The Bride They Left to Die

After swallowing my fourth painkiller, I spent the entire morning sitting in my hotel room in the wedding dress Curtis Bradford had picked out for me. The car that was supposed to take me to the ceremony never showed up. Instead, I came across a livestream of a wedding that had gone viral around town. On-screen, Curtis slipped the pink diamond ring I had begged him for onto the bride's finger. The bride was Shannon Cobb, my biological sister who had disappeared ten years ago. Curtis looked straight into the camera. "Leslie, I know you're watching. "Ten years ago, you lost Shannon and put her through hell. I only let you believe I was going to marry you because I wanted you to know what it feels like to be abandoned." The camera panned to my parents and my brother, Richard Cobb, who were supposed to be helping set up my new home. Richard looked into the camera and said, "You've had ten years of our love and attention. Give back everything that should've been Shannon's, and we'll consider your debt paid." I stared at the happy family on the screen, completely numb. Then I closed the livestream and threw the keepsake I had gotten for Curtis into the trash, along with my wedding ring and veil. None of them knew I had been diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer the month before. Even with painkiller injections, I could barely stay on my feet that day. All I wanted was to marry Curtis before I died and let my parents and Richard see me happy one last time. But that wasn't going to happen anymore. I only had three days left. I might as well find somewhere quiet and wait for the end. Chapter 1 A hotel employee knocked and stepped inside, politely reminding me that I had to check out by 2 p.m. I braced a hand against the wall and forced myself to stand as my vision blurred and darkened around the edges. Before I could answer, a woman from the bridal shop came in. I had just finished packing my ID and medical records into my overnight bag. "Ms. Cobb, Mr. Bradford ordered the dress, but he only paid the deposit," she said awkwardly. "He just told us you'd be covering the remaining balance. It's ten thousand dollars." My phone rang before I could respond. Curtis Bradford's voice sounded as gentle as ever. "Leslie, did you finish watching the livestream?" "I did." "Good. Then you understand why I had to change brides at the last minute." He used the same gentle voice he'd used when we were kids, cleaning up my scraped knees, and later when he listened to me complain about work. After a short pause, he added, "The dress looks good on you. I already paid part of it, so at least you didn't go through all that for nothing." So in his mind, marrying my sister and then coming back to spend the night with me somehow meant everyone got what they wanted. My stomach suddenly twisted. I couldn't tell whether my chest or my abdomen hurt worse, and I covered my mouth as blood rose in my throat. "You're making me pay the remaining ten grand?" "Shannon's been through enough, and weddings are expensive. You're her sister. What's wrong with helping out with some of the cost?" Shannon Cobb's soft voice came through in the background. "Don't blame Leslie. She waited all morning. Of course she's upset." "See? You're always so understanding." After reassuring her, Curtis finally turned his attention back to me. "Come home for dinner this afternoon. Your parents are having a welcome-home dinner for Shannon. Apologize to her in person, and we can put all of this behind us." "And then what?" "Then things go back to normal." He said it like it was obvious. "The wedding was just a ceremony. You're still the one I'm legally married to. I never said I was leaving you." After he hung up, the woman from the bridal shop glanced uneasily at the wedding dress I was still wearing. I had 11 thousand dollars left in my bank account. That money was supposed to cover my hospital bills, but I couldn't make the bridal shop take the loss. I paid the balance, changed back into my own clothes, and left the hotel. My brother, Richard Cobb's car was waiting at the curb. He rolled down the window and nodded toward the back seat. "Get in." "I need to go to the hospital." "This is the first dinner we've all had together since Shannon came home. Don't ruin it." He pushed the back door open from inside the car, then frowned when I still didn't move. "Leslie, Curtis lied to you, but he only did it to make things up to Shannon. You owe her ten years. Is one wedding really worth walking away from the family over?" When I was little and burning up with a fever, Richard once carried me three blocks. Sweat ran down his face, but he still laughed and said I weighed less than his backpack. Now, he couldn't even be bothered to get out of the car and help me. "Richard, I really don't feel well." "You've always been like this. The second something doesn't go your way, you start complaining that you're sick." His tone softened a little. "Just come eat with us. I'll take you to the hospital afterward, alright?" He sounded just like he used to when he coaxed me into doing something as a kid. That tiny bit of familiarity was enough to make me get into the car. But instead of taking me to my parents' house, Richard drove to Curtis's new place. Shannon's shoes sat beside Curtis's by