Chapter 26: Impact

Aveline’s pov

The arena was already roaring before I even stepped inside.

Crestwood Ice Arena had never felt this alive, it was loud, suffocating. The sound wasn’t just noise it was pressure. It pressed against my ears, my ribs, my thoughts until everything inside me felt like it was vibrating out of control.

“Stay close to the mascot line,” Coach Hale barked as we moved toward the tunnel. “No improvising today, Asher.”

My jaw tightened at the name, even though I was wearing it like armour.

“I know the routine,” I muttered, adjusting the oversized Crestwood mascot jacket over my padded binder. My chest already felt tight before the game even started.

Kieran was ahead of us, already in full gear, helmet tucked under his arm. He didn’t look back, but I felt it anyway that awareness of him. Like he knew I was there even when he wasn’t looking.

“Try not to get in the way,” he said flatly as he passed.

I scoffed under my breath. “Try not to trip over your ego.”

A few of the players snickered.

Kieran stopped. Just for a second. Then he glanced over his shoulder, eyes sharp.

“Careful, Asher,” he said quietly. “You’re getting bold.”

I smiled sweetly

The tension between us had become something almost familiar now like a bruise you kept pressing just to see if it still hurt.

The tunnel doors opened.

The roar hit like a physical wave.

We stepped onto the ice.

Lights. Screams. Cameras. Everything blurred together.

Crestwood’s colours burned into the stands like fire, and opposite them was Westbridge Academy. The rival school. The reason tonight felt less like a game and more like a war waiting to happen.

“They’ve got scouts here,” Theo murmured as he skated beside me, nudging my arm lightly. “Pressure’s insane tonight.”

“I noticed,” I said, scanning the crowd.

Every seat was filled. Even the press box looked overcrowded.

Westbridge’s captain, a tall, brutal-looking guy with a permanent scowl, tapped his stick against the ice and grinned at Kieran like he already owned the game.

Kieran didn’t flinch.

The puck dropped.

And everything exploded.

The first period was chaos disguised as strategy. Hits were harder. Skates scraped louder. Every pass felt like a gamble. I stayed near the edge of the rink as “Asher,” doing my usual mascot run-ins, cheering, distracting, and keeping energy up.

Until it stopped being a game.

It started with Milo.

A brutal check into the boards. Too hard. Too deliberate.

The whistle didn’t even come immediately.

Then Landon shoved back.

Then Westbridge responded.

And suddenly it wasn’t hockey anymore.

It was a fight.

Players collided. Gloves dropped. Sticks clattered across the ice. The crowd erupted into screaming as the referees rushed in too late.

“Kieran!” Coach Hale shouted. “Get control of your line!”

But Kieran wasn’t listening.

Neither was anyone else.

I saw Theo get pulled into the mess and shoved hard against the boards. I moved instinctively.

Bad decision.

“ASHE—get back!” someone yelled.

But I was already on the ice.

I don’t know why I ran in. Instinct. Panic. Stupid loyalty. Maybe all of it at once.

The chaos swallowed me whole.

A body slammed past me.

Then another.

Someone shouted my name but it was distorted, drowned out.

And then Something hit me hard from the side.

A full collision My body was thrown violently into the boards.

The air left me instantly.

Pain detonated through my ribs like fire. I hit the ice on my knees, gasping but nothing came out.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe at all.

“Ashe..!”

The voice was distant. My vision blurred at the edges.

Hands grabbed me someone pulling me upright but my body refused to cooperate. My chest felt like it was folding inward.

“Noo....no, no...” I wheezed, clutching at my side. “I can’t breathe"

Everything sounded underwater.

Then suddenly

“Kieran, stop the fight!” Coach Hale roared.

But Kieran wasn’t stopping the fight.

He was coming toward me.

I barely registered it until strong arms slid under me.

“Asher,” he said sharply.

“Hey...hey, look at me.”

I tried to speak.

“Kieran...” I choked.

“I’ve got you,” he said immediately.

Then he lifted me.

The arena spun violently as he carried me off the ice.

I heard the crowd reacting, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the sharp pain in my ribs and the way breathing felt like drowning.

“Kieran.. put me down,” I gasped weakly.

“Shut up,” he snapped. “You’re not walking.”

That shut me up more than anything.

We reached the tunnel.

The noise faded behind us, replaced by echoing footsteps and my uneven breathing.

“I’m fine,” I lied through clenched teeth.

“You’re not fine,” he said immediately.

I tried to glare at him. The clinic doors slammed open.

Nurse Marlene looked up sharply. “What happened?”

“he was jammed,” Kieran said quickly. “he hit the boards hard.”

“Okay?” she repeated automatically.

I didn’t hear the rest clearly because Kieran was setting me down on the medical bed and suddenly my body decided it couldn’t hold itself together anymore.

I gasped.

“Ribs,” I managed weakly.

Nurse Marlene moved fast. “Alright, breathe slowly. Don’t move.”

“I am breathing slowly,” I muttered,

Kieran hovered.

For once, he didn’t look like a star player. He looked like someone terrified. The nurse asked him to leave so she could begin treatment.

The nurse began cutting through my jersey slightly to assess the injury. “Lift your arms,” she instructed.

“Possibly fractured ribs,” she said calmly. “We’ll need an X-ray.”

My breathing hitched again. Not the scans.

Not anything that could expose....

“Hold still,” she said gently.

I tried.

But everything hurt. The nurse adjusted the fabric around my chest... And something shifted. The binder beneath the jersey had twisted during the fall.

A tight, unnatural compression is visible even under layers. “What is that? She asked.

My heart dropped. “Just an athletic support,” I added, forcing my voice steady. “For recovery.”

She didn’t look convinced. The nurse carefully pulled back part of the torn jersey to check the injury properly And that’s when everything stopped. Her expression changed.

She leaned closer slightly.

I couldn’t breathe.

Her lips parted slightly And then..

“Wait…”

She stared at me like she was seeing something she wasn’t supposed to see.

Then slowly looked up.

Directly at me.

“You’re not a boy.”