Came Back Haunted (Experiment in Terror #10) - Karina Halle Page 0,64

my water bottle from the dresser and phone from the charger. I pull my hair into a ponytail and then head to the door, slipping on my black puffy coat that makes me feel like a goth marshmallow. “Text me if you need me to pick up anything,” I call out to him.

He just raises his hand as way of saying goodbye.

Ugh.

I leave the apartment feeling like shit, hoping that the five-minute walk and forty-five minute class will get my endorphins up. I try to go spinning twice a week, even though I know I should be doing more, but I figure it’s better than nothing. I’m not as obsessed about my weight as I once was, and I have Dex to thank for that since he’s crazy attracted to me no matter what I look like it seems (plus I’m not about to give up my ass and boobs just so I can fit into a size eight), but I still like to keep in shape for a whole range of reasons.

One of the best reasons is because it turns off my brain, lets my mind go completely and utterly blank.

I get on the bike near the back of the classroom, giving a shy nod to the rest of the regulars who ride this class as everyone takes their usual spots. After the first five minutes of the warm up, I think about everything, from my body, to how I look on the bike, to Dex, to Maximus, to Rose, to the baby, to Ada, to everything about Samantha Poe. I replay scenes in my mind, over and over again, overanalyzing everything.

And then, after five minutes, when things kick into high gear and the resistance and cadence goes up, and I feel sweat on my forehead start to break out, I stop replaying the scenes.

I stop thinking.

I go blank.

It’s fucking bliss.

Except it’s also not, because my legs are strained and my lungs are burning and I’m gasping for breath and I’m so damn hot and sweaty that I feel like I’m being smothered. All my thoughts are replaced with feelings. Not emotional ones but feelings from my body. That’s all I can focus on.

By the time spin class is over and I’m exhausted, I’m still unable to think about much of anything. I’m just a blank space. I’ve got endorphins flowing through me and I’m calm. I know there’s shit going on in my life right now that should get me upset, but my brain literally won’t entertain it.

Perry isn’t here right now.

I head into the rest of the gym and lift some free weights. It’s almost empty in here, as it usually is on weekday mid-mornings, which is why I like it. I can do my workout without men lecturing me on my weight-training or feeling out of place.

When I’ve done enough squats and lifts, and those endorphins fade and I start thinking about what a shitshow my life is at the moment, I head to the locker room to shower.

I’m big on privacy (I mean, I get changed in the locked washroom stall), so locker rooms aren’t my favorite place, but they have private showers here, and at this time of day no one is here anyway.

Case in point, when I step inside, the place is empty. I use the toilet and then go to my locker where I shoved my marshmallow coat and phone. It takes me a bit to get the key in the lock, and I have to stop and look at it to make sure I’m actually at the right locker and not someone else’s.

I try again, and this time it clicks open with ease. I’m about to open it when I swear I sense someone walk past me from behind.

I turn around, expecting to have missed someone in the washroom, but there’s no one there. Good.

I know it’s silly to think that Dex may have texted me while I was doing my spin, but I check my phone anyway. There’s nothing, of course, and my heart sinks a little. I’m not really in a rush to go home and get the deep freeze, and I feel gross, so I put my phone back, lock it up again, and then grab a freshly laundered towel from the rack in the corner.

Tucking the ends of my hair under my elastic band, I head into the shower stall, locking the door behind me. I wish I brought a change of clothes but I was obviously