prologue

THE SICKENING AURA of perfection lingered around every corner, suffocating me with their nauseated stares. I shifted uncomfortably, tugging at the hem of my shirt as if to cover more of myself. Part of me preferred the pungent stench of sweat and intense body odor as opposed to the judgmental looks tossed my way.

The petite lady behind the desk was equally flawless, every curve of her face looking as if it were designed on a computer how one would want to look. It made me want to grab the desktop she was planted in front of and sling it at her face. It wasn't her fault she was pretty, but it wasn't my fault I was ugly. Those who are pretty stay pretty, those who are ugly stay ugly. A little sling of the keyboard across her cheek wouldn't hurt.

She glanced up from up me, one of those over-the-top smiles where you could practically rip off they're so fake. "And did you have an idea on how many sessions a week you'd be able to afford?"

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. "How much would three sessions be?"

The prices made the idea of slapping her with the keyboard even more appealing. Why pay so much for something that most likely won't work anyways?

However, remembering my doctor's guidance and my boyfriend's discontent, I forced myself to believe that I could make it work. Get a second job, if I have to. Anything to keep everyone around me comfortable; to make them want to remain around me.

"You're all set up," she said in a perky voice. Another disgustingly false yet gorgeous smile thrown my way. "Your trainer will be assigned to you within a few days. We'll send a phone call and the trainer themselves will contact you through email."

After giving a curt nod of comprehension, I don't think I've ever ran faster from a place with air conditioning before. And I mean that quite literally considering the last time I ran anywhere was when the bookstore had a limited edition of the series I was devouring, or when I realized we were out of Little Debbie snacks. The grocery store didn't know a whale was about to ransack their place before diving back into the ocean.

In other words, the fat girl dying for some junk food before falling face first into the couch and clicking on the television.

But I was going to change. I had to change. If I didn't, I might lose everything I've ever known and loved. I wasn't prepared to toss the remnants of my old life away. I had to cling to it because if I didn't, I would drown. It was the little branch protruding out of the cliff and I was hanging from it.

Ever so slowly, it was breaking.