Two Years Later #3
I know it hasn’t been easy for her since Nox released his memoir.
He protected her in some ways, holding back from revealing her most egregious behavior, but in telling his own story, he still outed her drinking to the world.
With her permission, yes, but still. Her substance abuse went from a Hollywood rumor she could wave away to a real-life problem no one would ignore.
In the past year and a half, she’s completed two separate six-week stays at the celebrity detox facility—not full rehab, but something.
They’ve started going to family therapy.
She’s trying, and for now, that’s enough.
The three of us stand together, holding hands and screaming, as Nox wins one gold, then another.
We come back the next night to watch him win a third and then a fourth the night after that.
By the time he reaches five, getting that elusive freestyle gold by four one-hundredths of a second, the whispers of a clean sweep are already starting.
The arena is buzzing. But that Monroe smolder holds.
He wavers for no one, the definition of focus except for the few quick grins he flashes up at me.
He gets a sixth gold. Then a seventh. More celebrities pour into the seats around us.
Everyone in Brisbane wants a piece of him, a piece of the history he’s creating.
His final event is the 4x100m medley relay.
He’s swimming the third leg—butterfly.
And no, it’s not lost on a single soul in here that this is the exact event he dropped out of four years ago, the start of what they all now know was a complete mental breakdown.
When his teammate is halfway through the second lap, he glances up at me from the starting block and I just know he’s got this.
Tears are already streaming down my cheeks before he even dives into the pool, and when he does it’s pure magic.
He swims even faster than the world-record pace he set a few days ago.
The place is going wild. He extends Team USA’s lead by an entire body-length on a single lap.
The race is done before his final teammate gets in the water.
When the horn blows, making it official, the entire arena erupts.
Screams. Cheers. Everyone jumps to their feet.
People who’ve never even met him are crying.
Because they all know, same as I do, that this is about so much more than a piece of gold.
He let them in. His story became their story.
His redemption became their redemption. He’s not just the best there ever was.
He’s human, too, and somehow, that makes him even more incredible.
Nox screams into the rafters with his teammates, then starts cutting his way through the crowd, which parts because they know exactly where he’s going.
To his family.
To me.
I don’t need Nova to give me a shove this time. I run down the stairs and grab the handrail to keep from falling as I lean as far over as I can and shout one word across the din.
“YES!”
A fire blazes in his eyes. He holds out his arms when he gets close, and I don’t need words to know what he’s saying.
I climb over the guardrail, ignoring the security guard yelling at me to stop, and jump.
Nox catches me against his chest. He keeps his arms around my waist as he slowly lowers my feet to the ground.
“Yes,” I say again as I reach up and brush my thumb across his cheekbone, reveling in the heat of his gaze.
His races are over. He proved everything he needed to prove, to himself, to the world, but not to me because I already knew.
He doesn’t need his hate. He can leave it in the past. He has love now, more than enough to last forever.
“Our deal is up,” I say with a grin as I slide my hands back and thread my fingers through his hair. “My answer is yes.”
He gives me that cocky grin that’s always made my knees weak, even before I was brave enough to admit it. “I don’t think I’ve actually asked you yet.”
“No time like the present.”
He laughs softly and hugs me even closer, soaking my clothes, but I don’t care. All I’m aware of is the warm brush of his lips as they gently kiss my skin and he whispers, so softly, for only me to hear, “Clara Hayes, will you marry me?”
“Yes, Nox.” I breathe the answer into his mouth, closing the distance between us. “For you, I’d do anything.”
Thank you for reading!