Chapter 22

• ALPHA HARDEN
• The iron bit into my palms as I lifted the barbell, the heavy plates groaning softly with the effort. Up, then slowly down towards my chest. Up again. Sweat dripped from my forehead, stinging my eyes, but I pushed through it. More weight. I loaded on more, trying to make the physical strain so intense that my mind would have no room for anything else. Anything but her.
• It had been two weeks. Two long, empty weeks since Alicia decided to vanish from my life. I’d thought leaving the house, giving her space, would bring her back. It hadn't because Carmen told me she texted him that she needed space. It just felt like a giant, aching hole in my chest.