Chapter Twenty-Six

                                    

                                          
(Kai's POV)
                          
I swung my arms back and forth as I stood in front of my block. This was it. My first race. 
                          
The men's hundred-meter free—one of the star events of Olympic swimming.
                          
I looked up into the crowd one last time to search for Fi and Reid. I couldn't see them anywhere. I knew where Austin was, but not them. 
                          
"Ready to lose again?" Carson asked. 
                          
I ignored him. I ignored everyone. The moment I got it the hotel, it was crazy. People from all over from all different sports had approached me. A lot of them welcomed me back and said they'd be rooting for me and wishing me luck. To avoid any of that further, I barely left my hotel room until today. When I did leave it was only to eat and warmup/practice. 
                          
When it was ready to go we all hopped up onto our blocks. I bent back down into position, my fingers gripping the front edge. The tension started building in my legs. 
                          
I visualized myself as a loaded spring, compressed and ready to release. 
                          
Just me and the water. 
                          
At the sound of the beep we were off. 
                          
I launch hard and hit perfectly in the middle of the lane. I pushed myself hard through the water. My lips rise above the surface and I take in air, just enough, to power on. Less than a minute later it was done.
                          
The loud screams and cheers of those around us was the first thing I heard. I yanked my goggles and swim cap off before looking up at the board. 
                          
At that moment, everything I had done was worth it. The gold was mine.
                          
I couldn't keep the smile off my face as the crowd started chanting and screaming my name. I pointed up to the sky and smiled.
                          
"Marie, Mason, this one is for you." I murmured.
                          
I pulled myself from the pool just to get pulled into a bear hug by Coach. 
                          
"My champion! You're back!" He yelled.
                          
"Just one race, Coach. I got five more to medal in." 
                          
"You can do it. I know you can."
                          
I headed back to the locker room where the other were waiting.
                          
"Nakoa!" Kingston yelled when I walked in.
                          
"You did it, man. I'm so happy for you." Eli said.
                          
"Thanks."
                          
"Hey, we saw your girl out there. She's much prettier in person." Garrett said.
                          
"You saw her?"
                          
"Yeah. She was with some guy."
                          
I smiled. I had other stuff to do so I couldn't go to her, but I was happy to know she was there. 
                          
I got gold at my second race. I felt fantastic. It was at that point that Carson regained the stick up his ass. He was glaring at me every chance he got and kept mouthing off.
                          
I didn't pay him any attention. He wasn't the reason why I was there. 
                          
When I finally got to leave, I went in search of Fi and Reid. Reid texted me and told me where to meet them. When I got there, it was only Fi. 
                          
"Hey." I called.
                          
"Hey." She smiled.
                          
She pulled me into a hug and kissed me. 
                          
"I'm so proud of you." She said.
                          
"Thank you." I said pulling back. 
                          
That's when I noticed something. She seemed different. 
                          
"Fi?"
                          
"Mhmm."
                          
"You okay?"
                          
"Just perfect. Why?"
                          
"You seem....."
                          
"Happier? More smiley?" She said smiling wide.
                          
"What's going on?"
                          
Instead of answering me, she looked down at my green shirt and grinned.
                          
"Green is your color. Those shoes don't really match though." 
                          
I grabbed her face in my hands and brought her head up. I looked into her eyes and watched as she stared perfectly back at me.
                          
"Fi...can you...."
                          
"See? Yes, yes I can." She chuckled. "You're more handsome than I thought." 
                          
~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Josephine's POV)
                          
True to his word, Doctor Greene was right about my eyesight. He got it back for me. 
                          
When he looked at my scans, he was happy with what he saw. He said that if we had had the medical techniques back then that we do now, then I might've never lost my eyesight. He said that they weren't as badly damaged as he thought and he was confident that he could fix them. 
                          
I set up a surgery date with him and didn't tell anyone. He said it would be as non-invasive as possible and I'd be out in a day or two. 
                          
My parents very shocked, confused, and happy when I told them. Well, Doctor Greene told them. Doctor Greene called them after the surgery was over. They were pissed that I didn't tell them about before hand, but they understood my reasoning. 
                          
Once I was released from the hospital and Doctor Greene approved, Reid and I boarded a plane for the Olympics. 
                          
We got there the day of Kai's first race and we barely made it in time. I didn't bother trying to look around and take in everything, I just looked down to try and find him. I told Reid I wanted to guess which one he was. 
                          
It wasn't until they were in the water. That was the second I spotted him. I felt it deep down. 
                          
The others in the pool were swimming fast, but there was one soaring through the water.
                          
Unable to do anything but watch, I watched as he parted the water and his long, powerful arms carving out a straight path. To me, it looked like he was barely exerting any effort, gliding through the lane as if propelled by some force.
                          
"He's amazing." I whispered.
                          
"Yeah, he is." Reid agreed.
                          
Once he hit the wall and it came up that he got gold, I screamed. I jumped up and down and screamed alongside Reid. 
                          
"He did it!" I yelled as I watched him look up at the board in disbelief. When he put his finger to the sky, I knew what he was saying. I felt it. I watched as he climbed out of the pool and his coach hugged him.
                          
"You did it, babe." I murmured to myself. "You did it."