Chapter 196 Killer - Cole

Chapter 196 Killer - Cole
"Cole!"
I vaguely hear my name being called, but the rage is so loud in my head, the voices calling me get cut off.
"Cole! Stop! Please!"
My fist hesitates in the air, enough for who I assume is Luke to grab my arms and pull me off James' unconscious body because he's the only one strong enough who can stop me now. There is blood splattered on my T-shirt from James's face, and when I look down on my fist, my hand is red.
"You're good, man." Luke holds me tightly against his chest. "You're good."
"Cole."
I'm still shaking, but some of the anger dissipates when I look over at Monet still lying helplessly on the bed, now covered by a throw, and I pull away from Cole to rush over to her.
"What did he do to you?" I whisper down at her, blaming myself for letting this happen and not protecting her. She looks so vulnerable lying on the bed with her hair splayed out and her face swollen, the imprint of a hand evident on her cheek. "Did he hit you?"
"He slapped me really hard." She sobs. "He chased me at the bus stop and then I think he used some chloroform to make me umconcious and then a spinal block, I can't move!"
I can see the helplessness in her eyes, and I wish I did kill him now, for what he did to her.
"I'm so scared!" She cries. "What if he hit a nerve or something, and I'm paralyzed forever."
"I already called 911." Antoine says from behind me. "They're only a few minutes out, it might not be a good idea to move her."
"Stay with me." The fear in Monet's eyes intensifies, and I drop to my knees by her bed, the hand that is not full of blood cradling her head. "You're gonna be okay."
Only, I can't promise her that. We don't know what the hell James did to her or what he used, but if she ends up being paralyzed, then I will find him, and I will kill him, and if I go to jail for that, then so be it.
"Did he touch you?" I'm even scared to hear the answer to that, because if he violated her like that, she might never recover from it emotionally, and I want her to be alive and happy, even if it is without me.
She shakes her head. "You got here just in time."
We didn't get here soon enough, because she should've never been in this situation in the first place.
The word 'failure' reverberates through my head the entire time I stroke her hair and kiss her face tenderly, until the EMT's arrive. One of them tells me to give them space, while the other one immediately tends to James who is unfortunately still breathing.
The same two police officers from the campus securty office barge into the cottage and assess the situation.
"Who hit him?" They ask the three of us.
It's obvious it was me, my hand is the one with the blood on it, but Luke steps forward. "It was me."
"It was me too." Antoine said. "He kidnapped Monet, and injected her with we don't even know what, she can't even move. I think you're asking the wrong questions here."
"We'll ask her the appropriate questions at the hospital." The female officer's eyes meet mine accusingly. "You could have told us that you knew where she was, and not take the law into your own hands."
"Then you have to arrest me." I say without any remorse. "Because it was me who hit him."
"Then you have to arrest all three of us." Luke says, and I think they're really stupid, but I'm grateful for the friends that I have.
"We'll get all the statements first." The officer narrows her eyes at me. "You can go to the hospital with your grilfried."
I hold her hand the entire way in the back of the ambulance, even though she can't feel it, the fear that this might become permanent settling deeper inside me.
I didn't protect her.
I should have killed James when I had the chance, I shouldn't have let Luke stop me. He could do this to more women.
Amy, Chrystal, Coach and Mrs.Murray are waiting for us when the ambulance pulls into the E.R. bay at the hopsital, but the EMT instructs everyone to stay back and let the doctors help Monet.
"You too." He tells me strictly. "Please, let the medical staff do their jobs."
"Are you okay?" Coach hugs me to him, pulling away to look at the blood on my shirt and hands.
"It's James's blood, I might have broken a cheekbone."
"What about Monet?" Chrystal asks in a small voice.
"He injected her with something to paralyze her" I gulp, the fear for her life all around us, but my eyes meet Chrystal's. "We got there just in time, though."
She nods in understanding, tears swimming in her eyes and Amy hugs her.
I lick my lips, looking at Coach. "Can I talk to you in private?"
"Of course." Coach grabs my forearm and leads me away from the E.R. bay, and only stopping until we're out of earshot from the others, where someone approaches them, probably to direct them to a waiting area.
I don't want to be here. I don't want Monet in the hospital either, not when Kamila never made it home from the place, but I know this is the only place for her to get some help now.
"I need to go away." I blurt the words out to Coach who looks at me with a frown. "I almost killed James today, and in reality he deserves to die for what he did to my girl and Chrystal, but I had no control over what I was doing. If Luke wasn't there to stop me..."
I leave the implication in the air between us, because I would have killed him, and I wouldn't have any regret over it.
"What do you mean by going away?" Coach looks thoroughly confused.
"Look, I haven't been okay since I received an email about that murderer being eligible for parole. I told you Monet pulled me out of a dark place, convincing me to get up for the playoffs." I gulp, knowing that I depended on her way too much. "I love her, she's my world, but I'm fucking scared that one day I'm gonna lose it and hurt her."
Realization for what I'm asking dawns on Coach.
"So I need you to help me to get some psychiatric care or something." I look at the blood on my hand, a hand that almost killed twice now. "I want to be the man that she deserves, but first I have to conquer myself."