The Idiot's Wedding

Ten years ago, a fire broke out at my school. I saved four friends, but the flames left me an idiot. The four of them stood beside my hospital bed and cried, swearing they would spend the rest of their lives making it up to me. They were afraid I would get bullied, so they gave up their spots at two of the country's top universities and went to community college with me instead. They were afraid someone would trick me into leaving them, so the other three pushed Joshua Summers to confess his feelings for me. I had once said I envied people who lived in houses that didn't leak, so all four of them saved every cent they had and bought me a house for Joshua and me to live in after we married. Then came the party the night before my wedding to Joshua. When I returned from the bathroom, I heard everyone inside playing a round of Truth. The topic was "Secrets Loretta Doesn't Know." Curious, I pressed my ear to the crack in the door. Calvin Dawson's drunken laughter drifted through. "That little idiot has no idea tomorrow's wedding is actually for Nisha." I froze. After a moment of silence, my sister picked up where he had left off. "Loretta doesn't know that when Josh confessed to her, he only did it to spite Nisha. Who would've guessed she'd say yes? This wedding was supposed to be Nisha's from the start." My best friend's eyes reddened. "If my family hadn't forced me into marriage, I never would've taken Lori's wedding from her. I only want the ceremony. She can keep the title. As long as she's happy, my own happiness can wait until the next life." Joshua's eyes flickered. With a resigned expression, he revealed the final secret. "This morning, I got worked up enough to consider sending Loretta to her death, but I gave up on it in the end. We owe her a life anyway. Let's call this one paid off." I didn't know how long I stood there before I finally stumbled back to my room in a daze. I opened Joshua's bag, and there it was: an opened bottle of pills. My heart shuddered. The happiness I had cherished for ten years had never been anything more than repayment for a debt. Through my tears, I put the pills into my mouth one by one. There was no need to wait for the next life. In this one, I would give them the happiness they wanted. Chapter 1 I swallowed the last pill. My stomach burned like fire, and the pain was vicious. I tossed the empty bottle aside, climbed onto my small bed, and curled into a ball. The tablet on the nightstand suddenly lit up. I pulled it into my arms just as a new message appeared. The group was called "The Four Without the Idiot". Calvin Dawson had tagged everyone. [Whose turn is it tonight to slip the sleeping pills into the little idiot's milk?] My sister, Selena Parton, had replied. Selena: [It's Nisha's turn, isn't it? Use a little more today. Tomorrow's your wedding. She can't be there to see it.] Nisha Jones had posted a video. Nisha: [Don't worry. Josh's already got everything ready for me.] In the video, a pair of hands with sharply defined knuckles dropped sleeping pills into a glass of milk, one after another. A small cartoon pear was tattooed on the right wrist. My left hand had been burned in the fire, and the scar had made me a target for mockery. Joshua Summers had beaten up someone who laughed at me, then designed the tattoo himself. Half of the pear covered the scar on my left hand. The other half was tattooed on his right wrist. He had laughed and told me it meant we would never come apart. Two halves made one pear, and a pear was a pair. I had understood, or thought I did, and laughed along happily, grinning like an idiot. But the boy who had promised we would never part had long since shut me out of the world the four of them shared. Tears fell onto the tablet and blurred the screen. I fumbled to wipe them away. Someone knocked hard on the door twice. "Loretta, are you in there?" Panicked, I shoved the tablet under the blanket. The next second, the door swung open. The moment Joshua saw me, he strode over, pulled me off the bed, and checked me over from head to toe. Once he saw that I was fine, his frown eased slightly, though his tone remained sharp. "Loretta, do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you? We thought you'd wandered off and gotten hurt." Instinct told me to apologize, but the tears came first, and I couldn't stop them. My sister hurried over to wipe them away and scolded, "That's enough, Josh. Why are you snapping at her for no reason? She's fine, isn't she?" Calvin handed me a tissue with a grin and teased me the way he always did. "Little idiot, you're one lucky girl. Brain fried, and people