Page 3 of A Lapse in Time

At the age of ten, I told my father I wanted to be a boxer when I grew up, and he told me if I wanted to, I could be. He got me in the gym, and I proved to him how serious I was about it. I didn'thave my first professional fight until I was eighteen, but at the time, it was off and on.

By the time I was twenty, I had become a full-time fighter, and sometimes, I couldn't believe I was living out my dream all these years later. I knew the time was coming for me to retire, so I would enjoy the ride for as long as I could. I wanted to be around for my daughter Nia as she grew older. She was only three, but time flew, and I didn't want to miss more milestones in her life. It was bad enough that I missed her first steps because I was training. I wanted to be around for her first day of school and the rest of the firsts she would experience.

I also wanted to have another baby at some point, preferably by the time Nia turned five, but even that was too late. I thought I would have had twins since I was one, but we weren't so lucky. If that were the case, I would have been done with having kids. At least, that was the plan for my husband and me. That man had been my best friend and my rock for years.

I had a crush on him in high school, but he was a grade ahead of me, and at the time, he dated the head cheerleader Robyn. I couldn't stand her because she thought she was better than everyone because she dated Noah. She didn't know that Noah liked me, but he was faithful to her. I was happy when they broke up. He and I started dating, and we'd been locked in since. I loved that he supported my career. When I wanted to get back in the ring after having Nia, Noah encouraged it and helped train me to ensure I was back in tip-top shape.

I did the work to get where I was, but I couldn't have done it by myself. I had Noah's help, Evander's help, and help from both of our families. They all stepped in when Noah and I needed to train or when we wanted alone time. It was important for both of us to have that time to ourselves and with each other so we didn't get lost in everyday life. We had a solid foundation, and nothing could come between us.

The bell rang after the formalities, and I bounced around the ring a little. I wanted to keep my adrenaline going.

Round for round, my opponent and I traded blows.

"Let's go!"

Over all the noise in the arena, I could only focus on my husband's voice. None of the other people mattered. There were always people either cheering me on or hoping I'd lose. I never let it bother me because I knew I wasn't everyone's favorite. It was a part of the job, and I took it on the chin the same way I took hits on the chin.

I wasn't one of those fighters that talked shit in the ring because I let my hands do the talking. I was a southpaw, so oftentimes, I would confuse my opponent, but this girl seemed to know some of my moves. She must have been studying footage of me to prepare for this.

"Shit," I whispered when she hit me with a rib shot. It almost sat me down for a second, but I pushed through it.

The bell rang, signifying the end of the round, and I went to my corner.

"You're doing good, Carsyn," Evander assured me as he wiped my forehead. Someone else squirted water in my mouth.

"That rib shot was tough," I admitted.

"It was, but you got this. It's only two rounds left. Don't let her knock you off your square. Make sure you're blocking them shots. She's getting weak, so use that to your advantage."

I nodded as he continued to encourage me. I glanced into the crowd and spotted Noah. He blew me a kiss and gave me a thumbs-up. I winked at him and stood when the bell rang again.

I shuffled my feet, trying to decide what punch I wanted to throw. I hit her with a jab, and she countered with one of her own, but I shook it off.

I had to finish this fight and win, not just for myself but for Noah as well. He gave up so much for me to do this my way. Hecould have easily been doing something else, but he spent all his time training me and taking care of our daughter. The man even prayed for me before every fight. That was true love to me, and I couldn't wait for a small break so we could spend some much-needed quality time together.

I was tired of waking up at four in the morning to train and eating healthily. For weeks leading up to a fight, I had to eat clean, and I wanted nothing more than to eat a greasy cheeseburger and fries. I knew how to discipline myself because I knew what I needed to do to win.

Noah and everyone else kept me on track. I couldn't have asked for a better support team. No one had my back the way they did. Every day, I thanked God and them for getting me to this place because there was no way I would have gotten this far on my own.

I wasn't sure what happened, but suddenly, I felt a forceful blow to my head, and I heard the crowd gasp. The hit was harder than anything I'd been hit with the whole night. Hell, it might have been harder than anything I felt in my entire career. I staggered at the same time the bell rang. If I was in a cartoon, I would have the little birds flying around my head.

I heard my name being called, but for some reason, I couldn't answer. I saw Noah rushing to the ring and our family trailing behind him.

"Carsyn!" I heard Evander call me, but my mouth wouldn't open.

I saw Noah climbing through the ropes, then suddenly, everything went black, and I hit the floor.

I massagedmy temples to ease the headache I got from the antiseptic smell in the hospital, and the worrying I did about Caryn’s condition.

"Here, son." I stopped pacing when I heard my mother-in-law, Carlotta's, voice behind me. I turned to face her, and she passed me a cup with steam coming from the top. "Maybe some tea will help you calm down a little. I'm sure the doctor will be out soon to give us an update."

I wasn't sure if tea or anything else at the moment would calm me down, but I took the cup from her. The only thing I needed to know was if my wife was okay or not.

Carsyn had woken up sometime after we arrived at the hospital, but she seemed rather confused. She'd been in and outof sleep, so they hadn't been able to determine exactly what was going on with her until she fully woke up. They asked us to step out of the room so they could talk to her and attempt to figure out the severity of the hit she took. I wasn't sure how long they would take, but I was anxious as hell.

All I could think about was the sinking feeling I felt when I saw her go down. It had never happened to her before, and that shit scared me. Her opponent was also worried about her, and she tried to apologize, but I told her not to stress herself. We all knew it wasn't intentional. It was a casualty that came with the sport. We just never thought it would happen to us.

Everything happened so fast once Carsyn passed out. It was a good thing our families were there, so one of them called Courtney and her parents to keep them updated. They assured us Nia was fine and not to worry. Carsyn and I always sent Nia with extra clothes, so I wasn't worried about her not having what she needed. They also knew they could call me if it were an emergency, but I was comfortable knowing Nia was well taken care of.

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