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Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

TY LEANED FORWARD in his seat, a tiny rainbow flag strangled in his hands. He could hardly breathe through the thin surgical mask he wore, but the gauzy material wasn't what had him short of breath. Elijah was close. He was so, so close. Only Lukas had three tops. Everyone else was sitting on two at most. And Elijah had used fewer attempts than most of them. He could medal in this competition. He could really do it.

But it would all come down to this final climb.

Ty's heart leapt into his throat as Elijah jogged onto the stage and faced the crowd. His eyes went right to where Ty sat, just as they had from the first moment Elijah spotted the rainbow flag. Ty waved it again, hoping Elijah got the message: I'm here. I'm cheering you on. You can do this .

Elijah gave a little nod. Maybe it was for the judges, but Ty chose to believe it was for him, a silent acknowledgment that he was going to give this final climb his all. Then he turned his back on the crowd as the timer started and faced the bouldering wall.

The fourth and final route consisted of large, slopey holds. They looked nice and big, but in reality they were awful to try to hold. You couldn't curl your fingers and grip like you could with most other holds. For big slopers like this, it all came down to contact strength and friction.

Elijah slapped his hands onto the first one, using his palms and fingers to create as much friction as he could. Muscle flexed down his arms and across his back, forecasting just how much power it required to hang on to those seemingly generous holds.

Elijah moved carefully toward the next hold. It required him to reach up and under — a different but equally demanding sort of strength. Instead of creating friction, Elijah had to stand up into the undercling hold. His biceps bulged as he did, straining to keep him tucked in close to the wall. Elijah managed to pull in close, but when he reached out for the next sloper, his hand slapped the plastic and slipped right off.

One attempt down. Elijah sat on the mats, breathing hard, tucking his knees up toward his chest. Even just two moves had proved incredibly taxing. Ty wasn't surprised at all. This final climb was absolutely brutal. Even if it had been first in the line-up it would have required a tremendous amount of power. Placed last, it was a test of raw determination and will, as well as strength.

Elijah had strength. Ty knew he did. When they'd trained together back in Salt Lake City, Elijah was always most comfortable on the powerful climbs. It was what he did. It was what he was known for all throughout his career. Topping this climb would tie a neat bow on a career that had relied on power and skill over dynamic movement and long reach.

Elijah stood to face the climb again. He shimmied his way to that tough undercling, then made another lunge for the next hold. It was a better slap this time, but still not enough. He came tumbling back down to the mats. Elijah smacked the pads with his palms, head hanging.

Ty wanted to sprint onto that stage and hug him. He could feel the frustration even from where he sat amid the crowd, could hear Elijah's doubts crowding into his head to distract him. They'd come way too far for that bullshit. Elijah couldn't give up just because of a couple attempts. He was still sitting in second place, and this climb was going to take even the likes of Jude a few attempts. Elijah just had to believe and reach for it.

When Elijah rose to try the climb again, Ty jerked to his feet as well. He gathered all the air he could fit into his lungs and let out one roaring "Come ooooon!" The spectators nearest shot him strange looks, recognition dawning as they realized who sat among them. But Ty ignored all that, wavering as his stomach clenched and tried to bring him back down into his seat. Like hell was he going to miss this climb.

Elijah turned at the shout, looking through the crowd and right at Ty. They could have been the only people left in the entire arena when their eyes locked. Elijah offered one short, nearly imperceptible nod, then he turned back to the climb.

Ty still didn't sit. He couldn't. Elijah was the first climber to attempt this climb, and if he could get it in only a few attempts, he stood a real chance of leaving here with a medal. But Elijah had to believe that and not just Ty. So far, Elijah had demonstrated very little faith in his own abilities, no matter how Ty tried to explain that he was still a super strong climber capable of competing. It wasn't lack of power keeping him out of finals and off podiums; it was lack of belief.

Maybe Ty could believe hard enough for the both of them.

He hunched a little but remained on his feet as Elijah approached the climb. When Elijah made it smoothly through the first couple moves, some of the other spectators started to rise around Ty, perhaps to see better, perhaps because they'd caught a whiff of the fireworks to come if Elijah topped this route.

