off the ice | l.mh

chapter 4: don't look back

"What do you mean 'it's fine'?," you sob, gripping the side of her hospital bed. You want to give your best friend a hug, but you can't risk hurting her more. Yuna's right leg is pinned up into an apparatus, the intricate metal carefully holding together the broken bones. Her usual perfect skin is marred by scratches of red and patches of blue.

    "I mean what I said". Even with a sore voice and her current situation, Yuna manages to speak with dignity.

    "And Ms. Kim is right," the doctor agrees, jotting down a prescription on her clipboard, "the surgeries went well and she is in stable condition. The good news is that with proper rest and physical therapy, she will be able to walk again. Now, it's my duty to be honest with you. You said you're a figure skater?".

    "Yes". Yuna uncurls her fingers, inviting you to hold her hand. You accept, bracing the two of you for inevitable bad news. Ten sits at the other side of the bed pressing her other hand to his lips.

    "While we cannot rule out the possibility, the likelihood of you being able to skate again is very low. Especially for the next few years".

    Yuna's tough facade starts to crumble at the shocking reality and her lips tremble as she chokes back tears. You press your forehead to her hand. You hide your own tears from her.

    "God damn it!". Ten yells, getting up and kicking away the stool he was sitting on. The loud bang was followed by the sound of quiet weeping. "I shouldn't have let you out of my sight. I shouldn't have told you to go to the car first. None of this should've happened, god damn it". The older boy cries into his palms as he places the blame on himself.

    "Please settle down and refrain from disturbing the patient," the doctor warns, "but we would like to talk to you about the details of the accident, Ms. Kim, now that you're awake and stable".

    Yuna nods, a few tears escaping and rolling down her scraped-up cheeks.

    "Your right leg is broken in three places upon impact with the vehicle: two in the femur and one major area in the tibia. You then sustained minor external injury as you fell to the pavement, scraping your arms and face. We will run additional tests later on to determine if you also have a concussion. If you can remember any details of how this accident happened, please describe them to me and we can notify the police to help find the suspect", the doctor continues.

    "I," Yuna clears her throat, "I was at a party last night and I had a bit to drink. We stayed pretty late and Ten is close with the host, so we just decided to sleep over. Then this morning, I woke up early and I wanted to go on a drive to clear my head. Ten had to get something so I left the house first. I- I checked both ways before I crossed the street to his car, but before I knew it... it came out of nowhere and I was on the ground. I don't... I can't remember anything about it. The next thing I remember was being in the ambulance with Ten".

    "I heard the whole thing happen," Ten adds softly, "I was inside the house at the time and I heard the screeching tires and Yuna screamed. By the time I ran outside, the car was gone and Yuna was bleeding on the ground". He closes his eyes and clenches his fist. "All I could do was call an ambulance. I- I didn't see the car or the bastard driving it. All I could do was sit with her in the street while we waited. She wasn't waking up and all I could do was sit with her. I couldn't even move her because I was afraid it would make it worse and she was bleeding everywhere. All I could do was sit there".

    Tears stream down your face as you listen to Ten break down. The normally bright and optimistic man now has his face in his hands, hiccuping uncontrollably at the thought of how close he came to losing the love of his life.