Living with Jennifer Lawrence

[70:] Remember Me?

Maddie

“Have a great night!” I tell everyone as my shift ends.

After a long day work, I got out by midnight. My boss wanted me to stay after my shift to clean up, so I'm coming home late.

Normally, after a long day at work, a person would want to go to sleep, right?

Not me.

Sure, I'm tired and exhausted. But, I've been needing to go to the gym recently, and hardly anyone goes at midnight, so I decided to take a ride there.

Luckily, I had a pink duffel bag in my trunk filled with all of the equipment I could ever need. I packed it all up just in case.

The trip to the gym wasn't too bad, at this time of day---or night, whatever you call it---and the roads contained minimal traffic. A few cars were sprinkled here and there, but that's about it.

Once I arrived at the 24-hour gym, I park the car, grab my duffel bag along with a pair of Nike shoes, and head inside.

Just as I suspected, hardly anybody was there.

I passed by sweaty bodies of men that resembled bodybuilders.

I stopped at the restrooms, and one woman decided to take a shower.

After changing into my workout clothes and tied on my shoes, I carefully tie my hair into a knot and head over to the exercise machines.

There were so many to choose from. From treadmills, to elliptical machines to stair steppers, they had it all. There's even a swimming pool, but it's closed at this time.

The gym reeked of sweat, which I knew came from all the people.

Fortunately, I brought a pair of headphones so I am able to work out and jam along to my favorite music.

I put them on and allow myself to tune out from the world.

I set the treadmill speed to five out of ten for forty-five minutes.

I pumped my arms and legs, willing myself to go faster. I needed to shed off these last few pounds. My pants are too snug for my liking. I've had one too many greasy cheeseburgers and salty French fries.

Several hundred calories burned. I smiled because I am proud of myself.

Trying to figure out what to do next, I opt for a more challenging exercise. The stair stepper.

Within the first five minutes I could already feel the burn in my calves and legs. It's like continuously walking up the steps but never stopping. It gets tiring after a while.

I began to sweat and decided to take a break, so I chugged half a liter of ice cold water.

It was really refreshing.

Most of the other machines were occupied, so I chose to go on the treadmill again; but this time, I'd set the speed to nine. Maybe that'll wake me up.

Two excruciating minutes passed, and I was beyond exhausted. Both from lack of sleep and over exercising.

Much too sleepy to turn the treadmill off, the powerful machine pushed me backward, causing me to fly off.

It was as if the room were spinning, but only just for a moment, then everything was normal again.

My eyes remained closed. I heard a voice. A male voice asked me, “Are you okay?”

I knew that voice from anywhere. It's been a while since I've heard it, but I never forgot it.

I opened my eyes and was greeted with another pair of eyes. Well, several of them. People wanted to know if I was okay. But one particular pair of eyes stood out, due to its familiarity.

Hazel eyes with green flecks. Beautiful.

I still couldn't believe who it was.

It's been almost three years since I've seen him, he was the one who saved my life, and I never even thanked him.

It was Austin.