A Hockey Player's Guide To Deception

Chapter Thirty-Six

Kayla felt the familiar ache bloom low in her abdomen, and her eyes flew to the classroom door in instant panic. That pain could only mean one thing.

Merkerson's voice droned on, bouncing off the walls as he rambled about the genetic makeup of human beings, but Kayla couldn't focus. Not when a sickening warmth pooled between her legs. She prayed desperately....that it was a false alarm.

She shot up from her seat.

Before she could take a single step, Louis's hand closed around her wrist and tugged her back down. She stumbled, falling into her chair just as every head in the room turned toward them. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She cleared her throat, trying to steady herself.

"Mr. Kingston," Merkerson called out, peering over his glasses. "Is everything all right over there?"

"Yes," she said quickly, coughing to mask her nerves.

Her eyes flicked to Louis, confusion written all over her face. He only shook his head, once. Firmly.

When the class's attention finally drifted away, she nudged him sharply.

"What was that for?" she hissed.

Louis didn't answer. He just shook his head again.

Kayla stared at him, frustration curling in her chest. He was trying to tell her something, she could feel it but whatever it was, she couldn't figure it out. 

He slipped a sheet of paper from his notebook and scribbled something quickly before nudging it toward her.

You've stained yourself.

Her heart thundered in her chest. She let out a short, shaky breath, almost a wheeze. Her eyes flew to Louis. He shook his head gently, a small, reassuring smile tugging at his lips, as if to tell her not to panic.

Panic was all she felt.

Her gaze darted around the room. How was she supposed to stand? How was she supposed to walk past everyone with a glaring blotch of red on her trousers? She chewed anxiously on the inside of her cheek.

Louis motioned for the note. With trembling fingers, she slid it back to him.

He wrote again, slower this time, then returned it to her.

Stay calm. Class is almost over. I'll help you.

She stared at the words, reading them again and again. A flicker of irritation sparked in her chest. Easy for him to say stay calm. He wasn't the one seconds away from being exposed in the most humiliating way possible.

She'd managed to keep this secret for so long and now her own body was the one betraying her.

There was no way no one would notice the dark red stain.

The clock on the wall seemed to mock her, each second dragging by with cruel precision. Kayla kept her eyes fixed on her notebook, barely registering a single word Merkerson said. All she could think about was the warmth, the stain she knew was there, spreading, waiting to be seen.

Finally, the bell rang.

The sound rattled her.

Chairs scraped loudly against the floor as students immediately began to move, laughter and chatter swelling the room. Kayla froze. Her hands clenched in her lap. If she stood now, it would be over.

Louis moved instantly.

He leaned back in his chair and stretched exaggeratedly, knocking his notebook, and a few loose papers onto the floor behind her seat.