Epilogue
August 2024, Paris, France.
We are back again. Everyone has their eyes on me. As the current gold medalist, they want to see if I can do it again.
It's the event that will tell all. The finals of the 800 meters.
It's crazy. Three Canadians made it to the finals.
Alongside me, we have Nia and Katarina. For her first Olympics, she's done exceptionally well.
The camera shows each athlete in each lane.
When it gets to me, I do my new ritual. I press my lips to my left fist. Tap my chest twice and put up a 3.
Wherever my boyfriend is, I know he put up a four.
Joey won gold. Mari won silver. It's only right for me to place in the top three.
And I will get gold no matter how this last event goes.
I'm in lane four. I am focusing on me. No one else but me. I'm here to represent my country and have a good time.
I prepare my stance. And when the time comes, I run.
I think about how I've made it this far. I've trained nonstop. I have the support of all my family, who are in the stands watching me.
Joey has never given up on me.
Soon the runners fall in towards the first two lanes.
I'm currently in third. I'm going at a good pace.
My thoughts fuel me to go faster. I can chase Amarion. I still can't catch him, but I can skin his clothes. I've never thought I could change that much in three years.
When we hit the 600-metre point, I dash. I don't look at anyone else. I drown out the sounds of the audience, and I focus on the finish line.
I let out a victorious chant when I cross.
I barely feel tired. But I'm breathing erratically.
I turn back, and second place hasn't crossed the line yet.
I'm in shock.
My Russian competitor came in second, Katarina in third, and Nia in fourth.
I pull my competitors in a short embrace. Then move on to Katarina, who is sprawled on the track.
"You did it!" I shake her shoulders, and she nods out of breath.
All the heptathletes get on to the track awaiting the final results.
I yell out in accomplishment seeing my name at number one. New personal record. 7034 points. I can see the headlines now.
My name is now in the books.
My Russian competitor came second and Nia third.
I run to Nia, and we trap each other in our arms.
"Izzy, that was crazy! You were like 15 meters ahead of everyone! I was shocked you didn't break the Olympic record. You were off by .2 seconds."
I can't even comprehend that.
All of a sudden, someone from the crowd throws a Canada flag our way.
I catch it and drape it on my shoulders.
And the crowd gets louder. The section I'm in front of points at me, and I get confused.
I look at Nia.
She smiles and shakes her head at me. Nia places her hands on my shoulders, takes the flag, and turns me around.
My hands cover my mouth.
"Hey, princess." He cannot be serious. He isn't doing this right now.
Joey is down on one knee and has a ring between his fingers and a mic in the other hand.
"Let me take you back to a time where you chased me around the neighbourhood like a crazy woman, and we ended running away from a group of kids. That was an awful first impression. But I couldn't get past how you were able to keep up with me. You have an amazing work ethic and said you'd train me for this moment in exchange for a place to stay. You do the most extreme things and brought me along on those trips. You are afraid of the simplest things but will jump at the chance to do things that could easily kill you. Climbing and jumping off freestanding ladders. Trusting me and jumping off a ledge in our cave. You barely knew me and came to Argentina with me and met my crazy family. You fit in with us. You fit in with me. We've spent three years together, and I told you, you are never getting rid of me. I said whichever one comes first, the Olympics or marriage. I choose both, so Izzy, I am not going to ask you to marry me. I'm going to ask you if you want me to put the ring on now or later? There's no way out of this. You are stuck with me."
I cover my eyes and burst out laughing.
Joey puts the mic closer to my face, "you are insane, Easterbrook." I place my left hand before him.
He stands and slips the ring on my finger. Surprisingly it's a perfect fit.
I lean up and kiss him.
I already know this is going to be the front page worldwide.
Soon after he leaves, we have our medals presented.
It's a great day to be in Paris.
As Nia and I leave the stadium to head back to our hotel, I see all of my family.
I can't grasp how large it is. The Easterbrooks are large enough on their own. Considering the new addition of Olivia's newborn, a girl named Josie. I had to beg Liv not to name her Jozzy because what if Joey and I broke up somewhere in the last three months.
Anyways, there are also my sister and my parents along with Stella's husband, his parents and her child.
Yes, Stella and Amarion ended together.
