Epilogue #2
Immediately after the ceremony, the winners—and River had dragged Newt along—had headed upstairs to the Governors Ball to have their statuettes engraved.
Newt had never seen as many photographers.
When River had his name put on his Oscar, Newt realised plaques had been engraved beforehand with the name of every nominee, otherwise they’d have been there for hours.
It was just a matter of fitting the plaque in place, giving it a polish and handing it over again.
They’d been whisked away to an after party in a limo and River hadn’t stopped talking.
“Told you,” Newt said when he could get a word in edgeways.
“So did I,” Max said. “I have to admit, when Omid won, I thought you’d had it. You’re the first openly gay actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor. You’ve made history. Your speech was…lovely. What you said…”
“That you were a pain-in-the-neck?” River slid his fingers into Newt’s.
“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t. I hope I’ve got more right than I’ve got wrong with you.”
“You were a father when I needed one. I could forgive you for almost anything for being that. You nearly fucked up with Newt, but then I wouldn’t have met him if it hadn’t been for you. But don’t fuck up again.”
Max chuckled. “Enjoy the night. You too, Newt.”
From the moment they arrived at the party, River had been engulfed by people.
Max had disappeared and Newt had wandered around until he’d found a quiet-ish place to stand.
He had a glass of champagne in his hand but he’d not drunk any.
He still couldn’t get his head around how much his life had changed.
Business class seats to Los Angeles. A hotel with the most amazing pool he’d ever seen.
Plates of food that looked like works of art.
And now film stars everywhere he looked. And one of them was his.
He turned and stared out of the window. He didn’t fit in here, but it didn’t matter because he didn’t particularly want to.
He fit with River. They’d had been together for just over a year and they were closer than ever, even if River spent weeks at a time working away.
Absence did make the heart grow fonder and the sex hotter.
River had kept the house in Kent but they were going to look for a new place this spring.
River would have moved out sooner but Newt liked the house.
Despite what had happened, he felt safe and happy there. And he loved the pool.
When River was away, Newt had buried himself in online studies and was working towards a masters in Child Psychology.
He wasn’t sure he’d find a job in that field but he was following his heart.
Maybe one day he and River could adopt kids who’d had troubled lives.
They’d talked about it but they were still young themselves.
Newt’s parents and Sean had been arrested ten days after Phelan’s funeral, then bailed.
A year later, the case still hadn’t yet come to court.
Newt had been told that his parents and Sean would be sent to prison for their criminal activities though likely not for what they’d done to him.
He tried not to think about them. His family had challenged Phelan’s will but lost. Part of Newt had not wanted to accept all the money, but he’d been talked into it by Phelan’s lawyer.
The other surprise had been the delivery of all the letters Phelan had sent while he was in prison that Newt had sent back unopened.
He hadn’t been sure he wanted to read them but eventually he had.
He was glad he’d not read them at the time, hearing about a world he was no longer part of would have hurt, but when he did read them, it had been like having his brother back in his life for a while.
No charges were brought in relation to Barney’s death which had been a huge relief.
Newt’s conviction for manslaughter and armed robbery had been harder to overturn.
Dominique had put in an appeal and at least that hadn’t taken so long to be listened to.
After two months, the judges had decided the original conviction was unsafe and should be overturned.
Newt had felt so…light at that moment. He’d not realised the extent of the weight he’d been carrying, how it had sat inside him, a constant burden.
The one thing that had disappointed him was that a successful appeal didn’t mean the same as being found not guilty at the original trial.
The conviction might have been declared unsafe but it didn’t necessarily mean he’d convinced the court of his innocence.
Dominque told him all that mattered was that his criminal conviction had gone.
She was pursuing compensation even though Newt had admitted his guilt to the police.
They hadn’t been thorough. They’d not checked that the clothing they’d seized actually fit Newt.
They’d not checked his blood for drugs. They’d not brought a doctor in to see him when they were dealing with a teenager who was clearly in a state of acute shock.
Once they’d heard Newt admit guilt, for them it was case closed.
Dominique was incensed on his behalf. Compensation was capped at one million, not that Newt expected anything near that.
He wasn’t sure he deserved money at all.
But he’d been young and under pressure from abusive parents, manipulated by those who should have loved him, not dealt with properly by the police, not given good legal advice…
He wanted to forget it all because now he had someone who loved him more than he could have ever dreamed of.
“What are you doing, skulking in the corner?”
Newt turned to face River. “Giving you some space.”
“Who said I wanted space? Check your phone.”
Newt pulled it out. “I’d switched it off as per instructions.” When he saw the screen full of 11111111111111s, he smiled. “You needed rescuing?”
“Yes. And where were you? Admiring your reflection and drinking champagne. Hmm. I might have to sack you.”
“What did you do with your Oscar?”
River gasped. “Fuck! I’ve lost him already?”
“Where did you last—oh. Ha ha.”
“It’s safe.” River took Newt’s hand. “You want to come and meet people? I don’t want you to just stand here on your own.”
“The Rock was fetching me a drink.”
River laughed. “Come and meet him.”
“Which one is he?”
That caused more laughter but Newt let River tug him through the crowded room.
By the time they escaped the party, it was gone two in the morning.
The air outside was cool and smelled faintly of jasmine and car exhaust. They climbed into the limo and Newt felt suddenly exhausted.
They sat side by side as the car pulled away, silence settling between them—not awkward, not empty.
The kind that came from knowing the other person was there.
River reached for Newt’s hand, threading their fingers together.
“I meant what I said,” River murmured eventually.
“I know.”
“I wasn’t performing. I wasn’t acting. I just—” He swallowed. “I needed people to know that you saved me.”
Newt turned to him then, really looked at him. The sharp tux. The floppy hair. The tired eyes. “You saved yourself. I just helped a bit.”
They didn’t go back to the hotel right away. Instead, River asked the driver to stop somewhere quiet, a place overlooking the city. They got out and leaned against the railing as the lights stretched out beneath them, a map of millions of different lives.
“What an evening,” River said.
“It was amazing.”
“Ready to go home?” River put his arm over Newt’s shoulder.
The word landed differently now for Newt, maybe for River too. It wasn’t a place anymore. It wasn’t Kent or Los Angeles or anywhere with walls and doors. It was this. Being together. Breathing the same air, the night wrapped around them.
“Anywhere I’m with you…is home,” Newt told him.
Later when they crawled into bed, the Oscar placed on the dresser in front of them as if it might wander off if left unattended, Newt finally let himself exhale.
He’d wanted so desperately for River to win, he wondered what he’d have done if he hadn’t.
River fell asleep almost immediately, one arm thrown possessively over Newt’s waist.
Newt lay awake a little longer.
He thought about the boy he’d been. The fear. The anger. The silence. He thought about how close he’d come to having nothing. And then he thought about tomorrow. About love that didn’t erase the past but made space for a future.
He turned his head and pressed a kiss to River’s hair.
Life was still broken. It probably always would be, in places.
But it was also beautiful.
And this—this was enough. More than enough. It was everything.
The End