The contents of the bag finally crammed into the locker. Small victories. Frazer’s stomach turned over at the idea of alcohol. “I can’t. I’m—I’m busy.”

Another silence that felt full of judgement. “With what?”

Damn it.

“Frazer—what ya doing tonight?”

This is why you don’t lie. “I’m…um…”

“Great, I’ll come over at six. See you then!”

And Jemma hung up.

Frazer missed the days of flip phones when she could sassily snap it shut to express her annoyance. She settled for dropping it on top of her gym bag. The locker door got slammed shut for good measure. As she slipped the key onto its plastic bracelet over her wrist, Frazer turned around to see the old woman still glaring at her. Frazer wiggled her fingers back at her. The glare intensified, and Frazer walked past, she hoped breezily.

Her head raged at her as she dove into the pool and stayed under as long as she could. She emerged only when the pressure in her lungs demanded it.

Nothing felt good that day.

After a steaming shower that didn’t do a lot to make her feel better about herself and then sitting at home for a few hours, Frazer had given up. Of course she’d gone to the gym again. She needed meditation. Repetition. Stroke, stroke, breathe. Repeat.

The rhythm occurred naturally. By the time Frazer crawled out of the pool an hour and a half later, her arms were shaking, the muscles spasming. Everything burned, and this time, it wasn’t with deep shame.

Exhaustion she could deal with.

Wrapped in a towel and still breathing hard, Frazer padded into the empty changing room. When she opened the locker and saw a message alert from Cora, everything ached for a different reason, and Frazer threw her phone back in the locker.

Thirty seconds later, cool water again surrounded her flushed skin. Her muscles screamed in protest.

Another hour would do her good.

* * *

“Did you have sex?”

Cora stared at Lisa through her screen door. How did she know? All Cora had done was knock on the door—probably a bit desperately, if she was honest with herself—but Lisa had swung the door open without a word from Cora and had just asked. How could Lisa know? Cora had showered for an hour, hoping the boiling water could erase what she had done.

“What?” Because that was smooth and didn’t sound guilty at all.

In the murky front light, Lisa squinted at her. “Did you have sex?”

Cora’s heart pounded. The fact that this was probably just a question seeped into her consciousness. “Uh—no. Alec is away.”

“Well, I know that. I thought you were toyboying.”

“S—still no. Sorry. You gonna let me in?”

Lisa pushed the door open. As Cora walked through, she tried to pretend she still held some dignity.