Chapter 1 - Prologue

- Current Time: 6.57 PM - Current Weight: 180 lbs -

Rachel’s neck snapped to the nearby window as a thunder crack roared outside, causing a few others within the gym to also glance over. Typical Summer thunderstorm, right as she was almost finishing her set too.

As Rachel resumed her reps, she couldn’t help but give herself a look up and down in the mirror opposite. She tended to avoid spots that featured floor to ceiling mirrors, feeling off put by every inch of flab and small back rolls. It was the whole reason she began going to the gym in the first place, as much as it pained her.

In truth, Rachel was a massive foodie. Her entire childhood was filled with hearty, homemade meals. Of course with that came the natural effect of making her a rather chubby kid as a result. It never used to bother her. It was simply how her family showed their love, with both of her parents admittedly being rather overweight, as were her siblings. However there were only so many snide comments and failed shopping experiences that she could handle.

It almost felt like a betrayal to lose the weight she’d carried for so many years, as if she was suddenly denying their love. Even thinking about it, Rachel found herself slowing down more and more, until she wasn’t even working out anymore.

So lost within thought, she almost jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand cup her shoulder.

“Hey! It’s um, Rachel, right?”

The girl looming over her was a regular of the gym, and often worked out at similar times to Rachel. They had exchanged various short interactions with one another, most simply being holding the door for each other or saying a quick ‘hello’. She wasn’t exactly sure how the girl found out her name, and in hindsight should have perhaps seen it as a red flag.

“Oh–Sorry.” Rachel stammered, idly toying with the laces on her trainer as if to suggest she was retying them despite that clearly not being the case. “Yeah…Um, sorry–Did you want to…?”
She gestured to the weights beside her, but the girl shook her head in response.

“No I…I actually wanted to talk to you. If that’s okay?” She seemed relatively nervous, adjusting one of the straps of her sports bra. It was unusual, to say the least. Whilst they were more or less strangers, it was hard not to note that the girl simply oozed confidence. She always seemed so determined during her workouts, and would sometimes take photos or videos for her Instagram.

“Sorry if this sounds weird, but I’ve noticed you walk home after your workouts…I just wanted to see if you wanted a ride home, with the weather and all?”

As if on cue, another strike caused the entire gym to rumble in the aftershock. Rachel, naturally, hadn’t even brought a coat with her. Because of course she didn’t.
Though, despite being in her mid 20s, the ‘stranger danger’ mindset that had been drilled in her head by parents and teachers alike began sending alarm bells to her.

“Um…Oh, I mean–That’s really kind of you to offer.” Rachel couldn’t help but wince. ‘God, I’m so awkward,’ she thought to herself. “But I’m not that far away. I’ll be fi–”

“Honestly, it’s fine!” The gym rat jumped back in a little too eagerly, “I like, drive past you anyway so we basically have the same route.”

There was a pause whilst Rachel’s eyebrows knitted tighter into a frown, and the other girl’s bright, yet nervous looking smile grew wider.

“...Please?”

Rachel had to force a small smile of her own, all the while a small lump began forming in her throat. It would be, at maximum, a five minute car ride. No harm, and at least she and her gym bag wouldn’t get completely soaked.

“...Okay.” She agreed with an exhale, delighting the other girl to no end. She gave her a firm squeeze on the shoulder Rachel now realised she hadn’t let go of throughout the entire conversation, before finally pulling back.

“Great!” She beamed, “I’ve got five sets left, see you in like…Ten minutes?”

Rachel didn’t even have a chance to agree before the girl was already gone.

-

Rachel watched the thick, heavy raindrops pound against the glass doors of the gym as she waited. The more she stood there, the more she felt that it was a horrible idea. Sure, she tended to be an overthinker at the best of times, yet there was simply an odd feeling she couldn’t shake.

“Ready?” The familial chirpy tone of the other girl rang in her ears, making her jump more than the thunder.

She felt her hand press firmly against her back, guiding her outside. “I’m parked literally just over here.” The girl continued, nodding to the small silver Mini Cooper near the curb.

Rachel merely kept her arms firmly crossed against her chest, trying to keep as warm as possible. The unexpected wind was bitter, cutting into her bare skin like ice. If anything, it only reassured her about accepting the ride home.

The pair of them flopped into their respective seats with a sigh of relief, being met with a much warmer car interior. Even then, the girl was quick to turn on the heated seating despite it only being a short trip.

“It’s just a left…Um…Here.” Rachel piped up initially, only to find the other girl had naturally already begun to turn left. She must have had a rather confused look on her face, given the other’s burst of laughter.


“I told you!” She said, “We LITERALLY have the same route home! You need to relax a little, Rach.”

The girl reached down and grabbed her sports bottle from the cup holder, offering it to her.

“You’re acting like I’m some psycho serial killer or something.”

Rachel glanced at the bottle, then at the girl, before letting out a little laugh of her own.

“S-Sorry…” She stammered, taking the bottle and toying with the lid for a moment. “I just…I don’t even know what your name is?”

The girl didn’t answer right away, though Rachel merely chalked it down to her concentrating on the road. After all, the rain had barely let up, making visibility poor. She wouldn’t exactly like to get in a car crash today.

She brought the bottle up to her lips, taking a larger gulp than she had expected to. It was welcomed, to say the least, having ran out of her own water embarrassingly early into her own workout.

As Rachel placed the bottle back into the cupholder, she found it much harder than she was expecting it to. It was like her hand was moving on its down, clumsily missing the slot multiple times before the bottle fell into her footwell. It was hard to lift her head back up, a sudden weight crushing down on her body to the point even her vision was growing blurry.

“I don’t…I don’ feel…”

It was hard to talk, her entire body felt numb. She could just barely make out the silhouette of the girl driving before her body slumped forward, head hitting the dashboard.