All is forgiven

"Chin up! " the instructor barked.

Lana was stepping out of her comfort zone again, this time at the gym. After noticing an opening in the self-defense class, she decided to sign up. What she didn't expect was the one on one attention that Debbie, the instructor, gave her.

It was just the two of them in the ring, after no one else showed up for the early session. Initially, she was intimidated, but after reminding herself why she was doing it, Lana decided to take a leap of faith.

Running from Danny wasn't that great of a life plan, so she had to prepare for the inevitable confrontation if she ever had a chance of reclaiming a normal life. She hated to think of herself as weak, or defenseless, so learning how to protect herself was empowering.

With every punch thrown, she could feel her confidence building. More than she needed to develop a new personality, Lana felt she just had to break down all the walls she had built up to protect herself in her marriage. Dan wa