Chapter 96: The Broken Boundary
Aveline’s POV
Our afternoon practice session was here. Kieran had already passed the testing game that the coach had set up perfectly. On the outside, his movements looked completely flawless to the rest of the team. He handled the puck well and skated hard. But during the final warmup drills, something shifted.
The complete numbness in his leg severely impaired his spatial awareness. He moved fast, but his body did not know where it was in space.
The whistle blew, and the team hurried into the locker room to switch our gear before the next drill.
Kieran sat down heavily in the stall right next to mine. The moment he unbuckled his left skate and pulled it off, my breath caught in my throat. I looked over and realised he had a compound fracture.
The bone had actually broken straight through his skin. He had sliced his own flesh because he couldn't even feel the pinch I gave him earlier.
Kieran did not even flinch at the sight of his own bone. He just grabbed a thick roll of gauze and athletic tape from his gym bag.
With fast, panicked movements, he wrapped the white cloth tightly over the bleeding wound to hide it before anyone else in the locker room could see. He shoved his foot back into the skate, pulling the laces tight.
We marched back out onto the ice to finish the session.
As Kieran skated around the rink, the numbness spread rapidly up his entire left side. He started hallucinating right in the middle of the play. He did not hear the crowd. He did not hear Coach Hale.
The entire rink seemed to have become a blurry, dark void in his mind. Suddenly, his knees buckled, and Kieran fainted right onto the cold ice.
We all rushed forward, our blades cutting deep into the frost. Landon did not waste a second; he grabbed a heavy water bottle and poured freezing water directly onto Kieran's pale face.
Kieran gasped, his eyes snapping open as he was retrieved from the darkness. We helped him shake off the dizziness and guided his shaking body back to the bench.
Coach Hale Donovan marched over, his face bright red with pure worry and stress.
“What the fuck, Kieran?” Coach Hale said, his voice loud but full of deep anxiety. “What the hell was that out there? I am trying to win the championship here, not lose my job! Explain yourself right now! You had me terrified!”
“I am sorry, Coach,” Kieran rasped, leaning heavily against the boards. “I was just stressed, that is all. My head spun for a second.”
“Stressed?” Coach Hale asked, his face tight with concern as he rested a hand on Kieran's shoulder. “You went down like a dead weight! You look like a sick whale Hampton! You cannot run the first line if you are passing out in the frost. I care about your future, son.”
“I can still skate!” Kieran argued back, his voice rising in panic. “It was just a temporary dizzy spell! Give me a minute to catch my breath and I will get right back out there! Please, Coach!”
“No, you are done for today,” Coach Hale replied gently, shaking his head. “You should stay off the ice for some weeks. Your quick recovery is all we pray for, but I cannot let you hurt yourself.”
Kieran's face twisted with intense anger. He was so pissed off. He looked at the coach with absolute desperation, his breath shaking and his knuckles turning white around his hockey stick.
“You can’t do that!” Kieran pleaded, his voice breaking.
“If I rest for the weeks, I won't be able to play in the championship finals! I gave everything to this team! I am the captain! I have to lead the boys!”
Coach Hale looked at him with sad, stressed eyes. “I know what this match means to you, Hampton. But you are a liability on the ice right now if you can't keep your footing. I have to look out for you.”
Right before the paramedics could arrive at the bench, the double doors of the rink wing burst open with a loud bang.
Amelia Hampton walked straight out onto the ice. She did not care about the safety rules. She marched right past the line, her eyes wide with maternal panic, and stood directly between Kieran and the coach.
“What happened to my son?” Amelia demanded, her voice cutting through the arena like ice, though her hands were trembling with fear.
“Mrs Hampton,” Coach Hale said quickly, taking a respectful step back. “We are just trying to help him. He had a minor medical incident during the drill, and I am telling him he needs to rest.”
“I saw him drop from the stands!” Amelia said, her voice soft but fierce with worry as she wrapped her arms around Kieran's heavy pads. “He is completely pale, Coach. He shouldn't be under this much pressure. You know what's going on with his health".
“He says I'm fine, Mom!” Kieran cut in desperately, trying to push past her gentle grip. “You can leave is not that serious! I need to fix this with the coach so I don't lose my starting spot!”
“Kieran, be quiet,” Amelia murmured, looking up at Coach Hale with an earnest, pleading expression. “He is not well, Coach. You can see it in his eyes. Please, help me protect him. He wants to play so badly, but his body cannot handle this right now.”
Coach Hale nodded slowly, his expression softening completely. “I agree with you, Mrs Hampton. I am trying to tell him that his health comes first. But he is a proud captain. He refuses to step down.”
“If I leave this rink, everything is over!” Kieran screamed suddenly, a wild, desperate panic taking over his mind. He looked at his mother’s worried face, then at the coach’s sympathetic stare. “You don't understand! I have to play in the championship! If I don't stand on that ice, I am a nobody!”
Amelia tightly squeezed his hand, her eyes filling with tears. “You are my son, Kieran. You could never be a nobody to me.”
The entire bench went dead silent, watching the emotional weight of a mother and a coach both trying to save a boy who was destroying himself from the inside. It was a massive, three-way psychological standoff right before the biggest game of his life, and Kieran was completely trapped by his own desperate choices.