Chapter 74: The Pre-Game Spotlight

Aveline’s POV

The pre-game atmosphere in the arena was at an all-time high. The hallway leading out to the ice rink was completely packed with rows of student fans. They were screaming, waving large banners, and cheering at the top of their lungs.

This was the first major home hockey game of the season, and the pressure on the team was huge.

Out in the main hall, news reporters and local media cameras were everywhere. They were focusing heavily on me.

The television news crew kept talking about "Asher Carter's" miraculous medical comeback after healing. They wanted video interviews, and they wanted pictures of the star player who beat Heart disease to play hockey again.

Inside the locker room, the noise from the crowd outside felt muffled and distant. I sat alone on the bench, leaning down to tie my hockey skates. I pulled the thick laces as hard as I could, making them tight. My chest binding felt tighter than usual tonight, making it very hard to get enough air into my lungs. The physical and emotional exhaustion of living a double life was finally hitting its absolute peak. My body ached from all the hard training, and my mind was tired of all the lies.

Suddenly, Coach Hale walked into the centre of the locker room. He clapped his hands together loudly to get our attention.

“Listen up!” Coach Hale yelled, his voice booming over the sound of the team's chatter. “Hampton and Carter, you two are leading the first line on the ice tonight. You are our main weapons. Get out there and give them hell!”

I lifted my head and looked across the locker room. Kieran was already looking straight at me. We exchanged a long, hard look. No words were spoken between us, but the air felt heavy with all the dark secrets we were keeping from each other.

The game began under the bright, hot rink lights. The referee blew the whistle, and the massive crowd began roaring from the bleachers. The puck dropped onto the ice, and the game moved at a crazy speed. The opposing team was fast, aggressive, and hitting hard.

Right away, we got a chance to score. Theo passed the puck up the boards, and it slid right toward me. I grabbed it with my stick and skated fast down the left side of the rink. An opposing player tried to block my path, but I did a quick fake move to the right and skated past him. I looked toward the centre of the ice to pass the puck, expecting my teammate to be there.

Kieran was skating right next to me, but he was completely out of position. He was not looking at the puck or the net. Instead of skating ahead to open himself up for a pass, he kept his body close to my right side. Another big player from the other team charged at me from the side, but Kieran threw his weight forward, blocking the guy with a hard shoulder check. The player crashed into the boards with a loud bang.

Kieran looked over at me through his helmet visor, checking to see if I was okay.

"Keep moving, Asher!" he yelled over the noise.

I ground my teeth together in anger. His protective play was messing up our attack. I had a clear shot at the goal, but because Kieran was too busy blocking for me, the opposing goalie had time to slide across the net and cover the angles.

I shot the puck hard, but the goalie trapped it easily under his glove. The whistle blew, stopping the play.

It was clear that the chemistry between Kieran and "Asher" was completely broken. We were not playing like real teammates.

Kieran was playing too defensively. Instead of focusing on the game strategy, his eyes were constantly tracking my movements across the ice. He kept skating near me, trying hard to shield my body from heavy hits by the other team.

His constant worry made him look totally distracted on the ice. He was missing easy passes from Milo because he was too busy watching my back.

I was furious at him. I did not want his protection, and I did not need his help. I played recklessly, skating too fast and taking dangerous chances just to get away from him. I was trying hard to outshine him, wanting to secure all the goals for myself to prove to everyone that I could win alone.

Because we were not communicating or looking at each other, we made a huge mistake. The other team stole the puck and moved fast toward our zone. I turned my skates around and chased after them, trying to steal the puck back. I skated hard into the offensive zone, totally blind to my surroundings because I was too focused on the puck.

A giant defenseman from the opposing team saw his chance. He had been watching my reckless movements all night. He skated at full speed from my blind spot and levelled a massive, crushing body hit right into my chest.

The impact was brutal and loud. My body flew backward through the air, and I slammed hard onto the icy floor, my helmet bouncing off the ice.

The breath was knocked right out of my body. I lay flat on the freezing cold ice, winding myself completely. I gasped for air, opening my mouth wide, but my tight chest binding made it impossible to breathe. I could not get any oxygen into my lungs. The world around me started to spin in blurry motion, and the sound of the crowd faded into a dull hum. I was completely helpless.

Through the blur of my vision, I saw a sudden flash of movement. Kieran did not hesitate for a single second. The moment he saw my body hit the ice, his face twisted with pure, raw rage.

He did not care about the puck, the game, or the rules anymore. He dropped his heavy hockey gloves onto the ice, shedding his gear in a split second.

Kieran charged like a wild animal at the giant opposing player who had hit me. He did not slow down. He threw his body forward, tackling the defenseman to the ice. Kieran threw his fist forward, striking the guy right in the face helmet, making a loud cracking sound.

"Don't touch him!" Kieran screamed, his voice full of madness.

The opposing team did not stand by and watch. Two players jumped onto Kieran's back, trying to pull him off their teammate.

Milo and Theo saw what was happening from the blue line. They skated fast into the zone, throwing their bodies into the pile to protect Kieran.

Within seconds, players from both benches flew over the boards and onto the ice. Nobody was playing hockey anymore. A massive, chaotic team brawl erupted all around my fallen body. Fists were flying everywhere. Hockey sticks were thrown onto the ice, and helmets were rolling across the red line.

The referees were blowing their whistles continuously, screaming at the top of their lungs, and trying to pull the angry players apart.

But it was completely useless. The fight was too big, and the anger was too real. The entire arena was in total chaos, with fans jumping out of their seats and screaming at the violence on the ice.

I lay there on the floor, still struggling to breathe, watching the absolute madness. Kieran had completely lost his mind, risking his entire hockey career and starting a massive war, just to protect me from getting hurt.