Work Text:
Beep. Beep. Beep. The only sounds Andy could hear through her earbuds were her gasps after each drop of her feet on the treadmill.
Beep.
Faster.
Beep.
Faster.
Her footfalls vibrating through her body, even over the thumping rhythm of the music playing in her ears as loud as she could bear.
She could feel sweat running down her neck, pooling in the swell of her breasts. Tears were starting to mix with it on her face, too. She didn’t know if the sting in her eyes was the result of the salty liquid coming from them or from the one exuding from her pores going past her eyebrows.
Breathe.
In through your nose.
Out through your mouth.
Again.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Two fingers shakily pushing the ‘+’ button on the treadmill’s display.
Faster.
Faster.
It was cathartic. To run here, physically, what she couldn’t run from in her head. The thoughts and memories assaulting her mind. Making her take gulps of air through her mouth, knowing she would regret them after the pain in her right side hit.
She felt twisted delight making as much noise as she could, letting her feet hit hard and heavy against the running belt. It felt like an empty revenge, because the victim wasn’t there. Wouldn’t be there again.
Hollow. That’s how she felt.
So she ran faster. She wanted to feel her lungs burning, maybe then she wouldn’t feel her heart breaking. She wanted to taste blood, wanted to erase from her tongue the saltiness of the tears that had slid down her cheeks and were leaking into her mouth. She wanted to hear the music louder, so she wouldn’t hear the sobs coming out of her throat, the pained gasps that had nothing to do with the strain on her metabolism and everything to do with Miranda on the arm of the next Mr. Priestly.
The same Miranda Priestly that had, once, kissed her so thoroughly and tenderly Andy thought she’d pass out.