Chapter 12
Fact or Fiction?
I’m probably going to die today.
Luke
“Okay, folks, the final event of the day is the ninety-foot speed climb. This is the big event everyone has been waiting for.
Climbers will scale a ninety-foot cedar spar pole using steel-core climbing rope, spurs, and lots of grit. Once they reach
the top, athletes will descend at rapid speed, tapping their spurs inside designated sections on the pole as they make their
way back down to earth at a staggering speed to stop the clock.”
Wyatt, Calder, Max, and myself all stand shoulder to shoulder, arms crossed, staring up at the ninety-foot pole suspended
upright by ropes and cranes as we watch lumberjack after lumberjack fly up the pole and practically fall down to the bottom.
There’s a bell at the top contestants have to ring and a large crash pad at the base that catches them when they drop the
last ten to twenty feet or so. A few of them have come down a bit faster than they intended and there’s been some limping
off to the nearby medic tent, which has only stoked my anxiety. A uniformed EMT is currently on the mat, assessing one of
the competitors on the mat now, casting an ominous glow on the entire event.
“This pole is at least four times longer than what you practiced on at our jobsite,” Calder says, swallowing nervously as
he squints up to the top of the pole.
“Yeah,” I reply with a huff. “Everly texted me and said I should probably just forfeit this event.”
Max nods seriously. “That’s a good idea.”
“I’m not forfeiting,” I state firmly.
“Why?” Max asks, moving to stand in front of me. “It’s not like you’re going to win the competition. That Ivan guy has it
all but won.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I reply with a growl. “I’m finishing this shit today.”
Wyatt scratches his beard and shakes his head. “This isn’t smart, Luke.”
“It’s climbing a fucking pole. How hard can it be?” I tut, bending over to adjust my spiked boots. I grab my gloves and rope
up off the ground and try to get myself mentally ready.
Calder sputters out a laugh. “Come on, man. These guys are moving crazy fast. This isn’t worth getting paralyzed over.”
Max opens his mouth to agree with Calder but looks past me as a cold hand grabs my shoulder, twisting me around. “Luke, can
I speak to you for a second?”
With a frown, I slide my gloves on and allow Roe to pull me off to the side, out of earshot of my brothers. She licks her
lips, her eyes moving from the pole to me and back to the pole before she says, “Don’t do this event.”
“Why?” I snap, my shoulders tensing defensively.
“Because you’re not going to win.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, friend.”
Her jaw is tight with her frustrated scowl. “I don’t want you to die.”
“I’ll be fine.” I huff as I slide my gloves on and give her a pat on the shoulder before making my way back over to the event.
“No you won’t,” she growls and jogs around to stop in front of me.
She presses her tiny hands flat to my chest and uses all her might to walk me backward away from the warm-up area.
I see my brothers all watching us curiously, Calder laughing like usual.
She thrusts her finger up at my face, drawing my attention back down to her.
“I know you signed up for this competition today as some sort of proposal scheme but this needs to be done now. I won’t marry anyone, okay? ”
I laugh and shake my head. “You’d rather lose your family legacy than marry me? Real nice, Roe.”
“I’d rather lose the lumberyard than watch my best friend plummet to his death, yes.” She wraps her arms around her body,
refusing to make eye contact with me as she rubs her lips together nervously.
“God, you’re so stubborn sometimes.” I laugh.
“You’re determined to climb up a ninety-foot pole. Now come on,” she adds, her voice cracking at the end as her face shifts
from anger to worry. “Admit defeat and just be done with this. Let’s go get a beer and be friends again. I hate fighting with
you.”
I tilt my head, staring down at the woman who’s occupied way too many of my thoughts these past few months. Hell, these past
few years. I haven’t been the same man since the day I met her. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I know that it
has more to do with her than me and I hate that.
This competition may have started as a way for me to get her to see me but now it’s a way for me to see myself. As more than
just the youngest Fletcher brother, as more than just a friend in love with his friend. For so long, I’ve watched on as my
brothers have succeeded in all they do. And it’s not that I’m jealous, but I’ve pushed myself harder than I’ve ever pushed
myself before and considering the odds against me, I’ve proven that I’m capable of more. I want to finish what I started here.
I want to see myself as the man I want to be. A man who finishes things. A man who doesn’t let everyone down and maybe just
once saves the day.