Yes, the media connected the dots and figured out what happened, yet we didn't deny or confirm anything. It's none of their business.
No, it's not weird.
They have an adorable one-year-old boy named Tobias.
But we also cannot forget Cyrus, Liyah and their three-year-old daughter named Abigail.
And last, of all, there's Lamar. My personal trainer has never given up on me.
And we cannot forget about Afi and Elijah. They made everything work out. And have the most well-behaved baby I've ever met, their son, Kwaku.
It's funny how Joey and I are technically the last people to be engaged, and we were together for the longest time.
The first person I go to is my mom. It took a long time for us to be on the same page before fixing our relationship.
Everything takes time, and I'm happy neither of us quit during that long year and a half time frame.
I pull my dad and Stell into our hug. They all congratulate me.
I make my way to the loud Easterbrooks. I scream as Mateo and Bruno hoist me up on their shoulders.
"So soon enough, you cannot say we are insane because you'll be one of us!" Bruno says.
And for once, I agree with him.
"Can you imbeciles put me down so I may talk to my favourite!" I yell at them.
They walk me to Joey and put me down.
"I think it's hilarious that you guys think Joey's my favourite." I laugh in their faces.
"Frank y María son mis favoritos." I walk up to them. (Frank and Maria are my favourites)
"¿Desde cuándo hablas español?" Joey asks me. (Since when do you speak Spanish?)
I glare at him, "¡desde que me cansé de que dijeras cosas en español que no entiendo!" (Since I got tired of all of you saying things in Spanish that I don't understand!)
I've been taking private Spanish lessons over the past two, and a half years. Stella has also been helping me a ton.
We all go out for a celebratory dinner.
I had the best steak frites I've ever had.
So everyone tricked Joey and me.
We were preparing to leave. We all agreed to go back altogether. But no. They specifically ordered enough ubers for them, leaving two people out.
Joey and I go for a walk. We haven't been alone while we've been in France.
"So did you have to do it in front of the world?" I chuckle.
"You didn't seem fazed at all. You are like a whole different person when it comes to track and field. You aren't clumsy but graceful. You are confident. Yet you'll freak out in front of a five-year-old fan." He pokes fun at me.
"That's not fair. He chased me in a store, reaching in his pocket, he could've killed me."
Joey drapes his arm on my shoulder, "he was five. And reaching for a marker. He wanted an autograph."
I roll my eyes, "whatever."
"Oh wow, I didn't take it in. We are in the city of love." He smirks.
"You did take it in. You foolish, hopeless romantic. I was waiting for you to say it."
We make our way on a bridge. We can see La Tour Eiffel.
I am Canadian. I took French all 14 years of my school life. I can speak it pretty well.
But we all know Canadian French is different from France French.
This is also why I picked up Spanish so easily.
"Princess, where do you want to get married?" Joey asks out of the blue.
I feel like it would be harsh for the Easterbrooks to always come to Canada.
"How about in Argentina? Or maybe Portugal?"
"Portugal sounds great." We continue walking and end up sitting on a street bench.
"You know I changed my mind." I look up at Joey.
"About what? You are a very opinionated woman." He laughs, and I smile.
"I want one kid. But I swear if they are anything like Josie and Tobias, we will have problems."
"I feel like you are only saying that because you've been babysitting a lot. You despise them when they arrive but don't want them to leave." He says, and I won't deny it.
"But Kwaku is like the best child ever. I've told Afi and Eli that I'll gladly watch him for their getaway, and they think I'm being suspicious because they believe I don't like kids."
"As much as I love hanging out with you, we have to get back before they start worrying about us. Tomorrow is the 100m Final. We promised De Grasse we'd be there."
I nod as we hail a taxi.
We get back to the hotel.
The men and women are separated, and I share a room with Nia.
Right, when I walk in, I see a lot of the track ladies representing Canada.
"Get over here! We've been waiting to pop this!"
Nia holds up a bottle of sparkling apple juice.
I laugh and join them.
"It's not a big deal, and Nia, out of all people, I thought you'd be resting to watch Andre's race tomorrow."
Katarina enters the conversation, "Izzy, it's not a big deal to you. You were just proposed to in front of the world, and it doesn't faze you?" All the ladies in the room seem to agree as they hum in agreement.
