Page 71 of High Baller

Fuck. My house is fucking empty. They’ve taken everything. I bite my tongue, trying to hold onto the tears that threaten to fall. I’ve been holding them, but I can’t anymore. One small bead escapes from my right eye, the warmth sliding a path down my cheek. Then another, and another, until my eyes flood with them. I’m losing control as the tears and emotions flood me. Trey, my parents… I just can’t take it anymore. I've nothing left in me.

Calvin hands me a piece of paper. “Sky, you might want to see this.”

It’s picture of Trey and I kissing with the words, We need the money, you don’t anymore.

I collapse to my knees as the last of my energy disappears. I sob hard, letting out every pain, screaming like a banshee as all of the hurt rips through me. My mind, body, and soul can’t take any more of it. Calvin pulls me closer to him, and just holds me. He says nothing, just lets me cry into his chest.

“Sky, someone’s here to see you,” I hear Finn say from behind us.

Calvin lets go of me, then takes off, sprinting. “You couldn’t even give her the day!” he shouts, making me turn around. There's no way Trey's here.

“I just want to talk to her,” Derek pleads, and I lock eyes with him. He lifts his hands. “Just talk, Sky.”

My eyes move between Calvin and Derek as he looks around my house. I give Calvin a nod, and he gives Derek the paper my parents left. Derek stares down at it while Calvin and Finn walk out to the garden.

Derek reads the message, then looks at me, “Do you… Sky, do you need—”

“I need nothing from you or Trey,” I spit. “I can, and have looked after myself for long enough.” I wipe the new tears away as Derek walks closer to me.

“I’m sorry, Sky, I won’t say anything, but I think you need to talk. I’m not asking to protect Trey, I’m asking because you loved him enough to risk whatever this is.” Derek pulls me into a hug as I start to cry again. “I’m sorry, Sky,” he whispers.

I don’t say anything to him. The thing I was hiding, I have to tell him. I don’t want to, but I wasn’t expecting him to be here, but he is.

Calvin and Finn walk back in and I take the wine bottle from Calvin. I need more than a fucking glass.

“My parents aren’t dead. Th-they’re drug addicts, alcoholics… They sponge off me, rob me, use me… The long story short, I didn’t want pictures out of me and Trey because of this. I knew they'd come knocking at my door everyday for money they think I have. But, as of right now, I have nothing. Fucking nothing at all!” I throw my arms out, gesturing around my empty house. “I have the money in my bank, but nothing in my house, and no boyfriend, because he’s a cheating, coke sniffing liar!” I lift the wine, and swig straight from the bottle.

Derek stares at me with his mouth hanging open. I know what he wants to say but he’s not saying it.

“Derek, since I was a little girl, I’ve seen what drugs do to people. My parents had all their friends over one night, and they all got so high, I saw things that no kid should ever see. So, I ran. I ran because I didn’t want to be part of that life. When the authorities caught up with me, I got put in foster care, but my parents were still around. They still came, trying to make things right, but the drugs never left. I won’t have drugs in my life ever, and I made myself clear, very clear to Trey, and he broke the trust I had in him. I don’t want to hear anything he has to say.” I tell him, there's no way I’m going to give Derek a chance to tell me that Trey did nothing wrong. “He cheated on me, Derek. He took coke and fucked two women in the bed that we…” I place my hand over my mouth because finishing that sentence will make me puke.

“Sky, if you would just talk to him—”

“No!” I scream. "Get out, Derek. You go back, and you tell Trey to fuck off.”

Calvin stands next to me while Finn walks to the door. “You heard her,” Calvin growls as I turn to walk away.

I don’t have any strength to hear what they have to say. I’m still angry, still hurt, and still in pain from the betrayal.

Chapter 19

Trey

Two days, two fucking days and everything seems to be getting worse for me. Sky isn't talking to me, she’s ignoring all my calls, and I know that she's seen my message but not sent anything back to me. It’s gotten to the point that I’ve even called Calvin, and he said that if I give her some time, she might get back to me. He made it very clear that he wasn't going to pass any message on from me to her, and no matter what I said, he wasn’t listening to my excuses either.

Derek was there for one day, and Sky told him if he comes close to her house again, she'd call the cops. He knew then it was best to leave her alone for a while, but said that we needed to talk the moment he lands, and would be right over. I told him to tell me on the phone, but he said no. This conversation needed to happen face to face. That got me a little more worried than I was before.

Another home game tomorrow, and then breakfast at my Ma's before I go away for our first away game.

Training has been shit. My heads’ just not been in the game, it's been with Sky. Coach said if it looks like that for the game, then he'll bench me. So, not only has Sky has left me, coach is getting more and more pissed off with me, too. But, I know he's only trying to help.

I also got my Ma telling me that Sky was just another girl that's used me for my fame. She knows about the girls. Shit, the whole fucking world knows about the girls, but nothing about the drugs that were in my room. The press don't know anything about that, which just makes this whole things more suspicious.

The girls have been posting image after image of them in bed with me; telling stories about their night with me. They’re also spilling details that I know nothing about. Derek’s told me to stay quiet, but it's hard when I have to listen to all the lies that they are spreading about me.

Derek called me this morning to tell me that the press has found out where Sky lives, and have been sitting outside, waiting for her to come out. I sent Sky another message to say sorry a million times for this. The press want to ask her about her story for the news—they want to know if she knew about the girls or not. I never wanted Sky to be in this position ever, and if I could get rid of them for her, I would, but I can’t.

I change the channel to anything but the entertainment news, as it seems like I'm their favorite person to talk about right now. I've been called too many times, called many names, but I’m still keeping my mouth shut