“This isn’t just about you, Addison,” I state, staring down at her, my jaw taut with determination. “Maybe it started that way, but that’s not all this is anymore. I’m finishing this fucking competition today and if you choose to marry Big Nose Ivan, then I won’t get in your way.”
She opens her mouth to say something but instead just squeals a noise of anger as she turns on her heel to stomp away. A better
man wouldn’t stare at her ass as she walks off. I am not that man.
Maybe I’m more like Ivan than I thought.
Or maybe I’m just obsessed with my best friend.
Either way, I need to get my head in the game because I’d prefer to be able to walk myself out of this city park when everything
is all said and done today.
The announcer calls my name up to the ninety-foot pole and I stop by my brothers to grab my rope, ignoring their looks of
concern and refusing to glance out into the audience at my mother and the rest of the family. This isn’t about anyone but
me. If I stay focused I can do this. I can accomplish this goal.
I walk up to the pole that Ivan has just completed his run on. He’s looking past me and when I look over my shoulder to see
him watching Addison . . . again, I can’t help but say, “That’s my future wife you’re gaping at, so I’d appreciate it if you
look the fuck away.”
Big Nose frowns and stares back at me. “Shit. I didn’t know you two are engaged.”
I adjust my rope and nod. “We’re not . . . but we will be.”
Without another word, Ivan steps aside and I wrap my rope around, kicking out my feet as I prepare to climb what feels like
a football field’s worth of wood.
The announcer does a countdown and when the buzzer goes off, I launch myself upward, driving the spikes on the insides of my boots into the cedar pole and using my arms and legs in a coordinated motion to make my way up the wooden beam.
I feel good at first, steady and strong, but as I continue the climb, my quads begin screaming in agony, my forearm veins looking like they’re going to pop with the effort of heaving my ass up this goddamn pole.
“Damn Everly for not finding a ninety-foot pole for me to practice this on,” I huff, my lungs screaming as I continue to climb.
I feel the pole swaying in the wind the higher I get and my entire body starts shaking, which makes my coordinated motions
even more difficult. I look up at the bell and it still looks so fucking far away. I feel like I’ve been climbing for hours.
Why isn’t it closer?
I glance down and that’s when my entire body seizes up. “Oh fuck, I really shouldn’t have done that.” I press my forehead
into the wood, wondering how everyone already looks like tiny ants when I’m only halfway up this fucking pole.
I wonder what it would take to get a rescue team up here and help me down? Fuck, they can’t do that. I have to figure this
out myself. Which means I have two choices: continue climbing and risk freaking out at the top and being unable to come down.
Or bitch out and start descending now and embarrass myself in front of my town and my family.
As I fight to catch my breath, I hear my damn niece’s voice in my head. If you love her then you have to go for it, Luke. Love is stronger than pride.
I inhale a deep breath and glance down again, spotting my brothers all down there staring up at me. Damn they worked so hard
to help me get here today. I can’t give up now.
As I dig deep for the strength to move my foot up, it’s then that I hear my dad’s voice creeps in my head. “Get your ass up that pole, Luke. We don’t have all day.”
That brings a smile to my face. I miss his voice.
I miss his presence. God, what I wouldn’t give to hear what he thinks of all this.
Before I know it, my body is moving again and I’m climbing, up, up, and up.
I don’t know how long it takes. Time sort of moves strangely when you’re suspended a hundred feet in the air and all you can hear is the deafening wind.
But when I ring that bell, my adrenaline spikes and I start skating down that pole faster than I could have ever imagined.
My gloves squeeze hard on the rope to hold tension as my feet move impossibly fast in and out of the pole.
The crowd cheers loudly and I feel victory on the tips of my fingers when suddenly, my spike misses a notch.
My heart jumps into my throat and I feel myself falling, sliding down the fucking pole, my chin scraping against the rough
wood as I go, unable to stop my descent. I’m like a fucking car crash happening in slow motion but everything is a blur.
I’m airborne for what feels like a whole goddamn minute before my back strikes something hard. My body convulses when all
the wind gets knocked out of me and I fight to catch my breath, my whole body seizing up in a desperate attempt to save my
own fucking life.
Murmured voices are loud all around me and I blink up, seeing only the blue Colorado sky and by the time my body finally stops
torturing me and lets me take a full breath in, my vision is clouded by the view of my brothers’ bearded faces.
“Holy fuck, Luke, are you okay?” Calder asks, grabbing my face and yanking it toward him.
