Chapter 45: Heavy Shoulders

Aveline’s pov

The gym was loud.

Chairs scraped against the floor while students shouted across the court. Sponsor banners were hanging halfway on the walls, and the strong smell of fresh paint filled the air. Everyone was busy carrying boxes, taping posters, or arguing over where things should go for the fundraiser.

But the second my mother’s voice came through my phone speaker, everything around me disappeared.

The phone was in Kieran’s hand. He heard it My name is Aveline.

Panic hit me so hard my chest tightened painfully. Before I could even think, I rushed forward and snatched the phone from his hand. Then I turned and ran straight for the gym doors.

I didn’t care about the fundraiser anymore.

I didn’t care about Crestwood.

I just needed to get away.

The heavy doors slammed open as I pushed through them into the cold alley behind the rink. Freezing air hit my face while my hands shook badly around the phone.

Before I could even call my mother back, footsteps came running behind me.

“Aveline, wait.”

I turned around quickly, my back hitting the cold wall behind me.

Kieran stood a few feet away, breathing hard. His broad frame blocked the exit back For once, he didn’t look arrogant or careless. His hands were slightly raised like he was trying not to scare me.

“I didn’t mean to answer it,” he said quietly.

My throat burned.

“Why can’t you stay out of my business for once, Kieran?” I snapped. My voice cracked from panic and anger. I wiped the tears off my face angrily before glaring at him again. “Just leave me alone.”

He didn’t argue back.

Didn’t smirk.

Didn’t act like his usual self.

Instead, he slowly stepped closer, blocking my view

“Trust me, I’m trying to help,” he said softly. “I don’t know everything you’re hiding… but maybe when you finally let someone in, all this pain you carry won’t feel so heavy anymore.”

I froze.

The words caught me completely off guard.

I searched his face, waiting for the joke or the cruel part that usually came after something serious. Theo always warned me about guys like Kieran Hampton. Said they played with people until they got bored.

But Kieran didn’t look like he was playing now. He looked so honest And somehow that scared me more.

Before I could say anything, he turned around and walked back inside the gym, leaving me alone in the freezing alley with my heart beating wildly in my chest.

My phone buzzed again.

A text from my mother.

I’m heading to work. Doctors said it was only a reflex. Don’t leave school.

I closed my eyes tightly.

The relief hurt. For one second, I thought Asher had really woken up. But he didn’t And now I still had to pretend everything was normal.

I took a deep breath before walking back inside the gym.

The noise returned immediately. Students were still running around setting things up while music blasted softly through the speakers near the stage.

I forced myself back to work.

I grabbed one side of a huge tournament bracket banner and tried hanging it against the wall, but the heavy material kept slipping through my fingers. My shirt shifted slightly. Then suddenly the weight disappeared from my arms.

Kieran stood beside me holding the other side of the banner over his head easily. “Hold the left side straight,” he said calmly.

His shoulder brushed against mine slightly.

“If these lines end up crooked, the athletic director is going to lose his mind,” I muttered in my usual flat Asher voice.

Kieran laughed quietly.“Let him,” he said. “That man still coaches like it’s the nineties.”

I looked up at him in surprise. “You noticed that too? His 2-1-2 setup leaves the defence completely open against fast players.”

Kieran’s eyes lit up instantly. “Exactly,” he said. “Finally someone here actually understands hockey.”

And somehow after that, talking to him became easy.

For the next hour, we worked side by side while talking about hockey. We argued over defence setups, made fun of Landon’s terrible passes, and talked about game strategies like we were coaches instead of students helping with a fundraiser.

For the first time since everything happened between us, things didn’t feel awkward. They felt normal, I even caught myself smiling at one point.

But the moment didn’t last long. The gym doors suddenly slammed open loudly.

Everyone stopped talking.

Coach Hale walked into the gym with his whistle hanging around his neck. But what made the whole room tense wasn’t him.

It was the two guys behind him.

They looked rough compared to everyone else at Crestwood. Bigger too. One had a scar running across his jaw while the other had bruised knuckles and a cocky look on his face.

“Listen up!” Coach Hale shouted. “Roster changes. Meet the new transfer students from the Boston district. Barrett and Silas. Defence and forward. Effective immediately.”

The hockey team went silent.

“What the hell, Coach?” Landon snapped angrily, slamming his stick against the bleachers. “The team is already complete.”

Coach Hale glared at him immediately.

“We need a stronger defence if we’re making the final fourteen play ” he growled. “Your current line is sloppy. These boys have grit. Sit down.”

Landon backed away angrily, muttering curses under his breath.

Meanwhile, Barrett and Silas slowly looked around the gym. Then their eyes landed on me. Barrett tilted his head slightly before smirking. Beside him, Silas looked at me with the same strange expression like they recognized me.

My stomach dropped instantly.

Cold rushed through my body so fast the room almost started spinning.

“Kieran…” I whispered quietly. “Who are those guys? And why is Landon acting like that?”

Beside me, Kieran went completely stiff. His jaw tightened hard as he stared at the two transfers.

“They’re Barrett and Silas,” he said quietly.

His voice sounded cold now. “The worst rogues in hockey. They used to play for the Rackers before they got kicked out.” His grip tightened around the clipboard in his hand until the plastic cracked slightly. “The last time I saw them…”

He stopped talking for a second.

Then slowly looked at me. “…was the night they were beating your brother in that alley.”

Everything inside me stopped.

I looked back toward Barrett and Silas standing under the gym lights, both still staring at me with those same sick smiles on their faces.

My chest tightened painfully.

Why would my gentle, sick brother ever be around the worst rogues in hockey?

And why did they beat him half to death?