"It wasn't really a proposal. I had no choice-"
They all tell me to shut up.
I chortle. "Okay, okay, Joey makes me involved in a bunch of the crap he does in public. I'm used to it. Plus, when I'm on a track, I fear nothing."
Then there's a knock on the door.
I get up to open it and Joey.
"Princess I-" he catches sight of everyone behind me before continuing very slowly, "...I came here because a bunch of men are in my room trying to celebrate what's not a big deal..."
I scratch the back of my head, "I also seem to be having that problem. Uh, Joey, if coach finds you here, he'll be on you till we get back."
"Unfortunately, he's getting wasted in my room and didn't care when I told him I was coming here."
He walks past me and joins the girl's party.
"So who wants me to braid their hair while we have girl talk!" Joey yells in a stereotypical feminine voice. He sits on my bed, braiding Ethel Catherwood's hair.
I'm going to spend my life with this fool.
"Josiah Luciano Marino Espiridión Escalona Maximiano Diaz Franklin Lorencio Eleuterio Easterbrook!" He flinches as I finish saying his full name without stuttering.
"Who told you that?" He gives me his full attention.
I raise my eyebrow at him, "you know, as your wife to be I think it's a given for me to know your full name. Also, your Abuela loves telling me about the crap you've done as a kid. Now get out. I am exhausted."
He gets up, "fine. I'll go, goodnight princess," he leans in, and I swerve out of his way.
"Come on, Izzy don't be rude." The ladies chant.
They want a show? I'll give them one.
I caress Joey's face and lean in, stopping a centimetre away from his lips.
I pull away and smirk, "goodnight Joey." I get boos as I push him out the door and close it.
"It's so cute when he calls you princess." Someone says, and I pretend I'm gonna hurl.
"It's the most annoying thing I've ever been called. He's been calling me that since I met him. Ladies, go to bed. I will not put on a pointless show for your entertainment." I giggle, taking my clothes and getting into the en-suite.
After a quick shower, I step out in a tank top and basketball shorts.
They get up to leave, "you're such a party pooper, man!"
I smile. They'll be thanking me in five hours.
"Izzy, you are such a mom," Nia says, getting comfortable in her bed.
"Being a mom seems terrifying." I yawn.
"Trust me. It's the most beautiful thing you'll experience. It'll be like the first time you admitted to loving someone. It'll be a shock, but you know you'll always be attached to them. You know the saying, you'll never forget your first love? It's exactly like that. Andre was mine, and I know Josiah is yours." She laughs softly before turning out the lights.
It's been a crazy three years. I got out of a not pointless but pretty much meaningless relationship. I sought revenge and ended up growing up. I got a glimpse of the real world. Yet someone special taught me that I don't always need to be in control. I should go with the flow and trust myself. Ever since I've met Joey, I've grown into my own person. I couldn't be happier. Now I'm going to spend my life when the man I love. It's time for me to get out of my fear against family. I fear that if I have a family with Joey that my child will grow up how I did. I wouldn't forgive myself if that were to happen. And it won't. Joey would never allow it to.
His heart is simply too big to leave his family upset. I aspire to be like him. I'm happy he's the one I'm starting with.
There is no ending. That's the reason why, Why We Run always lives on. My new destination is my life with Joey. And it's going to be a long race till the end of it.
So it's finally time to start.
11 January 2021
Oh My Gosh
It's finally
Over
I've contemplated how I was going to end this book and I feel like this is a fitting ending.
I feel like Izzy and her relationships have changed a lot since the beginning of the story and that she's more open minded.
This is Izzy's story. So not focusing on Mari and Joey at the Olympic made sense. Especially since we had the whole charity event. I figured that It'd be redundant.
If y'all ever want a bonus chapter or something I am open to suggestions, just comment😂
Who was your favourite character and why! I'm curious.
This is my third book. I have two more upcoming books... (yes they are both apart of the We Align world...unfortunately)
But I think I might be taking a break from writing.
I'm in the eleventh grade y'all and marks are very important, and school is so annoying during this time.
Do y'all have online school or do y'all go to school! I have online school 😔 Do y'all like online school? Cuz I hate it!
Anyways I hope y'all enjoyed this book. If you liked it feel free to vote or maybe give me a follow if you like my other stories too 😉