“Ow,” I cry, my body contorting weirdly on the mat below me. This mat looked a lot softer when the other competitors landed
on it.
“You skidded down half the pole, Luke. What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Didn’t do that on purpose,” I croak, feeling every muscle in my body weep in agony.
“Is anything broken?” Wyatt’s deep voice cuts in.
I wince and shake my head. “Don’t think so.”
“God, you’re an idiot,” Calder says with a laugh.
“Was I fast?”
“No, not at all,” Calder replies, laughing some more.
“Really?” I squint to look up at all my brothers’ faces to confirm that Calder isn’t fucking with me.
Max injects an opinion next. “You were fast when you fell maybe, but the climb took ages. Some of the audience got bored and
went home. Mom took Ethan to get a pretzel.”
“Seriously.”
“But it got interesting when you dropped at the end,” Calder says, looking down at me with wide, eager eyes. “Did you mean
to do that?”
“No, I didn’t. Why, did it look intentional?”
“No, not at all,” Wyatt replies curly. “You fell like a rock.”
“My chin hurts.”
“Yeah, you’re bleeding pretty good,” Max eyes it nervously, looking like he could puke at the sight of it. “The EMT is coming
over now. Can you feel your legs?”
I wiggle my legs and nod. “Yeah, I can.”
“Good,” Calder huffs. “I really don’t want to have to come back and work for Wyatt again.”
Wyatt cuts Calder a menacing look and suddenly my brothers are all shoved out of the way and a small hand whacks me hard on
the chest that was just deprived of oxygen for a few seconds.
“Are you happy, you fucking idiot?”
My brows furrow. “Not especially. I think I’m bleeding.”
“You deserve to bleed!” Addison roars, and her face appears over mine, the veins in her forehead protruding in a really angry
way. “You were the slowest, most boring climber of the day and then you decided to scare the shit out of everyone right at
the end.”
“Yeah . . . I didn’t mean to do that part,” I groan, feeling an ache in my back.
“Of course you didn’t,” Addison snarls and stares up at the pole, clearly fuming. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“But I did it.” I smile and when she looks down at me, she does not smile back. She is mad mad.
“You lost. Badly. You won’t even place in the top ten so it wasn’t even worth it.”
I sigh heavily and wince as I touch my chin and see blood on my glove. “Can we talk about this later? I think I might need
stitches.”
“No, we can’t talk about this later, Luke. We will talk about it now because if I marry you, you can’t be a moron like this,
okay?”
“Huh?” I blink up at her. Am I concussed, or did she really just say she was going to marry me?
“I mean it . . . if we do this, you need to at least try to compromise on some stuff or we’re never going to survive a year
of this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Marry me, you asshole.” She scowls down at me like she didn’t just say the four most magical words I’ve ever heard.
I swallow the knot in my throat . . . and I think I swallow some blood before I reply, “But I lost.”
“Trust me, I know,” she sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Marry me anyways because . . .” A soft look sweeps
across her face as she looks down at my body that I really hope isn’t mangled but since I still haven’t been able to see anything
but faces and sky, I have no idea. “Marry me because you’re my best friend and I need you.”
I open my mouth, but am unable to say anything because a pair of EMTs come over with a stretcher and move Addison out of the
way. “What is that for?” I ask, staring at the yellow board.
“It’s protocol for anyone who falls more than twenty feet,” one guys says as he begins tucking the board under half of my body. “We need to ensure there’s no spinal injuries.”
“Oh shiiit,” I groan as the men manhandle me onto the stretcher, strapping my forehead and body down and making it impossible
for me to move in any way. They stand up to haul me away and my mind is reeling with everything that just happened. How bad
am I hurt? Where is my family? Where is Addison?
Finally I find my voice and yell, “Wait, wait, wait a second. Roe? Roe, are you here?”
I call out her name and after a few seconds she appears above me out of nowhere, her black hair fanning her cheeks, her eyes
full of concern. “What? What is it?”
I smile up at her and she frowns. “Yes.”
“Yes what?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.” I hit her with the most dazzling smile and have a moment of wondering if all my teeth are in place.
She rolls her eyes. “Fine, but you better not be paralyzed. If I have to wipe your ass on the toilet, I’m going to ask for
alimony after our divorce.”
My body shakes with laughter and then I wince, everything hurting all at once. And as the two guys carry me away from my future
bride I think . . . having her wipe my ass sounds like a decent way to spend the rest of my life.