still can't stop worrying about you." Nisha gave a soft laugh and held out a cup of milk. "Lori, stop crying. Everyone's just worried about you. You had an upset stomach today, so I made a special trip to get you lactose-free milk." She held the cup out to me. A trace of powder still clung to the rim. Everyone smiled as they always did, waiting for me to drink it so they could take turns telling me bedtime stories. I swallowed the ache in my chest and reached for the cup. Before I could get a firm grip, Nisha secretly dug her nail into my hand. The sudden pain made me flinch, and I shoved her away on instinct. The cup hit the floor with a clatter, and Nisha fell right after it. Chapter 2 I froze. Before I could react, someone grabbed me from behind and yanked me backward. I stumbled two steps and fell to the ground. By the time I managed to scramble back to my feet, Nisha spoke, her voice slightly choked. "Lori, are you mad because I changed your milk without asking? Is that why you pushed me? I'm sorry. I'll go buy the kind you usually drink right now." With that, she forced herself to her feet and headed for the door. Calvin caught her and stopped her. Then he turned to me and shouted, "Why did you push Nisha? If you didn't want to drink it, you didn't have to. What's with the princess tantrum?" His accusation stunned me. Before I could explain, Selena cut me off the moment I opened my mouth, "Loretta, do you think all of us owe you something? That we should bend over backward for you?" Joshua merely looked at me with disappointment before scooping Nisha into his arms when he saw her limping. "The three of us will take her to the hospital. Stay home and think about what you did." The four of them turned and walked out. I hurried after them in a panic. "That's not it. That's not what happened. Please, listen to me explain." They walked too fast for me to catch up. In my panic, my feet tangled beneath me, and I fell hard to the ground. By the time I picked myself up, they had already gotten into the car and driven away. My phone buzzed. Selena had sent me a video. Nisha's injured leg rested in Joshua's lap, smearing blood across his white shirt, but he didn't seem to mind at all. The other two anxiously fanned her wound. For a moment, I could only stare. I suddenly remembered another time, long ago, when I had scraped my hand. The three of them had fussed over me just like that. One had cleaned the wound with alcohol, another had gently blown on it, and the third had taken it upon himself to cheer me up. But that was a long time ago. Afterward, whenever I got hurt, the impatience in their eyes only grew. Eventually, I learned to hide my injuries, afraid they would find out. Every night, I picked at my scabbed wounds and didn't dare make a sound, even when I wanted to cry. The voice from the video continued, "See that? They only notice when someone they love gets hurt. A burden means nothing to them." I stood there, stunned. Only then did I notice my palm. At some point, broken glass had sliced it open without me even realizing it, and blood trickled down in a thin line. The crescent-shaped mark from where someone had pinched the back of my hand earlier was still there too. But not one of them had noticed. Tears spilled from my eyes, and I couldn't stop them. So I really was a burden. For ten years, all I had done was cause them trouble. This time, I would give them the happiness they wanted. … Back home, I pulled out my suitcase. The poison had begun to take effect. Pain wracked my entire body, and cold sweat beaded across my skin. I didn't dare waste any time. I hurried to gather my keepsakes, including the dress Joshua had given me, the doll from Selena, and the half-finished bag of chips Calvin had bought me. I stuffed everything into the suitcase. Then my phone rang. It was Joshua. I answered immediately. His tired, flat voice came through the speaker. "Nisha's wound got infected. She needs surgery. Let's postpone tomorrow's wedding. The three of us will stay with her at the hospital. Just stay home and behave." I froze for a moment before murmuring a dazed, "Okay." The instant I hung up, the tablet chimed and its screen lit up. Calvin had sent a string of laughing messages in their group chat. Calvin: [Josh really knows how to spin a story. Nisha just got a superficial scrape, and he made it sound like a crisis.] Calvin: [He'll really say anything if it means he can marry Nisha.] Selena chimed in, sounding equally exasperated. Selena: [Good thing it's Loretta. Anyone else wouldn't be so easy to fool. Perfect. The four of us can just get a hotel tonight so Loretta doesn't get