Chapter 29: Unanswered Questions
Aveline’s POV
Coming home felt really strange that day because my mother was actually at home.
I paused near the front door staring at her briefly. She sat on the couch with her work bag beside her and hospital files spread across the table. The television was on but muted. For the first time in months, she wasn’t at the hospital with Asher.
Ever since he slipped into a coma, she has barely stayed home anymore.
Most nights she slept in that uncomfortable hospital chair beside his bed then headed straight to work from there. Sometimes I wondered if she even remembered she still had another child.
I quietly removed my shoes and started heading upstairs.
“Where are you coming from?”
Her voice stopped me halfway.
I turned around slowly. “School.”
Her eyes finally lifted properly toward me and immediately narrowed.
“Looking like this, Aveline?”
I stayed silent.
She stood up slowly now looking me over carefully.
“What have you been up to these days?”
Her gaze lingered on my bandages then moved toward my hair.
“Joining gangs now? Is that the reason you cut your hair?”
My chest tightened slightly.
Finally, she noticed I almost laughed at how ridiculous that felt.
Since I had my hair cut off she is only realising now.
“I didn’t join any gangs,” I muttered. “I just got hurt during practice.”
That seemed to reassure her immediately.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly before she turned back toward the bag she was packing.
“I’ll be sleeping over at the hospital,” she said absentmindedly. “Then head to work from there.”
I nodded quietly.
That was it. No “are you okay?”
Just another conversation that somehow always ended with Asher.
Then she left.
The front door shut softly behind her leaving the house silent again.
I stood there for a moment staring at nothing before finally dragging myself upstairs.
The second I entered my room, exhaustion hit me properly.
Everything still hurts.
My ribs ached constantly beneath the binder and the bruising along my side had turned dark purple now. I grabbed fresh clothes and headed toward the bathroom.
The hot water burned against my skin but somehow it still felt good.
By the time I finished showering, my entire body felt heavy.
I threw on one of Asher’s hoodies and collapsed onto the bed without even bothering to dry my hair completely Sleep came instantly.
The next week passed slowly, I didn’t attend school once.
The nurse had warned me to avoid hockey for a few days and honestly, breathing alone already felt difficult enough.
Most of my time was spent lying in bed pretending not to think too much.
Theo texted constantly, Milo sent videos nobody asked for, and Daphne checked on me almost every day.
Kieran never texted or maybe he just forgot to. That bothered me more than it should have.
By the time I finally returned to Crestwood, my ribs felt slightly better though the binder still rubbed painfully against healing bruises.
The hallway buzzed loudly around me the moment I walked inside.
Apparently “Asher” disappearing for a week had become everybody’s business.
Milo spotted me first. “THE MASCOT LIVES!”
Several students turned toward me immediately.
I groaned internally.
Theo walked over grinning. “You look good.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
“That was a compliment.”
Landon appeared beside him laughing. “Coach thought you got taken out permanently.”
“I considered it.”
Theo snorted loudly while throwing an arm around my shoulder.
“You missed the chaos.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“You missed Milo trying to hook up with all the girls in Crestwood.”
“They were all up in my face, couldn't resist ” Milo defended immediately.
I shook my head trying not to smile.
Eventually, we all headed toward the film study session Coach Hale organised for the team’s first official away game.
The film room was already crowded by the time we entered.
The lights stayed dim while game footage played across the massive screen at the front. Players slouched across chairs half paying attention while Coach Hale paced around looking one inconvenience away from homicide.
“This team plays aggressively,” he said sharply pointing toward the screen. “If your reaction speed is slow, they’ll crush you.”
Milo raised a hand lazily. “What if we emotionally manipulate them first?”
Coach ignored him.
Theo leaned toward me whispering, “One day he’s genuinely going to get benched forever.”
“Hopefully today,” I muttered.
The room slowly relaxed as the session continued.
Theo and I talked quietly while Coach replayed different formations repeatedly. Landon argued with Milo over positioning while Cassian sat silently near the back looking completely detached from anything he was thinking".
Then Theo casually mentioned something that immediately caught my attention.
"Kierian is not a fan of film study, I wonder what he is doing here".
“You know Kieran intentionally missed the last film section coach organised?”
I turned toward him quickly. “What?”
Theo frowned slightly.
“The same night you got admitted to the hospital.”
My stomach tightened. “What do you mean he missed it?”
Theo shrugged. “He was around school but disappeared for a while".
I stared at him. Something inside me shifted uncomfortably.
Because I had convinced myself Kieran Hampton wasn't probably the reason Asher ended up broken inside that hospital bed.
Now, everything about him screamed guilty, the more I try to prove he wasn't actually a bad person the more he proves me wrong now I wasn’t sure anymore.
Theo kept talking casually beside me but I barely heard him properly.
My eyes drifted across the room instinctively toward Kieran.
He sat near the back beside Landon listening to Coach while absentmindedly spinning a hockey puck between his fingers.
Completely unaware I was staring I found myself wondering where he actually went that night.