Pushed Off The Cliff For Dustin

The World Racing Championship was just days away. My two childhood sweethearts tricked me into the remote countryside, all for the sake of the man they truly adored.

To ensure their golden boy took the trophy, they didn't hesitate to push me off a cliff.

As I hung over the abyss, I asked them why. I asked them about the twenty years we had spent growing up together.

They simply looked away and said, "Dustin is so fragile and insecure. Racing is his only dream. Just let him have this one win."

I ended up crippled, forced to leave the track forever, just as they planned.

Later, they personally dragged Dustin off his pedestal. They begged me for just one more look, but I was already gone.

1.

"Lyra! Luna! We grew up together! How can you be this heartless?"

The day before the World Racing Championship, my two childhood best friends lured me to a desolate cliff under the guise of a hike.

To eliminate any threat to their favorite person, they shoved me hard while I was distracted taking a photo.

I managed to grab a branch, barely saving myself from a fatal plunge.

But instead of helping, they began shaking the branch violently, trying to throw me off.

I pleaded with them. I talked about our twenty years of history, hoping they would pull me up.

All I got in return were expressions as cold as ice.

"Skyler, you're just too good. If you compete, Dustin will definitely lose," Lyra said.

"Dustin is sensitive. Racing is the only way he can find his confidence," Luna added.

"We're sorry, but for Dustin's sake, you can't be at that race."

Below my feet was a bottomless void.

Desperate to survive, I gripped that dry, thin branch and shouted to them.

"I'll withdraw! I won't race!"

But they didn't believe me.

"Skyler, you're a legend in the racing world. You only need this one win to complete your Grand Slam. We can't trust you to go back," they said.

"Besides, if a genius like you suddenly quits, the spotlight won't stay on Dustin even if he wins."

"We're sorry, Skyler. Dustin really needs this. You understand, right?"

I didn't understand!

Lyra, Luna, and I were all kids from the same group home.

We had been inseparable since we could walk.

Lyra was sickly and Luna was small. They were always targets for bullies.

I was the one who stood up for them every single time, protecting them like a big brother.

Later, they were discovered by the billionaire Lennox family. It turned out they weren't orphans at all, but heiresses.

I was genuinely happy for them.

The day they were supposed to go home, they refused to leave unless their parents adopted me too.

And so, I became the Lennoxes' foster son. I took their name and lived by their side.

After twenty years, everyone praised how close we were.

The girls even used to fight over me, claiming they would both marry me when we grew up.

I used to worry about that. I played the role of the perfect brother, afraid of breaking their hearts.

Now, they were ready to kill me for a guy they had barely known for a few months!

My heart turned to stone. I tried to scramble up the rocks, but they pelted my fingers with stones.

My strength failed. I plummeted toward the darkness.

The last thing I heard were their apologetic voices.

"Sorry, Skyler. Just hang in there."

"Once Dustin wins, we'll come find you."

2.

I was lucky.

There was a creek at the bottom of the cliff.

The water and the slope broke my fall just enough to keep me alive.

Even the doctor who examined me called it a miracle.

"Falling from that height and only coming out with fractures? You're incredibly lucky!"

Lucky? I didn't feel lucky.

I could feel that my legs were no longer the same.

My entire body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder. I gritted my teeth and asked him the only thing that mattered.

"Doctor, I'm a racer. Will my legs ever be able to handle a car again?"

The doctor went silent. After a long moment, he sighed.

"Sir, your life isn't in danger, but the nerves in your legs were severely damaged during the fall."

"You'll be able to walk, but high-intensity professional racing... that's going to be very difficult."

That one sentence destroyed everything.

Lyra and Luna said Dustin was insecure and that racing was his only light. What about me?

When I first arrived at the Lennox estate, my foster parents were good to me.

They gave me the best tutors, hoping I would become someone impressive.

But I had spent too long in the group home. I had missed the best years for academic foundations.

No matter how hard I worked, my grades were always just average.

I watched the light in my foster parents' eyes fade. I heard the whispers of the people around us.

"No wonder he was abandoned. If I spent that much money on a kid and got these results, I'd be furious."

"Why be furious? Just throw him back where he came from."

"Actually, with his IQ, he'd fit better in a center for the disabled!"

Those insults filled my ears every day.

My foster parents went from defending me to having tired, blunt conversations.

"Skyler, the Lennox family has a reputation to uphold. Being mediocre at everything just embarrasses us."

"Maybe you should go abroad. Get a degree from some easy school just to save face."

I lowered my head and agreed to whatever they wanted.

But Lyra and Luna threw a fit.

They cried and held me, saying they never wanted to be apart.

If I left, they would follow me.

At the time, Lyra was a rising star in mathematics. Luna was already making waves in the financial world.

I didn't want to hold them back. I tried everything to find a way to shine, and finally, I found racing.

They told me I was a natural, but I wasn't.

I was slow.

I had to practice the simplest maneuvers thousands of times to get them right.

But for them, I was willing to endure any pain.

I would practice until I collapsed. I would crash until I was bleeding. As long as I could stay by their side, I was happy.

I always thought the three of us would be best friends forever, even if we never became lovers.

But for Dustin Creed, a random intern at Lennox Corp, they destroyed my only pride.

3.

The pain in my chest made it hard to breathe.

Then, the TV started broadcasting the results of the World Championship.

"Congratulations to the newcomer, Dustin Creed, for winning the World Championship!"

"Mr. Creed, we heard you've never competed in a major race before. You're a true dark horse."

