That word literally paralyzed me.
I couldn't breathe and my legs began to shake with fear.
I looked down at my feet and saw that I was standing on a patch of ice that had formed from a water leak and the icy wind that had been blowing all night.
So this would be my accident? Slipping on the ice and falling and breaking God knows what?
Determined to save myself from this prophecy, I walked slowly, when a noise suddenly caught my attention.
I turned around and realized that I had stopped in the middle of the road, right in the path of a motorcycle that was coming towards me at full speed.
I stood still, my heart pounding, unable to react to the inevitable crash, as the surprised driver slammed on the brakes, but the ice prevented the tires from sticking.
Now close to the impact, he only had to steer violently to avoid me, leaning to one side to the point of losing control of the vehicle, which ended up against a lamppost, and that the boy fell to the ground and rolled for several meters before stopping.
Oh my God! What have I done? I've... I've killed a man!
Despite the fear that had short-circuited my brain, I felt a surge of adrenaline that sent me running toward the biker lying motionless on the ground.
I was near him in a few seconds.
I touched him and tried to look at his face, but it was hidden by the helmet.
I slowly lifted the broken visor and saw two eyes as black as the leather suit he was wearing.
They were groggy but looking at me, even though it was clear that this boy was almost unconscious.
I immediately called an ambulance and tried to talk to him, but I saw blood dripping from a large tear in the sleeve of his leather jacket.
“ Are you hurt, are you okay? Can you hear me? What is your name? I repeated this several times, trying to keep him awake.
- Ryo, he murmured with difficulty after a moment.
- Ryo Jackson? I said under my breath, feeling as if I had put both feet in the grave.
- Yes, he groaned, trying to move.
- Don't move. You might have something broken, head trauma...” I tried to explain to him, scaring myself, while my mind screamed at me that I had almost killed the pesky, unscrupulous Ryo Jackson, one of the four boys who had made the lives of many students in our high school hell. And if that wasn't enough, he was one of Easton's best friends, Alice's boyfriend. I was sure that this accident could damage my friendship with Alice if I didn't do my best to repair the damage.
Provided Ryo didn't kill me first once he recovered.
The moment my ears were ringing from the pressure of the catastrophic scenarios on the horizon, I knew I had to cover myself.
I immediately called Alice but being in class, she didn't answer and I left a message on her answering machine to explain what had happened.
Then I thought about the Jackson family. I didn't know them, but I knew that Ryo's grandfather was Bradley Jackson, the founder of Eugene's largest advertising agency.
I picked up my cell phone and looked up the agency's number.
I got an answer from the exchange, but as soon as I explained the reason for my call, I was able to speak to the man's secretary, who assured me that she would notify Ryo's grandfather immediately.
As soon as I finished my call, the ambulance arrived.
Ryo was still lying motionless on the asphalt.
He was carefully loaded onto a stretcher.
In the excitement, I also got into the ambulance to explain the situation.
When we arrived at the hospital, they asked me to stay in the waiting room while Ryo was examined and tested.
A police officer from the hospital came to ask me my identity and what had happened.
It was only when I was alone that I burst into tears, releasing all my guilt for what I had done.
I cursed my grandmother for what she had predicted. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have looked at that horoscope and I wouldn't have caused that accident by stopping in the middle of the road just as Ryo was coming up.
And nothing would have happened to him if he hadn't tried to avoid me and save my life.
I didn't deserve anything! It was all my fault and if something bad like paralysis or disability was going to happen, it should have been on me.
I began to cry again, praying that my carelessness had not caused anything serious.
After about an hour and two cups of coffee, I finally heard Ryo's voice yelling something from a room down the hall.
Terrified that something serious had happened, like the amputation of a limb, I walked over and pushed the door open.
I almost cried with relief as I watched Ryo insult the nurses, rip off the gown they had put on him, and try to get up from the bed using both legs.
“ I'm fucking fine! Let me out of here, right now!
- Your grandfather said...
- I don't care what that old weasel said! If I find out who called him, I'll...”
I realized it was time to take responsibility.
I took a deep breath and walked in.
“ And who the fuck are you? He became even more enraged, pointing his murderous gaze at me, but he stopped and stared at me from head to toe. You! You're the bitch that made me slip! You fucking bastard! Because of you, I wrecked my bike.”
I swallowed the insults and moved closer, while the nurses disappeared, determined to let Ryo take it out on me.
“ I'm really sorry. I'm mortified and you don't know how much... I tried to say calmly and coolly, but my heart was beating so fast that it seemed to burst out of my chest.
- You even fucked up my python! he raged.
- I... I'm really sorry. I didn’t want to hurt your… python” I stammered, very uncomfortable, trying to keep my eyes fixed on his, but I gave in and lowered them to his black boxers. I tried to assess the damage, wondering if they had to bandage his penis, given the size of the package. I was trying to figure out what exactly I was looking at, when his voice made me flinch.
“ - You ruined that python, you idiot!” he exploded indignantly, showing me the rings of a black snake tattooed around his left arm.
From a distance, it just looked like a bruise, but up close, I noticed the design that stood out on the tanned, scarred skin mixed with the tattoo.
I took a step forward and indeed, I saw that the python's head was cut by a deep gash, to which stitches had been made. In addition, he had large dark bruises all along his arm, shoulder and side. His left leg was also injured and swollen.
He was in bad shape but luckily whole. Except for his... snake.
“ - I'm sorry about your python. I didn't mean to hurt it, I murmured embarrassingly under his fiery gaze.
- Who the fuck castrated my friend?” burst out a voice behind my back that startled me.
I turned around and found myself facing Ant and Easton, Ryo's two friends.
It was Ant who spoke and as soon as his eyes fell on me, I felt myself blushing.
A year had passed, but I hadn't stopped dreaming about him and fantasizing about us together.
Too bad he didn't even know I existed.
“