Chapter 143: The First Morning Back

Aveline's POV

The last semester of high school was supposed to be the start of the end. Graduation, prom, games, college decisions... everyone at Crestwood walked through the gates that morning thinking the finish line was finally close.

For me, it felt like someone had started a countdown clock. The new year was supposed to feel like a fresh start. It did not.

As I walked onto campus, my teeth were clenched so tightly that my jaw hurt. The freezing wind hit my face, but it did not stop the sharp fear in my chest. I was totally on edge. One question kept spinning in my head:

What is Theo thinking? His choice could either bring me closer to graduation... and the truth. Or it could make me lose everything I had worked hard for.

Every game this semester mattered. Every scout mattered. Every lie mattered. If everything fell apart now, I would lose the truth. And I would ruin Kieran's future too.

Mom was finally home. After weeks of hospital walls and talking quietly with doctors, she was sleeping in her own bed again. I should have felt happy. Instead, every time I looked at her bedroom door, one question burned inside me.

How was she able to pay our debt?

The doctors had warned me not to ask anything that might upset her. No stress, no shocks. If she got scared, she would break completely. So I kept my mouth shut. I tied my chest tight under my shirt until it hurt to breathe, and I put on Asher’s big varsity jacket.

All around me, the hallway was loud. People were laughing and talking about their last days in Crestwood. They wanted to win another championship just to make memories. I pulled the strap of my bag, thinking a bitter thought. If they knew who was really walking these halls, none of this would matter.

When Kieran and I walked into the team locker room, the room slowly grew quieter. Conversations stopped one after the other. Even Landon stopped laughing. I looked toward the door.

Theo had arrived.

I did not look right at him, but I saw the thick white bandage wrapped tight around his right hand to cover his knuckles. The left side of his face was swollen and dark from where I slapped him on New Year's Eve.

Next to me, Kieran became very still. He did not move at all, but his big shoulders went completely stiff under his grey jersey. He breathed hard as he stared right at Theo.

"What the hell happened to your face, Mercer?"

Landon asked, pointing his stick at Theo’s cheek.

Theo did not flinch. He looked right at Landon. His voice sounded flat and totally normal.

"Got jumped by some lacrosse guys behind the bar on New Year's night," Theo said. He threw his pads onto his locker hook. "Some random guy tried to grab me in the parking lot. I had to teach him a lesson."

Landon let out a loud whistle. "Man, the lacrosse guys are bold. Did you break his nose?"

"Something like that," Theo muttered.

Kieran’s fingers gripped his hockey stick. He did not say a word to call out the lie, but his face said it all. He was watching Theo's decision, tracking him like a live bomb sitting right on our line.

Fweet!

Coach Hale’s whistle cut through the quiet, gathering us around the board. The air between Kieran and Theo was heavy. They could not even look at each other. They completely avoided eye contact.

Coach Hale hit his hand hard against the board.

"This is your last semester," Coach shouted, looking at our faces. "Scouts will be at almost every game. Nobody owes you a scholarship. Earn it. No distractions. No mistakes."

The practice was a total mess. The team had no chemistry at all, the bad mood from New Year's dragging everyone down. Theo never looked at me, but Kieran kept skating between us the whole time, blocking him from me. I was so distracted I missed simple, clean passes and lost the puck against the boards.

"Move your feet, Asher!" Coach Hale screamed. "What are you doing out there?"

Milo skated past the bench, trying to make the coach smile. "Don't be angry, coach. The Christmas chickens aren't fully digested yet."

The team let out a few weak laughs, but the damage was done.

After the second practice ended, I ran off the ice to change before the rest of the locker room cleared out. Kieran got caught talking to the assistant coach near the benches, giving me a second to walk down the back hallway alone.

The hallway was dark as I hurried past the gear cages. A shadow stepped out into the path.

I stopped fast, my heart jumping into my throat. Theo was leaning against the wall, his hand still wrapped in that white bandage. His eyes locked onto mine under the lights. His voice was low and ice-cold.

"We need to talk about Asher."

I caught my breath. I looked back toward the closed rink doors, my hands shaking under my sleeves.

"Not here," I whispered.

Theo just nodded once. He did not make a scene, and he did not say another word. He just turned around and walked away, his shadow disappearing down the long hallway toward the exit.

I stood there alone in the quiet hallway, my whole body shaking. For weeks, I had been terrified Theo would expose me. I never stopped imagining something worse. Now he wanted a conversation instead. Somehow... that scared me even more.