Road to Recovery Read Online Free Page B

hallway.
    Smiling, Brooke leaned over to turn her
iPod back on. Cori was so different from the other people she
normally associated with. Thinking back, Brooke couldn’t remember
any of her friends being that hyper or lively. And she, herself,
would never act that way. It wasn’t done.
    Cori seemed to bounce everywhere she
went. Almost like nervous energy ready to burst through. She talked
fast, was quick to smile, and even quicker to laugh and joke. It
didn’t seem to bother her at all to stop in for a quick chat, even
though they only just met.
    Personally, Brooke couldn’t remember
ever being that forward with someone. She liked to get a feel for a
person before she put herself out there.
    For whatever reason, Cori seemed to
find her interesting, or maybe she was overthinking it. Cori was
obviously an overly friendly type of person, the opposite of
Brooke, who had been accused of being cool or frigid more often
than not. There was some truth to it, she knew. But she had
expectations to live up to.
    Too many people saw a pretty face and
nothing else. Or worse yet, saw her name, realized who her family
was, and had certain preconceived notions of her. Thanks to her
mother, perfection was demanded at all times.
    She was expected to look and act a
certain way. The way a perfect wife would be, in her mother’s eyes.
She should never have a hair out of place, always be dressed in the
most current but classic fashions. And most importantly, be able to
throw a dinner party worthy of royalty on short notice. Those were
the important things in Paula Malone’s world.
    Even though Brooke didn’t agree with
any of her mother’s opinions, she wasn’t going to spite herself by
rebelling and looking the opposite of what her mother wanted. She
refused to dress frumpy and unattractive. She liked being a girl.
She liked looking like a girl. But that came with a
price.
    That price meant that she most likely
had to be more rigid in order to be taken seriously, in order to
dispel the opinions of those who felt her mother was grooming her a
certain way. After years of training herself, or rather being
taught what to do and when, Brooke wasn’t sure she even knew how to
let go and have fun. After her accident she realized she missed
that in life.
    Her life had been carefully mapped out
by lists and goals in order to achieve everything she set out to
do. She liked those lists. They kept her life in control. And there
was nothing wrong with being in control. At least she had never
thought so before.
    But then again, all that control in her
life couldn’t have prepared her for the last year either. Thinking
there was nothing more she could do about it, she decided to stop
overanalyzing everything and get back to work.
     
    ***
     
    “ Hey there, now that’s the
person I remembered from Friday.” Brooke looked over between reps
on the leg press at the sound of Cori’s voice. Then she looked down
at herself in black knee length bike shorts and a gray baggy
T-shirt. “Do I really look that different? I mean it’s only a
change of clothes.”
    Cori laughed out loud, causing several
eyes to turn their way. “Are you serious? You went from Glam Girl
to Gym Rat in less than thirty seconds. Your hair is piled on top
of your head in a messy bun, and your shirt is two sizes too big.
How can you be the same person I saw hours ago?”
    Brooke frowned. “I never really thought
of it. I guess it has to do with looking the part. When I’m doing
my job I’m a professional, so I dress to be professional. When I’m
in the gym, I’m going to get sweaty and dirty so I dress for
that.”
    Hopping on the machine next to Brooke
and starting her own butterfly reps, Cori conceded. “OK, makes
sense in a logical kind of way. I guess that’s you, logical? Bet
everything has its own place in your house? Really organized
closet, color-coded too, right?” She stole a glance over, causing
Brooke look away.
    Cori inhaled sharply, pressed her
elbows