suspicious.] My chest tightened until I could barely breathe. I already knew a wound that small didn't require surgery. The last time I'd cut my hand with a kitchen knife, I'd cried so hard that I'd even written a will. Joshua had laughed as he explained, "Lori, bleeding doesn't mean you're going to die. A small cut like this just needs a bandage. It'll heal in no time." My ears had burned red as everyone laughed at me. But I'd never forgotten those words. For ten years, I truly had been a fool. The only time I'd ever pretended to be one was so I could give Joshua his happiness. Chapter 3 Halfway through packing, I spotted the wedding ring box on the coffee table. I suddenly remembered Joshua once telling me that exchanging rings was the most important part of a wedding. Without it, the ceremony wouldn't be complete. The thought sent me straight to my phone. I called him, and it rang a few times before he picked up. Just as I opened my mouth, Nisha's tear-choked voice came through first. "Josh, we're the ones who wronged Loretta. We can't keep this baby. Once the wedding's over, I'll get rid of it. Then I'll disappear from your lives completely." My mind went blank as static roared in my ears. Then Joshua's low, strained voice came through. "We've spent the past ten years making it up to her. I've had enough. Nisha, I already lost you once. I can't lose our child too." Their heavy, barely controlled breathing carried through the line. A memory from long ago suddenly surfaced. I had once pointed to a family of three on the street and asked Joshua enviously, "Josh, they look so happy. When will we have a kid of our own?" His face had darkened for a moment before he rubbed my head. "I don't like kids. Having you is enough." So it wasn't that he didn't like children. He just didn't want a child with an idiot. I clutched the little box in my hands as my eyes began to sting. 'It doesn't matter. Soon enough, Joshua, you will both get what you want," I muttered. … By the time I finished packing my keepsakes, dawn had already broken. The pain deep inside my body grew fiercer by the minute. I forced myself to my feet, tucked the small box against my chest, and headed to the rehearsal. Someone set off a party popper with a sharp bang just as I pushed open the door. The cheerful atmosphere instantly froze. With red-rimmed eyes, I brushed the confetti from my shoulder and walked straight toward the two of them onstage. Joshua looked startled for a moment, then instinctively pulled Nisha behind him. "Loretta, let me explain. Nisha was just rehearsing with me ahead of time—" Calvin cut him off, "Josh, it's already come to this. There's no point hiding it from her anymore." He pulled me aside, guilt coloring his voice. "Loretta, the truth is, today's wedding was always meant for Nisha. There's no point in you showing up now anyway. Look. Her name is on every part of the program." He pointed around the room at the candy favors on the tables and the posters on the walls, all of which bore the same words in large letters: [Congratulations to Joshua Summers and Nisha Jones on their union.] It was no wonder Joshua had never let me put my name on any of it. I'd thought it was because my handwriting was too ugly, so I'd let it go. The bride's place had belonged to Nisha all along. A dull ache spread through my chest, and I gave a pale nod. "I know." Selena's voice rose sharply as she gripped my wrist hard enough to hurt. "You knew, and you still came? "Loretta, Josh and Nisha have already suffered because of you for ten years. Nisha's family is pressuring her right now, and the only way is for her and Josh to get married. "I'm begging you. Please don't cause any more trouble today, okay?" She started dragging me toward the door. I quickly pulled the small box from my pocket and held it up for her to see. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here to return something." The instant Selena saw the box, her fingers went stiff. I took advantage of her shock to wrench myself free and run onto the stage. I pressed the ring box into Joshua's hands. The moment he recognized it, Joshua froze, a complicated expression crossing his face. "Loretta, but—" Before he could finish, Nisha let out a sharp scream. She snatched the box from his hands and flipped it open. Inside, the women's ring had been snapped cleanly in half. Chapter 4 I froze too. Nisha's eyes instantly reddened, and her voice broke. "Lori, so you already knew Josh was marrying me today, and you broke the ring on purpose just to provoke me. "Fine. I'll give the wedding back to you today. Worst case, I'll go along with my family's arranged match