Downhill From Here (#1)

18. Dave's Karaoke Bar

There are two songs in this chapter. They're important and you should play them when they come up!☺️

Bowie's POV
8:08 am
Monday, November 8th

I hated running so much.

With a gas mask over my mouth and nose, it literally felt like I was dying.

I was on a steep incline, my feet hitting the treadmill with a thud thud thud.

The mask had holes on the sides and let little oxygen out. I was currently hooked up to a machine, 3 patches attached to my chest.

Ozias stood behind a cart and computer, watching me out of the corner of his eye. My heart rate and endurance were being measured.

I just wanted to be done with this.

I'd lost so much water in my body yesterday after all the tears I shed and now I was losing even more. My legs liked the burn but I also cursed underneath my breath hating the intense aching in my body as I ran.

Ozias pressed a button on the treadmill and it slowly lowered the incline. The speed eased up and began to slow.

My body adjusted to the change quickly and I began to move from running to a languid walking pace.

"That was better than last week," Ozias said flashing me a white tooth smile.

I huffed and placed my hands on my hips, feeling my chest squeeze with pressure. I was breath like I had asthma.

The machine beeped and stopped, allowing me to pull my mask off. I grabbed the towel off the handlebar of the treadmill and wiped the sweat off my face.

I donned a green sports bra and shorts, my hair up in a loose curly puff.

"You're getting faster," He commented holding out a hand. I took his hand and took a step down to the ground. He knew that my legs would semble jello and wobble every time we did this.

He chuckled and I sighed, feeling like I'd just run a marathon.

"A-At least th-this time I d-didn't throw up," I breathed trying to center myself.

He gave me a thumbs up and let go of my hand, placing a water bottle in my fingers tips. I opened it, swallowing nearly half the bottle.

"Are you having any pain?" He asked, looking down at his tablet. He was sorting through my biodata, looking at it with a creased brow.

"Nah not really," I said leaning my arm on the handlebar.

That made him look up. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged. "My lower abdomen hurts a little, but I'm pretty sure that's normal."

He wouldn't let up though. Placing the tablet on the cart, he took a step toward me. Standing a couple of inches over me, he braced a hand on my shoulder and looked down at me. "Tell me if this hurts okay?"

I nodded numbly while he stood perpendicular to my side.

Placing a hand on my abs he lightly pressed his palm against my bare skin. It would seem intimate to anyone else, but Ozias had touched me more times than I could count. I was used to it.

He watched me carefully as he lowered his hand slightly beneath my belly button. That's when I stiffened and my brows pinched.

Even with light pressure, I could feel the slight twist in my body. A sharp jab.

That was weird.

He pulled his hand away. "Does this happen often?"

I looked up at him with a weak smile. "I'm usually in pain all over so I hardly notice."