He reached the undercling, going still as he held himself in that strenuous position and eyed up the big lunge to the next hold. He just had to believe he could reach it and go for it, but even from way back in the crowd, Ty could hear Elijah's doubts squirming into his head. He was too short, too old, too out of touch with the competitive scene, too whatever.

Bullshit , Ty thought, hopefully hard enough to interrupt Elijah's doubts. Elijah could reach that hold. He could definitely reach that hold. He just had to have a little faith.

Ty gathered up another breath, head going woozy as he screamed "Alleeeeez!" It was French, but every climber knew the words in various languages for "you can do this!" or, perhaps, "get your ass up that climb!"

Elijah moved like that word was a springboard under his feet. He launched sideways, arm stretching, muscles tensed, fingers grasping for that slippery hold awaiting him. The arena went as still as a forest in the dead of winter, perilously still, delicately still, tremulously still. A single leaf could have fallen and shattered the silence. Every spectator held their breath. Every eye went to the hand Elijah slapped onto the sloper, waiting to see if the friction would be enough this time.

Elijah reached the hold, palm smacking onto the plastic. His grunt of effort rang through the frozen arena. His arms strained, every muscle in his shoulders and back and arms bulging as he and Ty and the whole crowd willed that hand to stay on that fragile, round sphere of tenuous friction.

It did.

For a second, nothing moved. Then Elijah matched his hands on the sloper hold and got his feet under him and the arena erupted as the whole crowd realized it was over. Elijah clambered up the rest of the climb with relative ease, screaming as he latched both hands onto the hold marked "top."

The whole crowd screamed with him, cheering and stomping. Someone slapped Ty on the shoulder and before he knew it he was moving forward, propelled toward Elijah by some inevitable inertia. His stomach roiled, but he pushed on, heading right down the aisle between the rows of spectator seating and toward the stage.

By the time he got there, Elijah was sitting in the waiting area reserved for climbers who were done with all four finals boulders. As the climber in last place at the start of the day, he was alone for the moment. He sat in a plastic chair, huffing for breath as he peeled off his shoes. Here, he could see the score at last thanks to a laptop sitting on a little table. Elijah was shaking his head at the screen when Ty reached him, dodging past officials and judges.

"Not bad," Elijah said.

Ty dove into a hug before Elijah could continue. He laughed against Elijah. Not bad. Not bad. Meanwhile, the climber in fifth had one top, meaning he couldn't possibly catch Elijah. There were only four climbers who could push Elijah off that podium, and they had to do this final climb damn fast to achieve that.

Ty didn't notice the nausea until Elijah finally eased him out of the hug. All that running and screaming and celebrating was not good for whatever had gotten him sick in the first place. He shot Elijah a terrified look and Elijah helped him hobble to the nearest trash can while the next climber came out.

"Is he alright?" someone said.

Elijah was rubbing circles on Ty's back. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Sorry for the interruption. Is it okay if he stays with me?"

"Yeah, just make sure he doesn't puke on anything."

"I'm…" Ty dragged himself upright and struggled for words. "I'm not gonna … puke. Again."

Elijah looked dubious but neither he nor the competition judge made any fuss when Ty secured his surgical mask back over his face and let Elijah help him back to the seating area.

They settled off to the side, a testimony to Elijah's belief that he would soon get pushed off the podium by other climbers "more deserving" of the front row seats in the waiting area. But the fifth-place climber was still struggling with the last problem, even after Ty finished throwing up in a trash can and they made it back to their seats. Eventually, the timer ticked down, and the climber still didn't have a top .

Ty squeezed Elijah's thigh in excitement.

"That was fifth place," Elijah whispered. "He didn't have a chance to medal anyway."

"Yeah but he still couldn't top that at all and you did it in three tries. That's a good sign."

Elijah shook his head, still doubtful. Then the climber in question, Dae-Seong, of South Korea, joined them in the waiting area. He and Elijah bent their heads together and started talking about the climb, as competitors tended to do as soon as they were done with their round.

Ty tuned out the chatter. The fourth climber was coming out. Janez, of Slovenia, was a strong climber and completely capable of this tough route. He'd have to do it in fewer tries than Elijah, but he could definitely do it.

He never made it up the wall.