and disappear from your lives for good." Nisha tore off her veil and flung it at my face, with the broken ring still tangled in the fabric. The ring's jagged edge sliced across my cheek and drew blood. I just stood there and stared at her. She turned to leave. Joshua panicked and rushed after her, catching her by the arm. I followed on instinct and tried to explain. "That's not it. I never even opened—" A slap cut me off mid-sentence. Selena's eyes were red as she shouted at me, "Loretta, you've gone too far! We've taken care of you for ten years. Are you really too selfish to let them have even this much happiness?" My head spun from the slap. Then Calvin's furious voice came from beside me. "Nisha, don't worry. I'll make her give you the ring." The moment he finished speaking, he seized my hand and yanked the ring off my finger. The skin tore beneath it. I ignored the sting and lunged for the ring. "No! Don't! That's my mother's memento!" Calvin shoved me away in annoyance, then turned and slipped the ring onto Nisha's finger. Selena snapped at me too, "Enough, Loretta. Nisha's ring is worth far more than the one Mom left you. You came out ahead." I could not hold myself together anymore. The tears would not stop. "It's not the same thing!" I lunged forward again to take the ring back. Joshua stepped in front of Nisha, grabbed me, and forced me into a small room nearby. "There's no difference, Lori. This whole thing is your fault. Nisha's only borrowing the ring for the day. Once the wedding's over, I'll let you out." The shove sent me stumbling, and I hit the floor hard. Without warning, I spat out a mouthful of blood. Everyone froze. Joshua went rigid, his voice shaking. "Loretta, you... What's wrong with you? Why are you coughing up blood?" He instinctively started toward me, but Nisha grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Loretta, can you please stop with the act? I just saw the ketchup in your bag. Even if you hate me for taking your wedding, you shouldn't try to scare us with a trick like this." Her voice was still thick with tears. "Fine, whatever. I'll give you the ring back." I wanted to scream that she was lying. There was no ketchup in my bag. I had not broken the ring. She had made it all up. But my whole body hurt so badly that I could not even find the strength to speak. Nisha made a show of trying to remove the ring. Joshua stopped her. He looked at me once more, then let out a disappointed laugh. "Loretta, I underestimated you. Simple in the head, yet clever enough to pull little tricks like this. Stay in here tonight and think about what you've done." The door slammed shut. My body sagged to one side, and I collapsed onto the floor, completely drained of strength. My phone rang. I gathered what little strength I had left and pressed the answer button. Nisha's low, mocking laugh came through the phone. "You're dying anyway, so I might as well tell you the truth. Josh never planned to lay a hand on you. I put that bottle of pills in his bag myself. "My family never arranged a marriage for me either. I just needed you to see clearly, once and for all, who Josh actually loves. "You really are an idiot. You fell for it so easily. Don't worry, though. From now on, I'll love Josh enough for both of us." My breathing trembled along with the rest of me. Hazy and barely conscious, I heard the officiant's voice through the phone. I closed my eyes and pictured the scene. Joshua walking Nisha down the aisle. The two of them exchanging rings and solemnly reciting their vows. Every detail matched the wedding I had once pictured for myself. Amid the applause that filled the hall, the ceremonial cannons fired one round after another. My pulse weakened with every blast. It did not matter anymore. At least this time, Josh was happy. - On the other end of the call, the ceremony had ended. The four of them were already seated at the head table. For reasons he could not explain, unease gnawed at Joshua. The image of Loretta coughing up blood kept flashing through his mind until he finally decided to get up and check on her again. He had not taken two steps before his phone rang. The moment he answered, his assistant's hesitant voice came through. "Mr. Summers, I looked into it. Miss Jones' family never arranged a marriage for her. They never pressured her to marry anyone." Joshua rejected the claim instinctively. "That's impossible." The next second, a server suddenly grabbed his arm. Joshua's phone hit the floor. He frowned and was about to snap at the man, but the server spoke first, his voice urgent. "Mr. Summers, something terrible has happened. Loretta is dead!"