Blood Bath

Chapter 18

As the school bus pulled into the Loon's parking lot, Colton reached for his phone, remembering he turned it off. Coach Talbert asked the team to turn their electronics off, and the players were in deep thought for the entire trip. To say the team was disappointed would be an understatement. They were crushed.

Colton turned the phone on and saw a message from Seth. He thought it was strange that there wasn't a message from Lacie. As he walked to his Jeep, he read the message. He ran the remaining distance and threw his duffel bag in the back, jumped behind the wheel and sped off.

Nightmares flew past his mind as he drove to Caro. Realizing he was speeding, he slowed down, and tried to keep to the limit. It wouldn't help Lacie, if he was in an accident, or arrested for breaking the speed limit.

Colton wanted to call Seth. He wanted to know what had happened, and why his best friend let it happen. He wanted to talk to Seth, but he couldn't. His anger was boiling up, and he knew he wouldn't be able to yell at Seth and drive.

The thirty-minute drive, took Colton twenty five minutes. He pulled into the hospital parking lot and saw Seth's Charger. Next to Seth's car was Lacie's mother's car and a state police patrol car. He sat for a moment, took a deep breath and opened the Jeep's door.

His walk to the hospital doors, turned into a sprint. The doors flew open, and he rushed into the waiting room. Seth and Beth were sitting together alone. Seth looked up and saw Colton rushing toward him.

"What did you do? Why did you let her get hurt? Damn it Seth, I trusted you to take care of her...."

Beth interrupted him, "It wasn't Seth's fault, relax and sit down."

"Keep out of this, Beth. My best friend just screwed up, big time. I'm so disappointed with you, Seth. I'm so Goddamn angry, I want to..."

"Colton!" Lacie screamed as she stepped through the emergency room doors, into the waiting room. "Stop it! Stop blaming Seth. He didn't want me to go to the car without him and I wouldn't listen. If you want to be angry at someone, pick me for being independent, or yourself for not trusting your best friend."

Colton walked toward Lacie, but she turned her head from him. "Don't be all nice with me. I'm OK, but I don't want to be with you. I don't like this side of you."

Lacie took her mom's arm and asked, "Can we go home?"

Colton slumped into a chair with his face in his hands. Lacie looked at his sad condition and added, "I'll call you when I get home, and I still love you. I'm sorry you lost the big game tonight."

"I love you too, and I'm sorry I lost it. I shouldn't let my anger....."

Colton turned to Seth and Beth. "Seth, can you forgive me for being such an ass? Tonight was not my proudest moment."

Seth laughed. "I knew it would piss you off, and I still feel guilty. I keep asking why I let her go to the car without us?"

"Because Lacie is a strong independent woman. And you are not her protector. We women love it when you care about us, but we don't expect you to rule our lives and lead us around like cows," Beth said.

Colton listened as the nurse gave Lacie instructions. "The doctor thinks you may have a slight concussion. If you get dizzy or have blurred vision, you must go to the Pigeon Emergency room for treatment. Lacie's mom thanked the nurse and helped Lacie walk out to the parking lot.

Beth took Seth's hand and said, "I will use the restroom before we take off. I'll be out in a minute."

Seth and Colton walked outside together, to wait for her. Standing next to Seth's car they went over the events of the evening.

"We've got to stop Luke before he kills someone, Colton said. "Did Trooper Laurie say she would let us know if they catch him?"

"No, but she gave me her cell number," Seth said. He pulled a card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Colton. "Why don't you call her now?"

Colton dialed the number on the card. "Hello, Trooper Laurie? This is Colton Blackwell. Lacie will be OK, but I was wondering if they caught Luke, the guy who hit her."

As Colton listened to the Trooper, Seth could tell by his expression it was not good news. Colton ended the call and said, "The police talked to Luke and Jenny and they swear they didn't hurt Lacie. Jenny backed Luke's story. She said they left Walmart without seeing her. Since there are no other witnesses and nothing appeared on the security camera, the police investigation is complete. Trooper Laurie thinks Lacie fell, hit her head, and imagined Luke hitting her. The doctor agrees."

Shocked and angry, Seth said, "That's crap. If Lacie said Luke hit her, he did! Lacie doesn't tell lies."

Colton laughed. "I agree. It looks like we have a new case to solve! Somehow we need to get Jenny away from that creep and convince her to tell the truth. We know he's abusing her, we have to find a way help her."

***

Beth returned from the restroom, and asked, "Seth, it's been a long day, and I have to do chores early tomorrow, so can we get going, now?"

"My gal, the farmer," Seth said to Colton.

"Well, this farm girl is tired, so let's get going. Colton, I hope you and Seth have made up. I always admired you for your calmness, but tonight I saw a side of you I didn't like."

Colton lowered his head. "I'm sorry, and I apologize to both of you. I won't make any excuses. I was wrong to accuse Seth.. Trust me, It won't happen again."

Seth put his arms out for a hug, and Colton responded in kind. Beth soon was hugging the two men. With tears in her eyes she laughed, "Enough already, guys. I need to go home!"

Colton's phone rang. "My phone won't stop ringing tonight. I'll either have to turn it off, or use the hands free phone hookup I got for the jeep. I hate the idea of spending the night in a ditch."

"Good idea. I use mine all the time because the ditches around here are like the grand canyon.

On the drive home, Colton talked to his mom, dad, Aden, Coach Talbert, and his favorite artist, Jerry Cultrain. When he got home, he sat for a few minutes in the Jeep considering the days events. He realized losing the big game was traumatic. There was a deep feeling of despair. When he heard about Lacie, his world crumbled.

Knowing and understanding his feelings, is important to Colton. It is one reason people find him so stable. He keeps his emotions in check, but when the emotions erupt, they explode with unexpected force.

Walking into the back door, he heard voices in the kitchen. His mom and dad were talking. "Hi Mom, Dad. I'm glad you're still up."

"We were waiting for you. Lacie called and wanted to remind you to be careful on your route Sunday morning," said Colton's mom.

Colton's dad, Adam, laughed, "That's one tough woman you have there, Colton. Lacie gets beat up and spends her recovery time thinking of others. She will make a great nurse."

"Doctor. I'm trying to talk her into becoming a doctor," said Colton. "She is so smart, I know she will make a great doctor. But then, it's her decision."

"That's a wise attitude," said his mom. "Everyone has to make their own life decisions. If they always do what you want, they will end up blaming you if they fail."