the front door. Mom was helping Shannon out of her veil in the living room. "You must be exhausted after wearing all this all day. Sit down and rest for a minute." Dad was sorting through the leftover wedding favors. When he saw me come in, he barely looked up. "Finally. Go change back into the dress so the photographer can get a family photo." "Why do I need to wear a dress?" Shannon slipped her arm through Curtis's and smiled. "You can wear something simple, like a bridesmaid dress, and I'll stay in my gown. That way, it'll look like you're actually happy for us." Another wave of dizziness hit me, and I grabbed the console table by the door to steady myself. Chapter 2 My overnight bag slipped from my hand, and the folder with my medical records slid halfway out. Mom bent down, picked it up, and shoved it under the shoe rack without looking inside. "More tests for your headaches? Deal with that later. Today's supposed to be a happy day." The photographer had already set up in the living room. Curtis walked over and smoothed my collar. "Stop acting like you're the one being wronged. Once Shannon's happy, I'm still going home with you tonight." Shannon dropped a white dress at my feet. It was the cheapest bridesmaid dress from the shop. "Put it on. Don't keep everyone waiting." Still smiling, she opened the master bedroom door. Wedding photos of Curtis and me covered the walls, except my face had been cut out of every picture and replaced with Shannon's. A check-in slip sat beneath one of the frames. It had Curtis and Shannon's names on it, dated the same night he proposed to me. That night, Curtis said something urgent came up at work and left me sitting alone at the restaurant for four hours. When he finally came home after midnight, he held me and apologized. "Once we're married, I'll make up for all the time I haven't been there." So he wasn't at work. He was at a hotel with Shannon. My fingers tightened around the receipt, crumpling it. Curtis reached for it, but I pulled it out of his reach. "How long has this been going on?" "Don't ask questions that'll only make things worse," he said quietly. "Shannon just came back. She's been having a hard time, so I've been there for her." "At a hotel?" Richard snatched the receipt from my hand. "They're adults. So they stayed at the same hotel. Why are you making it sound dirty? If Curtis didn't love you, would he have stayed with you for seven years?" "Seven years?" Shannon leaned back against the couch, slowly turning the pink diamond on her finger. "Every single year he was with Leslie, Curtis still spent my birthday with me. He always said she was so clingy that he could barely get away." The words hit me like a blow. Ten years ago, I was standing in line at the mall to buy Mom a birthday cake when Shannon started begging to go look at the stuffed animals. I told her to wait by the counter for three minutes, but when I came back, she was gone. The police searched for a full year and found nothing. Back then, Mom held me while I cried and told me it wasn't my fault. Dad stayed by my bed because he was afraid I would do something to myself, and Richard even threw away all the missing-person flyers. "No one bring this up around Leslie again." I thought they were protecting me. Now, I realized they were just keeping me comfortable inside a lie they had already decided to maintain. "When did you find her?" The room went quiet for a moment before Mom stood up. "Today's supposed to be a happy day. Why are you dragging all this up now?" "I'm just asking when she came back," I said. "Leslie, don't do this to Mom," Shannon said, her eyes filling with tears. "No matter how long I've been back, it doesn't change the fact that you're the reason I disappeared." Curtis immediately pulled her into his arms. "It's alright. I'm here." The pink diamond flashed against his shirt, and the sight of it made my chest tighten. I had gone back to the jewelry store five times just to look at that ring, but Curtis always said it was too expensive, and there was no point spending that much on a wedding. The last time, I leaned over the display case and joked, "Once I finish this illustration project and get paid, I'll buy it myself." He tapped the tip of my nose. "Who buys her own engagement ring? Just wait. I'll get you something even better." That "something better" turned out to be a plain band that cost a couple hundred bucks. Meanwhile, the pink diamond sat on Shannon's finger. "Take it off," I said to Shannon, who immediately moved closer to Curtis. Dad frowned. "It's just a ring. Are you really going to fight with your own sister over it?" "It was bought with my money," I said. Before the wedding, Curtis told me the new house needed work and transferred 50 grand out of our joint account. He promised every cent would go toward our home. I looked around at the new bedding, Shannon's bridal shoes, and the flowers scattered through the house. He hadn't exactly lied. The money had gone toward setting up a home. It just wasn't going to be mine. "It's marital property. What difference does it make who spends it?" Curtis said, still using that same gentle tone. "Helping Shannon feel secure is part of making up for what happened to her. You always say you love me. Are you really going to hold a little money against her?" My stomach