Gemotions

He slammed the weight plate back onto the rack, the metal clanging loud in the otherwise quiet gym. He hadn't lifted in weeks. A dull ache throbbed in his shoulder where the rotator cuff injury had been. He’d ignored it. Stupidly, ambitiously. He closed his eyes, picturing the open road, the wind in his face. It was a fantasy now. His legs felt heavy, as though rooted to the floor. The sun, streaming through the window, seemed to mock him with its brightness. He felt the constriction in his chest, a vise tightening around his ribs. "Another year," he muttered under his breath, the words tasting like ash.