My nephew was playing on the balcony, imitating Spider-Man's wall-climbing skills, when he accidentally tripped and fell from the second floor.
I was passing by and quickly reached out to catch him.
However, due to the force of the collision and my nephew's obesity, I still broke his foot when I caught him.
I carried him to the hospital and called my uncle and others to come.
When they arrived, my uncle and aunt started arguing, each trying to shirk responsibility. I had no choice but to go home.
But soon after I got home, my aunt, Linda Baker, burst in and slapped me in the face.
"Ethan Carter! If anything happens to my son, I will never forgive you."
"You were the one who initiated him to jump like Spider-Man. My son was too timid to jump, so you rushed over and pushed him."
"Luckily, there's grass below; otherwise, my son would have fallen to his death. You have to pay for our medical expenses."
As soon as I said this, everyone passing by accused me of being cruel and vicious, worse than an animal.
I was speechless and my aunt slapped me several times and threw me against the wall, injuring my head.
——
"Robert Carter! Mary Carter! The good son you've raised."
"He's quite old, but is full of evil."
My aunt's face was gloomy, her hands on her hips, as she launched a barrage of insults at my parents.
Having barely recovered from the sudden accusations and beatings, I was attacked again.
My mother couldn't stand it any longer, so she broke free from my father's hand and rushed before me.
"Linda, stop it."
"You said my son pushed your son down the stairs. That's simply a false accusation against my son."
"Bullshit! Why would I accuse him? We're relatives, after all. I didn't want to cause a rift between our two families."
"But if I don't speak up, there will be a second and third."
"Do you think I'm going to watch my son fall to his death?"
The neighbors always loved to listen to gossip and now, hearing that something exciting was happening, they all rushed to my door to watch.
But no one came to stop the fight; some even added fuel to the fire. "Huh! Ethan seems like a decent guy, with excellent grades, but I never thought he could be so vicious."
"Isn't it? I have to warn my children not to play with him anymore."
After all, my reputation was at stake.
"Linda, you said Ethan pushed your son down the stairs, but did you see it with your own eyes?"
My aunt raised her head with certainty.
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
Seeing her shamelessness, I stood up and shouted in anger.
"She's lying. First, I didn't push my nephew down the stairs. Second, she and I were all away at the time. The door was locked from the outside when I caught my nephew."
"You said you saw me push him down the stairs with your eyes. That's a lie."
A flash of panic crossed my aunt's face and her hands dropped awkwardly, no longer supporting her waist.
I saw her guilty look and continued. "If you insist you were there, I can check your whereabouts during that time. Once I do, I'm convinced no one will know who you met and talked to."
My aunt's face paled further and further and finally, in a fit of rage and shame, she pushed me down again with excessive force.
"You little rascal, you did something so bad, don't try to find excuses to shirk responsibility. Do you think anyone will believe you just because you're talking nonsense?"
She pushed me over and I hit my head on the corner of the table, breaking it. A warm stream of blood flowed out. I struggled to hold onto the table and tried to stand up to explain myself.