churned, and I hurried to the bathroom, where I spent the next several minutes dry-heaving. By the time I came back out, Richard had gone through my overnight bag. My medication bottles sat in a neat row on the coffee table. "Painkillers, sedatives, anti-nausea medication." Shannon picked up one of the bottles. "Leslie, you really came prepared just to get out of apologizing." "Put that down." I hurried toward her, but another wave of dizziness sent me stumbling into the table. The bottle hit the floor, and white pills scattered everywhere. Mom didn't move to help me. She stepped in front of Shannon instead. "Why are you scaring her?" I looked straight at her. "Those are my medications." "If you have a headache, deal with it for a little while," Dad said, glancing at the clock. "The photographer charges by the hour. Stop wasting time." Shannon crouched and started gathering the pills. "I'll put them back for you, Leslie." She dropped them into the bottle, but when she passed the sink, she tipped her hand and sent the pills straight down the drain. Then, she turned on the faucet. Curtis saw exactly what she did. He just took her hand and dried her wet fingers. "Don't touch stuff off the floor. Mom can get Leslie more medicine." Chapter 3 Those were strong preion painkillers, and the hospital only gave me a limited amount because of my condition. I couldn't just walk into a pharmacy and replace them. "Curtis," I said, "I might not make it another three days." The living room went quiet for a couple of seconds before Richard laughed. "You're really pretending you're dying just to get out of taking a family photo?" "Leslie, don't say things like that just to scare everyone." Mom smoothed the hem of my dress, talking to me like I was a child throwing a tantrum. "You used to fake stomachaches whenever things didn't go your way with Shannon. You're still pulling this?" "Mom," I insisted, "I'm not faking." "Alright, you're not." She gave a distracted nod. "We'll take you to the hospital after the pictures, okay?" The photographer snapped the photo. Shannon stood in the middle with Curtis's arm around her waist, while Mom, Dad, and Richard crowded around them. I stood at the very edge in my cheap white dress, pushed so far out of the shot that only half my pale face made it into the picture. After the photos, Dad pulled out a document. "This is the revised deed transfer for the old family house. It's in your name right now, but Shannon's back, so we're transferring it back to her." Grandma left that house to me. Before she died, she held my hand and told me every woman needed a place of her own, somewhere she could always go when life got hard. For ten years, I trusted Dad enough to let him hold on to the deed. I never once questioned him. "Grandma left that house to me." "You've had it for ten years." Dad slid a pen across the table. "Don't be greedy. Give the house to Shannon. You and Curtis still have the new place." Shannon smiled and clung to Curtis's arm. "But Richard said the new house is mine, too. If Leslie lives there, I'll have nightmares every night." Curtis didn't even hesitate. "Leslie can stay in my old apartment. It's a little run-down, but it's close to the hospital. That'll be more convenient while she recovers." That apartment was barely 300 square feet. It was a converted basement with no windows, bad leaks, and no working heat in the winter. Seven years ago, when Curtis's business nearly went under, I lived there with him for two years. Whenever mold spread across the walls, I covered it with wallpaper, one section at a time. Back then, he held me and promised, "I'll never make you live like this again." Now, he offered me that same basement like it was some kind of generous consolation prize. "I'm not signing," I said. Richard grabbed my shoulder. "Stop making this difficult. "After Shannon disappeared, she slept under bridges and ate out of trash cans. And you're complaining about staying in a basement? It's only temporary. Once she settles down, everyone will let you come back." Pain shot from my head down my spine, and my vision started to blur. I gave up trying to argue with them. "Give me my phone. I need to call an ambulance." Curtis grabbed my wrist. "The guests will be here any minute. If an ambulance shows up in the middle of everything, what are they going to think about Shannon? "Just wait another two hours. Once everyone leaves, I'll take you myself." "It hurts too much. I can't wait." I tried to pull away, and my phone slipped from my hand. Shannon got to it first. "Are you trying to record us so you can go around telling everyone the whole family ganged up on you?" Shannon shut off my phone and slipped it into her pocket. "I'll give it back after you sign." The doorbell rang, and relatives started arriving with gifts. After that, no one paid any attention to how much pain I was in. Everyone gathered around Shannon as she told them what she had supposedly gone through after she disappeared. She said she slept in train stations, got beaten, and nearly ended up being trafficked across the country. Mom cried so hard that she could barely stand, while Dad turned away to wipe his eyes. Curtis lowered his head and kissed Shannon on the forehead. "No one's ever going to hurt you again." I braced myself against the wall and struggled