All Chapters of IN BED WITH THE RUTHLESS HOCKEY CAPTAIN: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

WHITNEY.I park my car across the street and carry the wooden box against my chest all the way to the library.It feels just as heavy as it did yesterday, but today the weight is different. It is no longer only Carlos's burden. Somehow it has become mine too. Every step I take makes me wonder if I should turn around and go home. Maybe opening this box again will only make everything worse. Still, I keep walking because I know I cannot keep pretending these questions do not exist.Devin is already waiting inside the same private study room.The moment he sees the box in my hands, he stands up. His eyes stay fixed on it while I carefully place it on the large table between us. Neither of us speaks for several seconds. The silence is so heavy that I can hear the ticking of the clock on the wall."You really brought it," he says quietly.I nod."I'm still not sure this is the right thing to do."He gives me a small, reassuring smile."We're not here to prove anyone guilty,” he says. "We'r

WHITNEY.I hate what I am becoming.A few weeks ago, I spend every minute watching Carlos, waiting for him to make one mistake that proves he is exactly the monster I always believed he was. Now, without even meaning to, I find myself doing the same thing to Jayden. Every time that thought crosses my mind, guilt crashes into me so hard that I can barely breathe. He is the person I love. He is the person I almost lost. Why am I looking at him like he is hiding something?I tell myself it is only because of the wooden box.Carlos has filled my head with questions I have never asked before. The photographs, the volunteer lists, the handwritten message, and the missing week keep circling inside my mind. I promise myself I am not trying to catch Jayden in a lie. I only want my heart to be quiet again. I want one normal day where everything makes sense.Instead, the questions keep growing.That afternoon, I stop by Jayden's house after classes.His mother lets me in with a warm smile before

CARLWhitney’s message arrives just after lunch while I am sitting alone outside the gym. I read it three times because I am sure I misunderstood it. She does not accuse me of anything. She does not demand answers. She only asks if we can meet somewhere private where nobody will interrupt us. After thinking for a few minutes, I tell her to meet me at the school's ice rink after practice. When the arena is empty, it becomes the quietest place on campus, and somehow it has always been the only place where I never feel like I have to pretend.Practice ends just before sunset.The arena slowly empties until only the sound of the cleaning machine echoes through the building. I wait by the players' bench, watching the fresh ice shine beneath the lights. Every memory I have of this place rushes through my mind. It is where I celebrate victories, suffer defeats, and where Whitney probably learns to hate me a little more every season. Now, somehow, it is also where she’s agreed to meet me.A f

WHITNEY.I spend the entire walk home replaying every word Jayden says.At first, I keep telling myself I am overthinking everything. Maybe I remember the dates wrong. Maybe I mix up one charity event with another. Maybe grief and stress are making me see problems where none exist. I want that to be true more than anything. But no matter how many excuses I make, the uncomfortable feeling inside me refuses to disappear.The moment I reach my room, I close the door and sit on the floor.Carlos's wooden box is still beside my desk exactly where I leave it. I slowly open it again, taking out the photographs, newsletters, handwritten notes, event programs, and volunteer lists. Soon, papers cover almost every inch of space before me. Looking at them used to make me angry because they come from Carlos. Now they only make me curious.I close my eyes and force myself to remember every part of my conversation with Jayden."He said the first argument happens during the spring fundraiser."I grab

DEVIN.I cannot stop thinking about the missing week.Every time I open my notebook, my eyes go back to the same empty space in the timeline. Somehow, those missing seven days seem heavier than everything else we have discovered over the past few months. The more I think about them, the more convinced I become that they hold the answer to everything.The next afternoon, I head back to the school archives.The old building is as quiet as ever. Dust floats through the sunlight coming in from the tall windows, and the smell of old paper fills the room. Most students never come here unless a teacher forces them to do research. That makes it the perfect place to keep searching without anyone paying attention to me.This time, I ignore the student files. I have already searched those too many times. Instead, I pull out maintenance records.Maybe someone repaired security cameras that week. Maybe a hallway closed for renovation. Maybe there is one tiny detail everyone overlooked.I flip thro