Chapter 18: Asher Carter Wasn’t Innocent

Cassian’s POV

People feared silence because they were stupid. Silence noticed things. That was why I preferred it. While everyone else at Crestwood screamed for attention, I watched. I listened. I remembered. And lately, “Asher Carter” had become very interesting.

I leaned against the arena boards while practice ended around me. Players yelled across the ice, sticks slammed against barriers, and skates carved sharp lines into frozen ground. Chaos. Normal. But my attention stayed fixed on one person.

Carter.

Watching him now felt like staring at a forged painting. The face was right. The eyes weren’t.

Asher Carter used to shrink when people cornered him. This version pushed back. He held eye contact longer now. His posture changed. His temper flashed too quickly before being buried again. Tiny differences. But tiny differences exposed lies.

Kieran Hampton was too distracted to notice properly. Theo Mercer noticed emotionally. I noticed scientifically. And that made me dangerous.

“Earth to psychopath.”

Milo Hayes dropped onto the bench beside me holding an energy drink that probably violated several international laws. “You look murderous again.”

“I usually am.”

“Fair.”

Milo followed my gaze toward Carter and groaned dramatically. “Oh no, not you too.”

I glanced at him lazily. “What does that mean?”

“It means the entire hockey team suddenly acts weird around one sickly mascot and I’m starting to think this school’s water supply is contaminated.”

I almost smiled.

Milo kept talking anyway because silence physically injured him. “Hampton’s spiralling. Theo’s protective. Landon’s confused. Coach is developing stress wrinkles.” He squinted suspiciously at me. “And you keep staring at Carter like you’re deciding whether to kill him.”

Interesting choice of words. “Maybe I am.”

Milo laughed automatically, but when I didn’t, his smile faded slightly. “Okay. That was unsettling.” He stood quickly. “I’m gonna go bother someone less serial-killer.”

The second he left, my attention returned to Carter. He was helping Theo gather pucks now. Theo said something quietly and Carter laughed under his breath.

Asher never laughed like that. Not freely. Not easily.

The real Asher Carter always carried tension beneath his skin like barbed wire wrapped around bone because guilt did that to people. Especially people pretending to be innocent.

My jaw tightened automatically.

Oliver’s face flashed through my head before I could stop it. Hospital lights. Blood. The sound of my brother trying not to scream.

I looked away sharply.

Months earlier, Oliver Thorne had been untouchable. Crestwood’s golden defenseman. Future professional player. Everything hockey scouts wanted. Then one night changed everything. And somehow, Asher Carter stood at the centre of it.

Nobody knew the full story. Not Coach. Not the team. Not even Kieran. Only Oliver and I knew every ugly detail. And Oliver refused to talk about it now.

That pissed me off more than the injury itself. Because my brother had loved hockey with a desperation that consumed him and now he couldn’t even look at the rink anymore.

I still remember the first time I visited him after surgery He stared at the ceiling while machines beeped steadily beside him, eyes hollow and lifeless.

I sat beside his bed and asked quietly, “Who did this?”

Oliver stayed silent for a long time before finally whispering, “Doesn’t matter.”

That answer nearly destroyed the room because it mattered to me. It still did.

I shoved away from the boards and headed toward the locker rooms before the memories could rot my mood further. The damage was already done.

The hallway outside the rink was mostly empty now except for Carter sitting alone on one of the benches with his hockey bag beside him and his head lowered slightly.

Quiet.

The image should’ve looked familiar. Instead, it looked rehearsed. He noticed me immediately and tension stiffened his shoulders. I stopped in front of him. “You avoid people a lot.”

He looked up slowly. “Maybe people are annoying.”

He forced a shrug. “Maybe almost dying changes people.”

“Maybe.”

Silence stretched between us. Most people filled the silence nervously. Carter endured it. I sat beside him without invitation and he looked uncomfortable immediately.

“Why do you hate me?” he asked suddenly.

“I don’t hate you.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Yes.”

At least we understood each other. He studied me carefully, trying to figure out how much I knew. “You keep looking at me like I did something terrible,” he said quietly.

My jaw flexed. “You did.”

His eyes widened slightly and for one second real confusion crossed his face. That caught my attention instantly. Maybe Carter truly didn’t know Or maybe he was a better actor than I thought.

I leaned back against the bench slowly. “You know what your problem is?”

He frowned. “I have several.”

“You think people become monsters for no reason.”

The hallway suddenly felt colder. Carter’s voice lowered carefully. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I looked at him properly then, straight into his eyes. “You should know Asher.”

His entire body stilled immediately, defensive before he could stop himself.

Predictable.

“Stop talking to me if you're not going to speak properly.”

A humourless laugh escaped me. “Actually, Carter… you talk way too much for your liking now.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Is it?”

Anger flashed across his face. Protective anger. Interesting again. Because the Asher I knew rarely defended himself. But this version burned too hot.

I watched many emotions show on his face then finally doubt. There it was. The crack. Because part of him already suspected something was wrong. Good.

He should.

I stepped closer.

“You destroyed lives, Asher, and now you think you can move on.”

His breathing sharpened.

“And you know the funniest part?” I murmured. “You keep changing always, rarely quiet or lonely like you used to.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.”

I watched him carefully and watched the uncertainty grow.

From down the hallway, voices echoed from the locker room as the team returned. The moment was ending. Unfortunately. Carter glared at me like he wanted to throw punches and that almost made me smile.

Definitely not Asher. I leaned closer one final time. “You are going to pay for what you did, changing your persona doesn't cut it.”

His face hardened this time.

The team rounded the corner then. Theo first. Then Landon. Then Kieran. Kieran’s eyes landed on Carter immediately because apparently subtlety had died.

Theo noticed the tension between us instantly. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Carter said quickly.

Lie.

Theo looked unconvinced. Kieran looked irritated. I looked at Carter and finally understood why this situation fascinated me so much.

Because everyone saw what they wanted to see.

But me?

I saw a fracture.

Something pretending to be whole.

To avoid consequences.

But fractures eventually shattered.