to my feet. A corner of my medical records still stuck out from under the shoe cabinet. If I could just show them the reports, they had to believe me. My fingers barely reached the folder when Shannon stepped on my hand. She leaned down and lowered her voice. "No one's taking you to the hospital today, Leslie. Ten years ago, I spent three minutes waiting for you, wondering if anyone was coming back for me. Today, you're going to pay for every second of it." She picked up the folder, carried it into the master bedroom, and tossed it inside. The door shut in my face. A second later, I heard the lock click. Shannon had locked my medical records inside. Chapter 4 By the time dinner started, I could barely stand. Curtis helped me into a chair and tucked a cushion behind my back. "See? I'm not ignoring you." In front of everyone, he served me a bowl of soup. "Leslie just gets in her own head sometimes. She'll feel better after she gets some rest." Chopped parsley floated on top of the soup. I was severely allergic to parsley. In all seven years we were together, Curtis always remembered to tell servers whenever we ate out. Today, he forgot. Or maybe with Shannon sitting beside him, he just didn't have any attention left for what I could and couldn't eat. "Curtis, Leslie doesn't want it. Give it to me." Curtis immediately slid the bowl over to Shannon. "Careful. It's hot." The relatives laughed. "Those two were so close when they were little. Now Shannon's finally back, and Leslie's jealous." "Leslie's been spoiled for too long. She needs to cut Shannon some slack." Richard walked over with a glass of wine. "You hear that? Nobody here thinks we've treated you badly. Just sign the papers, have a drink with Shannon, and let this go." They put the agreement in front of me again and set the pen beside it. My vision blurred, but I still shook my head. "Grandma left that house to me." Dad finally lost his patience. "How long are you going to keep this up? If you don't sign today, you're not leaving this house!" Shannon quickly stepped in, her voice soft. "Dad, Leslie isn't feeling well. Why don't we let her lie down for a while?" The four of them carried me into the guest room, and Richard left the agreement on the nightstand. "You can come out when you're ready to be reasonable," he said. Curtis pulled the blanket over me, then leaned down and pressed a hand to my forehead. "You don't have a fever. Stop pretending you're sick and putting your parents through all this." I opened my mouth. "I need my phone…" "You'll get it back after you sign." As Curtis turned to leave, I grabbed his sleeve. "My medical records are in the master bedroom. Just get them and look at them." For seven years, whenever I tugged on his sleeve like this, he always stopped and tried to comfort me. This time, Shannon called his name from the hallway, and Curtis pulled away almost immediately. "Shannon's been through enough today. I'm going to stay with her." He looked down at me. "Once you calm down and fix your attitude, I'll come back." The door shut behind him, and a second later, I heard the lock turn. The pain got so bad that I eventually lost track of time. When I opened my eyes again, it was already dark outside. Laughter drifted in from the living room. Curtis was helping Shannon open wedding gifts. My watch could make emergency calls. I only got as far as the second digit before the door opened, and Shannon walked in. She yanked the watch off my wrist. "You're still trying to call an ambulance? Everyone's right outside. Are you trying to embarrass us on purpose?" "Give it back." I tried to raise my arm, but it dropped heavily onto the bed. For a split second, panic flashed across Shannon's face. Then she slipped the watch onto her own wrist. "It's nice. I'll take it as your wedding gift to me." She left and locked the door again. - I had no idea how much time passed before the living room finally went quiet. Curtis came into the room with an arm around Shannon, and Mom, Dad, and Richard followed behind them. "Leslie, you still haven't signed the agreement." Richard patted my cheek. "Stop pretending to be asleep. The doctor said you were fine at your last checkup. Are you really trying to guilt-trip us again?" But by then, I couldn't feel the pain anymore. Curtis sat down beside me, sounding gentle but irritated. "Look how considerate Shannon is. She's the one who told me to come check on you. All you have to do is sign your name, give her the house, and everything can go back to normal." Mom adjusted Shannon's shawl. "Shannon came back with nothing. Is it really so much to ask you to give her this one thing? I'm still your mother, too." Dad stared at me coldly. "Don't think lying there and ignoring us is going to get you out of signing." Shannon leaned against Curtis and started to cry. "Does Leslie really hate me that much? Maybe I shouldn't take the house. Curtis and I can just leave." "Don't be ridiculous." Curtis tightened his arm around her, then looked back at me. "Leslie, are you seriously going to kick Shannon out just to prove a point?" I didn't respond, so Curtis reached over and shook my shoulder. "Enough." My arm slid off the edge of the bed and hung limp at my side. Curtis frowned, leaned closer, and reached toward my nose. A second later, his entire body went still.