Ty squeezed Elijah's thigh more tightly when Janez waved to the crowd in defeat. His failure to reach the top bumped Elijah up to fourth place at a minimum.

"He's just tired," Elijah deflected. "He can do that climb."

"But he didn't," Ty insisted. "That climb is hard. Real hard. It's getting people."

"The top three still have to come out."

Ty couldn't counter that. Instead, he grabbed Elijah's hand as the next climber emerged. Jude shot them a friendly smile, but Ty knew better than to expect mercy. He was still going to tackle this climb like it had insulted his mother .

Elijah squeezed Ty's hand as Jude established himself on the starting holds. They gripped each other tightly, sweat building up as they nervously clung to the hope nestled between their palms.

Jude missed the sloper the first time. And the second. And the third. Ty's breath stopped dead in his chest. When he glanced over, he found Elijah's mouth hanging open. Jude eventually found the top of the climb, but not in time to beat Elijah. He'd used more attempts overall to get three tops in the competition than Elijah had. Which meant Elijah couldn't do worse than third.

He was on the podium.

"I know," Elijah said before Ty could speak. "Don't say it yet, though."

Ty clenched his teeth to hold back the shout bubbling in his throat like carbonation trying to escape a shaken up soda can. Elijah stared dead ahead, hardly blinking, holding Ty's hand so tightly it felt like he'd break the fingers. Ty wasn't inclined to let go. He was holding just as tightly, poised at the edge of his seat as the next climber emerged.

They didn't make it to the top. Jude, now sitting beside Elijah, elbowed him in the side and whispered "congrats, man." Elijah just shook his head, still staring straight ahead, lips hanging open.

Second place. After all that self-doubt, after all the reasons he'd given for why he shouldn't and couldn't compete, Elijah Reed was going to walk out of here with a silver medal. Lukas emerged and eventually claimed a top on the fourth boulder, surprising no one, but that still placed Elijah in second. Second.

Ty finally let out the whoop burning up his throat. He lunged at Elijah, wrapping him in another hug. Pats rained down on their shoulders, not just Jude but the other finalist climbers as well. They knew just as well as Ty what this meant to Elijah.

"You did it," Ty said. "I knew you could, but you really did it."

Elijah was laughing against him, hands grasping at Ty's shirt. "I saw you," he said. "In the crowd. Your flag. I saw you. Everything changed when I knew you were here."

Ty smiled to himself. "No," he said. "That was all you. You did this."

Elijah pulled away to peer at Ty. "I couldn't have without you. You believed in me when I didn't. I never would have tried to do this. I wouldn't be here right now if not for you."

"All I did was tell you it was possible."

"You have no idea how much that matters," Elijah said.

Emotion clogged Ty's throat. "No, I think I do. Didn't I tell you back in Vail that you inspired me? All I ever wanted was for you to see yourself the way I see you."

Elijah cupped Ty's face. "I think I do. Now, at least. And maybe there's a few kids out there thinking they don't belong on that stage that will see that they do. Not because of me, but because of you. Don't dump me when you've got some fresh comp climber looking at you all starry-eyed, alright?"

Ty laughed, tipping his forehead forward to rest it against Elijah's. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily, Reed."

They sat there a moment, holding each other in front of the whole climbing world while officials set up a makeshift podium on the stage. Neither of them moved or flinched, even when the cameras finally noticed them. Ty was positive Elijah was thinking the same thing as him just then: Let them look. Let some kid who feels like he doesn't belong in climbing see that he does.

Finally, they called up Lukas, Elijah and Jude to accept their medals. Elijah eased away. "I'm not going to kiss you. Your breath stinks. But after this it's medicine and soup."

"What a way to celebrate," Ty said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, we'll celebrate," Elijah said. "When you're up for it."

Ty blinked, heat simmering in his belly despite the lingering sickness. He needed to get well ASAP.

Elijah stood, striding away and onto the stage with the other winners from the competition. He took his place on the podium, a place he'd earned despite all of his doubts and fears, a place no one could take from him. The judges came by and hung a silver medal around his neck. Maybe it was Ty's imagination, but he swore the crowd got louder for that silver than even for Lukas's gold.

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