r/askreddit [What is something you’ve done and always regretted?]

”When I was about 12 me and my friends would all ride up to the local shopping center to shoot badass trick videos so we could become YouTube famous. There was this kid that always pussied out and would never do anything badass even though he knew I was wasting my dads camera battery.

At the end of the parking lot there’s this super awesome jump down a flight of stairs. We had all wanted to make the jump, but none of us had the guts. We somehow convinced this kid to do it, but I was almost certain he was going to chicken out as usual.

So, he lines up his bike to go down these stairs. We’re all around him, watching. He gets to the edge of the top and starts to stop. Fucking lame. He stops his first bike tire on the top step and hesitates like he’s not going to make the jump. Then this other kid I knew pushed his back tire. FINALLY!

Kid went down and landed on his face breaking his neck. Had to watch as he laid there screaming that he couldn’t move, screaming for his mom. He ended up paralyzed and having to leave school because he had to have special attention. That was 20 years ago. Last I heard his mom had left and his dad was trying to stay home and care for him because he couldn’t afford a nurse.

I can’t help but see him laying there screaming, recalling the terror I felt when I realized he wasn’t going to be okay.

My biggest regret was convincing that kid to take the jump and watching as the other kid pushed him off the top step.”