Ryan knelt in front of my wheelchair.
“Five years ago, my uncle Cody was driving home from the cemetery. He’d just buried his wife. He was devastated. And he made a terrible mistake. He drank. He got behind the wheel. And he hit you.”
I felt tears streaming down my face.
“He called me immediately after it happened,” Ryan continued.
“He was terrified. He didn’t know what to do. So I drove to the scene as fast as I could. When I got there, you were unconscious. I called an ambulance. I stayed with you.”
“He made a terrible mistake.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Why did you let me believe you were just some stranger who happened to be passing by?”
Ryan’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was scared. Scared that if you knew it was my uncle who hit you, you’d hate us both. Scared that you’d leave me.”
I looked at the man in the bed.
Cody was crying. His hands trembled.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I’ve wanted to apologize to you for five years. But I was too much of a coward.”
“Why did you let me believe you were just some stranger who happened to be passing by?”
“You destroyed my life,” I said softly.
“I know. I know I did. And I’ve been living with that guilt every single day.”
Ryan spoke again. “Andrea, there’s more. Something I need you to understand.”
I looked at him.
“When I got to the accident scene, I was too late.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I’d arrived 10 minutes earlier, maybe they could’ve saved your leg. Maybe the damage wouldn’t have been so severe.”
“I’ve been living with that guilt every single day.”
His voice broke completely.
“That’s why I said I’m the reason you’re disabled. Because I didn’t get there fast enough.”
I stared at him, stunned.
“That’s what you’ve been carrying all this time?”
“Yes.”
“Ryan, that’s not your fault. You didn’t cause the accident. You didn’t make the choice to drink and drive. That was him.”
I pointed at Cody.
“That’s why I said I’m the reason you’re disabled.”
“But you saved my life,” I added. “You called the ambulance. You stayed with me. You gave me a reason to keep fighting.”
Cody spoke again, his voice weak.
“I wanted to turn myself in. But Ryan begged me not to. He said you didn’t remember the accident. That you didn’t know who hit you.”
“So you’ve been hiding him 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 looked at the frail man in the bed.
“He said you didn’t remember the accident.”
“You’ve been taking care of him.”
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