Right in Front of You

01. Death by Moped

Texas, September 2012

Donnie Royce was the biggest, most reckless idiot in the world, and Kathy was dating him.

"Don't do this," she pleaded, but her voice was drown out by the cheers and the excited muttering of the crowd gathered right outside the entrance to the high school building.

Donnie ignored her, raising his hands in salute, a big grin on his face, his hazel eyes twinkling with excitement. The white moped rumbled underneath him, an instrument of death.

"Donnie, you can't ride that."

"Give it a rest, Kathy." Jackson, one of Donnie's best friends grabbed her forearm and pulled her away from her boyfriend. "Stop being so boring."

She yanked herself out of his grip. "He can't ride a moped, let alone jump stairs with it!"

Pete, Donnie's other good friend huffed from right next to Jackson. "That's what makes it more interesting."

"It's not interesting! It's stupid!" Her throat was starting to ache from all the screaming, but no one was paying her any mind either way.

The crowd started a chant of 'Do it!' and Donnie only grinned wider and nodded, obviously enjoying the attention. Anger momentarily replaced the panic bubbling in the pit of her stomach, and she seriously considered just letting him do it. If he cracked his skull, it would serve him right. But she loved him, so she couldn't let him kill himself.

"Donnie--"

The rev of the moped engine drowned out the rest of her plea for reason. In a chorus of excited yells, Donnie shot forward, gathering speed as he approached the first set of stairs. Kathy held her fists to her chest, her knees shaking.

The moped flew over the edge and miraculously managed to land on the platform before the second set of stairs. It kept going, but this time painfully taking the steps one at a time. Kathy stepped forward, her gaze trained on Donnie's jerking body. Yet, somehow, he managed to stay on the runaway deathtrap and reach flat ground.

A relieved sigh half-escaped her before she choked on it. He was heading directly for the street into open traffic. There were cars there, buses... trucks.

Heart beating frantically, she rushed down the stairs, her flats hitting hard against the concrete steps. Everyone around her was still laughing, none of them aware that Donnie wasn't stopping, that maybe he didn't know how.

She couldn't reach him on time, she was aware of that, and yet she ran. The rev of an engine drowned out the sound of her heavy breathing. A motorcycle charged from the parking lot and towards Donnie. The rider reached him and adjusted his speed to keep pace and seemed to be talking to him. Maybe, hopefully teaching him how to stop.

The moped kept its trajectory towards the street. The motorcycle rider grabbed the handlebar of the moped and turned it left, leading Donnie away from the street, joining him in an agonizingly fast circle. As Kathy reached the bottom of the stairs, the other guy seemed to be yelling at Donnie. And yet the moped kept going round and round. The motorcycle stopped and the rider leaned over the handlebars. He wore a helmet so Kathy wasn't sure, but he seemed to be surveying Donnie.

Then, just like that, once the moped passed by his motorcycle, he grabbed the handlebars. The tiny vehicle stopped abruptly and Donnie flew over the handlebars, landing with a thwack on the pavement.

"Donnie!"

Kathy rushed to him as the crowd started laughing harder from behind. She knelt next to his still body and turned him over. There was a scrape on his forehead, but otherwise, he seemed fine. He even gave her a wide, hazy grin.