My Wedding, My Funeral のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

When the officiant announced the end of the ceremony, a few guests clapped halfheartedly.I stood alone at the altar. Sophia Russell, Mom, and my sister, Lila Bradford, were all gone.The sympathetic looks soon gave way to whispers.Some guests said Sophia did the right thing by leaving to help someone. Others pointed out that Evan Simmons had a serious medical condition. As his brother, I should've understood.A few came over to offer what they seemed to think was comfort."At least you got through the ceremony.""It's your wedding day. Let's not make this any more awkward."I wasn't making a scene. I could barely stay on my feet.The officiant offered me his arm to help me down from the altar. I took one step, and my legs buckled.I fell down the steps, driving the broken rod deeper into my back. Pain tore through me, and my mouth opened, but no sound came out.The hotel manager, Victor Torres, finally realized something was wrong and called 911.By the time the second amb

Claire held the bloodstained gauze in front of Mom. "Can I examine him now?"Mom's expression tightened. She looked down at my uniform. Blood soaked the dark fabric, but it only showed as a slightly darker patch."There was broken glass all over the floor at the wedding. He probably cut his leg."Claire stopped arguing and called over a nurse to help move me into an empty exam room.Mom stepped in their way again. "We need those beds for critical patients. He can wait in the hallway. I'll order some tests."She walked away without ordering anything. I watched her go straight into Evan's room, and she never came back out.Claire tracked down the doctor on duty and finally got me scheduled for a CT scan. She held up her phone.[You're next. The scan will show us if anything is lodged inside you.]I caught her hand and held on. For the first time, I thought I might make it.Just as a nurse wheeled me up to the CT room, Lila hurried over, still in her rescue uniform. She carried p

Sophia stared at me for two seconds, the irritation slowly leaving her face.She touched my cheek, then pressed her fingers to the side of my neck. The wedding ring slipped from her other hand."Kyle?" She bent over me, her voice shaking. "Open your eyes. Please, don't scare me."I didn't respond.She gathered me against her, but my head fell limply into the crook of her elbow. A pool of blood spread across the floor beneath us."Code blue! Somebody help!"Mom and Lila rushed over. Mom stopped when she saw my face."No. He was signing just a minute ago. How could he..."The staff helped Sophia lift me onto a stretcher, and she started chest compressions.Mom hurried to her side and took over. Her hands moved quickly and steadily, as if I were any other patient.Lila stood at the foot of the stretcher, her lips trembling."He just passed out. He's survived worse injuries than this. He's going to be alright."Claire heard the code announcement and ran back downstairs. At the

Paige suddenly spoke up. "There are cameras in the hallway. He was signing right up until he died. It should all be on video."The hospital secured the footage and brought a sign language interpreter into a conference room.Mom, Lila, Sophia, and Evan sat facing the screen.The video began with someone wheeling me into the hospital. The interpreter watched my hands and translated."When the chandelier fell, a piece of metal stabbed him in the lower back. It broke off, and part of it is still inside him."Sophia went pale.On the screen, she caught my hands and pushed them down the moment I signed Evan's name.The interpreter continued. "He's saying Evan didn't hurt him. He just wants his wife to help him."Sophia clenched my wedding ring until it dug into her palm. She didn't seem to notice.Then Lila appeared in the footage. I pointed to the chandelier in her photo, then to my back."He's saying they didn't find all the pieces on the floor. Part of the chandelier's inner fra

The examination results came back the next day.The hospital's small conference room was packed. Claire sat among the others without her white coat, still suspended from treating patients while the investigation continued.Everyone knew her efforts were the reason so many of my pleas for help were documented.The doctor presenting the findings walked them through the timeline.The chandelier's fall didn't kill me outright. The rod penetrated deep into my back, but the initial injury was survivable.If someone had loosened my belt and examined me at the wedding, I could have survived.If I had gone straight to a trauma bay when the second ambulance brought me in, I could have survived.If Claire had been allowed to cut open my uniform when she first tried, I could have survived.Even before Sophia pulled me off the stretcher, there was still a chance to save me.With every missed chance the doctor described, the room grew quieter.Mom broke the silence. "Lila told us every pie