Time Turner
. . . fiction by Odyssea
. . .Punching Bag. . .
Sydney had hung a punching bag in the garage of her new house. It wasn't anything fancy; the cheapest she could find at the athletics store, but it made her feel better. She hated not being able to work out, but the thought of joining a gym, with all the people around...It wouldn't work, not now.
So she hung the bag in the garage, making sure it wouldn't hit her car. This meant it was over in a corner, darker than the rest of the garage. It was supposed to be for practicing her punches and kicks, which she had done dutifully every day since she had joined SD-6 in college. At first, it was just exercise, training, but later it became a way to deal with all the frustrations of her job, of her friends, of school.
Sydney found everything frustrating at first: being alone, not knowing where anything was, buying a whole new wardrobe. But these were little things, and she didn't spend much time venting on them. Then she met Lauren Reed. Pretty, nice Lauren, the woman Vaughn had decided could replace her, the woman he'd decided to marry.
Sydney stayed in the garage until her knuckles were bloody and swollen.
She would head to the bag after work, once she'd changed clothes, batter it with her fists and feet until she could barely raise her arms. Then she'd head back in, snag a beer from the fridge, run a hot bath and sink beneath the surface. It was a routine, somewhat painful, but the only way she could stand to face Vaughn and Lauren at work the next day. It worked, until the day Kendall returned and told her what had happened to her, what she had done during her disappearance.
The next time she made it home, Sydney fought so hard she left a hole in the garage wall.
It made it harder than ever, finding the simple strength of will to get up and go to work, keeping more secrets than ever from the people she was supposed to trust. When she flew to North Korea with Vaughn, and the plane crashed, everything became simple - survival. In the jail, when Vaughn confessed that he still loved her, it became simpler still. What is death when love still exists? Then they were rescued, and came back to California, and some combination of the double miracle - life and love - made her feel ebullient inside. And Vaughn walked into Lauren's waiting arms, never giving her a second glance.
Sydney vented her frustrations on the punching bag until it fell from the ceiling.
She left it lying on the floor, and walked away.
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