#⊱ ᵃˡˡ ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ ᶠᵃᶜᵉˢ ᵃʳᵉ ˢᶜʳᵃᵗᶜʰᵉᵈ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵎ / brother ronald .

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timeline of dolores’s death below the cut.

𝟸:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼, 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - brother ronald returns to his apartment after volunteering at the soup kitchen the entire morning. he writes out a note to leroy clyde that reads, “ I just came home from work, remember your hat and your ring. Love, Brother Ronald.” he has a young boy who lives near leroy & dolores’s address to deliver it to the future groom. leroy is home, and uncharacteristically, not recovering from a hangover/sleeping. dolores is home as well, though she has locked herself in the couple’s bedroom as she prepares herself for the ceremony.

𝟺:𝟷𝟻 𝙿𝙼, 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - leroy leaves to go to the church. brother ronald is already there, and dolores is set to arrive at five o’clock. the wedding is scheduled for six pm in the evening.

𝟻:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼, 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - dolores, already dressed for her big day, leaves for the church with her mother, sisters, and cousin deborah (the latter three are all serving as bridesmaids in the service.)

𝟼:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼 𝚃𝙾 𝟼:𝟹𝟶 𝙿𝙼, 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - the wedding commences. dolores cotton spiritually, and legally, becomes leroy’s wife. 

𝟽:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - after a brief clean up, the entire wedding party & all the guests vacate the church to attend the reception, which is being held at dolores and leroy’s home. dolores spent the morning setting everything up with her mother and sisters, who later left to retrieve deborah cotton from her hotel.

𝟽:𝟸𝟶 𝙿𝙼 𝚃𝙾 𝟷𝟶:𝟹𝟶 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - the reception.

𝟷𝟶:𝟹𝟶 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - the last guest of the party, brother ronald himself, leaves. he volunteers to help clean up, but dolores (feeling tired), reassurances ronald that she & leroy can take care of the mess in the morning.

𝟷𝟶:𝟺𝟶 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - after putting the leftover food and drink away, dolores arrives in her bedroom ready for bed, only to find leroy is already there. he has read her private diary, which reveals that dolores is two months pregnant, but plans to tell leroy only after the wedding. he assumes the worst and believes this means dolores has cheated on him and the child is not his. the two begin to bicker, as dolores attempts to (tearfully) explain the situation.

𝟷𝟶:𝟺𝟽 𝙿𝙼 𝚃𝙾 𝟷𝟶:𝟻𝟻 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - when leroy smashes a lamp in their bedroom, dolores runs downstairs to create a space between them. leroy follows, however, still enraged. he physically attacks dolores and knocks her to the ground, only to keep beating her while she is down. when leroy gets up to grab the knife previously used for cake cutting, dolores tries to crawl away. leroy grabs her by the ankle, however, and physically drags her as dolores digs her nails into the floor to stay put.

𝟷𝟶:𝟻𝟼 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - dolores rises to her feet and attempts to plead with leroy, reassuring him for her faithfulness and begging for the life of her unborn child. leroy responds by stabbing his bride in the abdomen, approximately where her womb is located (actually slightly above it). dolores clutches at her stomach in agony and places a hand on the wall to remain steady. she collapses, however.

𝟷𝟶:𝟻𝟾 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - with dolores still showing signs of life (although severely weakened), leroy bashes up upside the head with a candle holder used at the reception. this blow is what will ultimately take dolores clyde’s life. while dolores still shows signs of (struggling) life, however, leroy sexually assaults her after removing her garter and undergarments with his knife. 

𝟷𝟷:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟶𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - dolores is officially dead. leroy takes the wine bottles that her maternal grandmother gave them as a wedding present, and drinks in the basement of the house for the rest of the night.

𝟼:𝟶𝟻 𝙰𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟷𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - leroy emerges from the basement and puts back the wine bottles. he takes a shower and discards his bloody uniform in the master bedroom, before retreating back to the basement with more of the reception’s alcohol.

𝟽:𝟹𝟶 𝙰𝙼 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟷𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺 - brother ronald calls to check in on the new couple, and offer his assistance in cleaning up the party. when he receives no answer, he is not too alarmed, as it’s still an early hour (compared to how late the reception lasted), and the couple are officially on their “”honeymoon”” (although they are staying at home.) he does not call for the rest of the day, but intends to try again tomorrow.

it is not until two days after brother ronald’s initial call ( 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟷𝟹𝚃𝙷, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺) that he finally visits the clyde residence. he has now called the clyde residence three times, all with no reply (very uncharacteristic, especially on dolores’s part). when he arrives, the door is unlocked, and he is greeted by dolores’s cadaver upon entering the living room. he immediately calls out for leroy and investigates the rest of the downstairs level for another crime scene. 

instead of finding leroy’s body, he finds the groom himself, who reluctantly emerges from the basement with a pistol in his hand. his intent is not to kill brother ronald, but rather himself. ronald dissuades leroy by telling him he may still make it into heaven yet, but won’t if he kills himself. leroy drops his gun but returns to the basement and locks the door behind him while ronald calls the police. within ten minutes, they arrive, and after leroy refuses to come out of the basement voluntarily, they bust down the basement door and retrieve him by force. 

leroy is later sentenced to spend the remainder of his life at an camarillo state mental hospital. the judge takes pity on him and sends him to an institution rather than prison, as he believes leroy was affected by the horrors he witnessed in the war. there is no trial, as leroy pleads guilty. 

dolores’s body in transported, by train, to ohio. she is buried  𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝟸𝟹𝚁𝙳, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟺, in cleveland’s lake view cemetery. family friends get together and donate a moderate sum to the cottons to help with the funeral cost. leroy’s father stanley is in attendance, though he does not speak to mr. or mrs. cotton. while brother ronald does not attend the service, he takes a train to ohio in january of 1945 and visits dolores’s grave. he apologizes, to her headstone, for her murder and that he could not have saved her in any way. 

eighteen months after leroy arrived at the asylum, he hung himself. his body is cremated shortly after, when his father refuses to claim him. his ashes are spread on the hospital grounds. 

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tbh leroy probably assumed brother ronald was a possible father of  dolores’s baby, and would have killed him if given the chance. 

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tag dump one.