling with others who had also just finished their workout.

When it was our turn to order, Megan ordered a Matcha Bowl while I ordered a Black Phoenix Smoothie with cold brew coffee, banana, coconut, and a bunch of other healthy stuff. However, if I'm being honest, I only ordered it because it was the only thing on the menu with any caffeine in it.

I have a very unhealthy relationship with caffeine, which has only gotten progressively worse throughout the years.

Megan and I took a seat at one of the window tables as we waited for our order. Despite it being early March, the temperatures were significantly low. Sure, the mountains of snow we got last month had finally melted, but you still needed to bundle up when you went outside.

"So," Megan started, leaning her elbows forward on the table. "I have something to tell you."

Uh-oh. She had the I'm-about-to-tell-you-something-you-don't-like look on her face. I motioned for her to get on with it. "Eric and I were out at dinner last night and I sorta ran into...."

If she didn't already have a very successful job, I'd encourage her to go into acting.

"Into..." I pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"We ran into Justin." She looked at me sympathetically.

"Oh." My voice flattered. "That's it?"