"How does it feel to take home this global title?"

Dustin was charming in front of the camera.

My two childhood sweethearts were standing on either side of him like trophies.

That moment should have been mine.

Agitation flared in my gut. I shut off the TV. Right then, my phone buzzed. It was Lyra and Luna.

"Skyler! Where are you? Come to the victory party!"

The music on their end was so loud I could barely hear them.

Even without being there, I could feel the excitement in the air.

Why wouldn't they be excited?

That was the World Championship. Every racer's ultimate dream.

I was supposed to be the one standing on that podium.

But at the final second, the people I trusted most stabbed me in the back and sent me to hell.

My eyes went dark. I turned them down.

"I'm not coming. It's not a good time."

Lyra and Luna's voices turned sharp instantly.

"Skyler! What is your problem?"

"Is this because Dustin won and you didn't?"

"You've won so many trophies already. Do you really have to be this petty over one win?"

"Mom and Dad were right. Selfish people like you belong in a group home!"

The words stung. I couldn't believe these insults were coming from the women I'd lived with for twenty years.

My hand shook as I held the phone.

Suddenly, a doctor walked in. "Mr. Sterling, it's time to change your bandages."

The girls on the other end went quiet for a second.

"Are you in the hospital?" Lyra asked.

I let out a bitter laugh. "Where else would I be? Did you expect me to be in the morgue?"

"Maybe then I'd finally be out of your way, and Dustin could really sleep easy."

I was telling the truth, but it seemed to strike a nerve. They exploded in rage.

"Skyler! Enough! That cliff wasn't even that high. Stop acting like you're dying!"

"Exactly! You're clearly fine. Get your ass over to Dustin's party right now, or I'll tell Dad to fire you from the firm and pull the club's funding!"

I didn't care about my job at Lennox Corp anymore.

But I couldn't let my racing team suffer.

After a moment of silence, I got into a wheelchair and headed to the party.

4.

Inside the VIP lounge.

Dustin was surrounded by my two girls.

They were holding glasses in their mouths, playfully teasing Dustin into taking a sip from them.

We used to be that intimate.

Now, they were doing the exact same things with him.

And they expected me to believe they just "pitied" him.

This wasn't the first time they had crossed the line with him. Every time I caught them, they'd scream at me for being insecure.

They always said it was just "normal interaction between friends."

And every time, I ended up red-faced from the argument.

Watching Dustin smile and take a sip from both their glasses made me feel like a total clown.

Eventually, someone noticed me.

"What is he doing here?" someone whispered.

The room went dead silent. Lyra and Luna put on their coldest faces.

When they saw me in the wheelchair, the disgust in their eyes was palpable.

"We told you to come to the party, and you show up in a wheelchair? Are you trying to make Dustin look bad?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but Dustin was already walking over with a cocktail.

He draped an arm over my shoulder, acting like the bigger man.

"Skyler, I know you're upset about me winning the championship."

"But there's always someone better out there. That's just life. Drink this, and let's be friends, okay?"

Dustin's grip was heavy. My injured shoulder felt like it was breaking all over again.

I pushed his hand away and looked him dead in the eye.

"Dustin, can you honestly say you won that trophy fairly?"

Dustin froze for a split second. Then, he intentionally stumbled back and fell on his ass.

In an instant, he looked like he was about to cry.

"Skyler, I don't know why you hate me so much. I really just wanted us to be cool."

"If you don't want me near the Lennox sisters, I'll stay away. Just please don't be like this..."

Every word was a calculated attack to make me look like the villain.

I hadn't even done anything.

I stayed silent. I didn't want to argue. I started turning my wheelchair to leave.

But Lyra and Luna jumped up and grabbed the wheels.

"Enough!"

"Skyler, why are you always attacking Dustin?"

"He's worked so hard as a poor student to get here. I think all these years of luxury made you forget who you really are!"

"From today on, don't bother coming back to the Lennox house!"

5.

My pupils shrunk. I couldn't believe my ears.

But their eyes were steady. They were protecting Dustin like a mother hen protects her chick.

In that moment, I knew.

Whatever I had with Lyra and Luna was dead.

"Fine," I said. I tried to move my chair again.

The girls shared a look. They stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

I frowned. I didn't know what else they wanted.

They spoke at the same time, and what they said nearly broke my brain.

"Skyler! You think you can just leave like that?"

"You were so horrible to Dustin. You need to apologize!"

Me? Apologize?

They wanted the man who was crippled because of their scheme to apologize to the guy who stole his life?

It was absurd. I looked at them with pure ice in my eyes.

"I'm not apologizing."

"He's the one who should be on his knees. And both of you, too!"

"My legs are like this because youD"

I wanted to scream the truth about the cliff.

But they didn't want to hear it. They shoved me out of my wheelchair.

The pain from the fall swallowed my words.

Lyra and Luna weren't done. They started kicking me while I was down.

They kept going until I was a broken mess on the floor.

"If you won't apologize, then stay here!"

"Stay here until you realize how wrong you are!"

"Let's go. This trash just ruined the whole vibe."

They walked out. Everyone else followed them.

Dustin looked down at me with a smirk that made my skin crawl.

"See that, Skyler? The heiresses love me."

"You're just garbage."

"Know your place, or next time, I'll break more than just your legs."

He gave my broken legs one final, brutal kick before leaving.

The pain brought cold sweat to my forehead.

As the door clicked shut, I fumbled for my phone. I dialed the number I had ignored for years.

"Mom," I croaked. "I've decided. I'll come live with you."