Love, Lies, and a Fatal Countdown

with a stra

r above everyone's head, t

exact moment

family call

elling a story at the dinner table, and I saw th

:23

idn't understand. I jus

ou have to

ad, his eyes full of warmth. "C

ces soft in the warm light of the dining ro

hoked on a piece of steak. He di

on a business trip. I saw his co

" I grabbed his briefca

expression annoyed. "Av

he airport. The news said it happened

er sister, Lily. I stood outside the delivery room, watching t

:01

or the doctors to do something, a

blood loss, just a

ht hatred. I wasn't just a weird kid anymore, I was

ah, looked at me with a resentment that was

charm born from tragedy. They showered her with the love and affection I never rec

ghteenth birthday

o see my reflection, but to c

at I thought meant I was different, perhaps im

the numbers

:00

. Just lik

day. How

ense of calm. The dread I had lived with my whole life

money I had saved from odd jobs to buy a custom-made urn. It was simple,

y brothers' favorite foods. I set the table for four, hoping, for one

o one

mained empty

ad been one of neglect and abuse.

oorway of the living room, watching my parents laugh with Liam. He had built a tower of

I made, but they just waved me aw

gray for weeks, but that evening, they turned a vibrant, terrifying r

to warn him, my small voice barely a whisper. My parents' smiles were the last

atching the paramedics cover his face with a white sheet. I couldn't hear their words, only a loud ringing in my ea

ne understood. They only saw the resu