Thank you for staying with The Fall Line this long. This chapter has been in my head since the very beginning—and I’m so excited to finally share it.
Chapter 9 is now live for paid subscribers. The day is over. The pressure’s gone. But what’s left behind is still trembling. They bring the champagne back to the van. And the tension that’s been building since the road trip began doesn’t just break—it shifts into something else entirely.
If you’re new to the story, Chapter 1 is still free to read. And if you’ve been following all the way through—thank you. You already know: sometimes the quietest moments hit hardest.
Chapter 9: The Podium
It felt like a dream.
Too much color. Too much sound. Flashbulbs going off in every direction. People clapping with mittens on. Cameras clicking. Someone’s dog barking and trying to eat a paper plate.
Jamie stood on the first-place block. Cole just below him. Their jackets zipped over bibs, cheeks windburned, hair frozen in wet curls under their helmets. A girl in a red puffer handed them champagne bottles with gold ribbons around the necks.
Jamie looked at his.
Cole didn’t bother. Just popped the cork and sprayed it sideways, laughing too loud, half at the crowd, half at nothing.
The announcer said their names. Someone tried to hand Jamie a Sharpie. Someone else yelled, “You’re going to Verbier!”
He didn’t answer. Just raised the bottle and smiled.
There was a photo taken then.
A real one. DSLR. Sharp and wide. Both boys mid-laugh, arms slung carelessly over each other’s shoulders. Champagne in the air like they were christening something.
They didn’t go to the bar.
Someone handed Jamie a fresh bottle on their way down. Still wet with ice. Cole nodded when Jamie said, “We’ll just head back.”
They didn’t say much after that.
The walk to the van was short but felt longer. Jamie’s boots scuffed against the pavement. Cole fidgeted with the ribbon still tied around the bottle’s neck. The sun had dipped behind KT-22, casting everything in long shadows. The van looked small, waiting for them at the edge of the lot.
