“Andrea, please. Let me explain.”
“Because he’s the one who knocked you over five years ago.”
“You said you had no family left. You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie. I just… didn’t tell everything.”
“It’s the same!”
” No. ”
Marie sat down next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
Ryan knelt down in front of my wheelchair.
“Five years ago, my uncle Cody was coming home from the cemetery. He had just buried his wife. He was devastated. And he made a terrible mistake. He drank. He got behind the wheel. And he hit you.”
“It’s the same!”
Tears were streaming down my face.
“He called me right after the accident. He was confused. He didn’t know what to do. I drove to the scene of the accident as fast as I could. When I arrived, you were unconscious. I called an ambulance. I stayed with you.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Ryan’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was afraid. Afraid that you would hate me. Afraid that you would leave me.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
I looked at the man in the bed.
Cody was crying. His hands were trembling.
“I am so sorry. I wanted to apologize. But I was a coward.”
“You destroyed my life,” I said.
“I know. And I live with that guilt every day.”
Ryan spoke again.
“Andrea, there’s something else you need to know.”
“When I arrived at the scene, it was too late.”
“You destroyed my life.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I had arrived ten minutes earlier, maybe they could have saved your leg. Maybe the damage would have been less severe.”
Her voice completely broke.
“That’s why I said I was responsible. Because I hadn’t arrived quickly enough.”
I was in shock.
“Is this what you’ve been hiding all this time?”
” Yes. ”
“Ryan, it’s not your fault. You didn’t cause the accident. You didn’t choose to drive drunk. It’s him.”
I was in shock.
I pointed at Cody.
“But you saved me,” I added. “You called the ambulance. You stayed with me. You gave me a reason to keep fighting.”
Cody spoke again, in a weak voice.
“I wanted to confess. But Ryan begged me. He said you didn’t remember the accident. That you didn’t know who hit you.”
“And you hid it here all this time?” I asked Ryan.
“He’s dying, Andrea. He has stage four cancer. The doctors gave him six months. That was four months ago.”
“I wanted to turn myself in.”
I looked at the frail man in the bed.
“I lost my parents in a plane crash when I was six years old. My uncle and aunt raised me as their own son. I couldn’t abandon them.”
“Even if he’s the reason I lost my leg?”
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Ryan was devastated.
“I know how hard this is. But they’re my family. And he’s dying.”
I remained silent, trying to take it all in.
Ryan was devastated.
Marie squeezed my shoulder.
“Andrea, what do you want to do?”
I watched Cody. Then Ryan.
“I’m angry,” I finally said.
“I’m angry that you lied to me. I’m angry that you hid the truth from me for five years. I’m angry that you let me believe our whole story was a fairy tale, when it was born from tragedy.”
Ryan nodded, tears flowing freely.
“I am angry”
“But I also understand why you did it.”
“Andrea… I…”
“You were trying to protect him. You were trying to protect me.”
I turned to Cody.
“What you did is unforgivable. You took something from me that I will never get back.”
He nodded.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“You were trying to protect him.”
“But you have been punished every day since. You have lived with the guilt. And now you are dying.”
I took a deep breath.
Continued on next page:
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