Sweet But Savoury (Bittersweet 2) (FINISHED)

Chapter 3

Keira's POV

"Cole?!" I venture at the unmistakable sound of his voice. Maddie and Ellie go silent too, confirming my suspicions. He's comforting Lucy, who appears to be having a panic attack. "Lucy! Are you okay?" I call, dashing to the window. "She'll be alright." He mutters, walking towards the door. It opens automatically for him, and slams shut behind him. "But... you died!" Maddie stutters. "We saw it!" Cole shakes his head and paces the corridor as he explains. "I drank the coffee, that was true. And I would've died, that's for certain. But I made a deal," he winces before continuing. "and here I am. Nice funeral speech, by the way. Say that at the actual one, if any of you stop chasing death." Ellie looks like she is going to punch him in the face, but Maddie jumps in first. "You made a deal with her?!" she fumes. "You are an idiot, Cole. No one's going to turn up to your funeral, because she killed them all. And if you think I'm ever going to anyone's funeral twice, you've got another thought coming." He paces faster, like a caged animal, even though we are the ones in the cages, and pushes a button, making Lucy's window turn into wall. "Lulu!" Ellie calls, and then she turns on him. "You dipstick. What the hell do you want with us? Putting us through another week of psychological torture? Making Lucy's PTSD worse? Stopping Keira from eating? Traumatising us? Because if that's the case, I'd rather you killed me." He shuffles guiltily, and the realisation of what he's come here to do hits me like a sledgehammer. "No," I whisper as he avoids our gaze. "No, Cole, don't!" My voice rises into a nervous shout as I back away, because he's turned to face me (although he still can't look me in the eye, coward). Each step he takes in my direction sends my heartrate fluttering faster and faster, especially when he pulls a yellow axe out of nowhere. "I'm sorry, Keira," he says, almost as if he has rehearsed it. "but I have no choice." My back is against the wall before he even steps into the room. " You know that, right?" he pleads, edging closer. "I don't want to, but I have to – it's you or me." A whimper rises in my throat as Maddie and Ellie start thumping at their windows, hurling themselves at the doors, desperately trying to help me. "You don't have to!" I snivel, my back pressed against the wall. "I do. I do, I do, I do. I'll make it quick – she won't feel a thing. It'll be worse if she gets me – I have to, I have to, I have to!" he shouts, practically to himself, and he swings the axe high in the air, slamming the banana-yellow blade straight into my heart.