Page 87 of High Baller

I sit on the bed, grab my laptop, and hit call. I sent Sky a message to let her know what time to expect me.

"Hey, shorty,” I greet her when she shows up on my screen. I'm never going to get bored of seeing her beautiful face.

“Hey, you.” She sips some of her tea.

I notice the bags off to the side. "I see you went shopping.”

"A little. I needed to get some clothes, as I don't really have any," she tells me. I haven't seen her house empty, but the way Derek and my Ma told me about it, there was nothing there. "And as much as I love Calvin for giving me his spare bed, the bedding was not my style.” She turns the laptop so that I can see the bedding that's on there.

"Yeah, that doesn't shout Sky to me," I say with a small laugh. I never know how to talk to her about what happened, as I don't want to upset her, but I also know that she hates when I'm trying to be fake with her.

"Because I don't trust my parents, the gift you sent I've given it to Dave to look after for me, so this is what my house looks like now.” She stands up and walks out of her bedroom, and turns the laptop around so I can see where she's walking. The whole living and kitchen area is empty. There's a small fridge, but that's it.

"Have you decided what you're going to do?" I ask, hoping she’s thought about what I asked her this week.

"I'm going to sell this place, and from there, I haven't thought about it much to be honest. I'm thinking about what Derek said about opening an account in America, but I'll have to look into that.”

I know that her parents have pushed her too far this time, and she just wants to get away from them now.

"I can get one opened for you tomorrow, if you want," I suggest. I don't want to say anything to her that’ll make her think I'm pushing her to come live with me. I want her to say yes because she wants to.

"I need to talk to Dave first to see if my pay can be sent to that account, but thank you." She sits down, which seems to be on the floor.

"Just let me know. You should be in Seattle for my game. Will you be able to come?" When she was here, she said that she just needed to see which day and time she gets there.

"Yeah, I land the day before, and Calvin said he and Finn need tickets too.” She laughs as I shake my head. She's dating me, Derek is my add-on, and Calvin's her add-on.

"I'll get them a seat,” I say. “So, what else have you been up to?" I check my phone for the time.

"Nothing really, I’ve been getting ready for the next flight. D you have all away games for next week?"

"Yeah, we go out tomorrow, and our last one is the Seattle match, then back to LA. After Seattle, what's your schedule looking like?" This is the only part I hate. I'm going to see Sky for one game, then I come back to LA, and I don't even know what she’ll be doing.

"I come back to England, then Dave planned it so that I can come to LA.” Her smile fills the screen. I want that smile to be on her face every day.

"I'm picking you up from the airport," I tell her. The second she lands, I'm spending every second I can with her.

"I thought you might,” she says with an eye roll, but her lips quirk up again. “What’ve you got planned for the rest of night?"

"Ma is coming over a little later for dinner, and then I'll get ready to travel. How about you?"

"Dave and Gemma invited me over, so I’m about to leave to go there." She looks a little lost today, I can see it on her face. Even though she's smiling, I can see there is something wrong with her.

"What's on your mind, shorty?"

“Nothing. Calvin’s pushing me to press charges against my parents, and I'm not sure about it,” she admits, and I know why she's thinking hard about it. She could've easily pressed charges against them a long time ago.

"Can I ask why?"

"Trey, they've been the worst parents anyone can ask for. They’ve robbed me, but they're still my parents."

"I understand, Sky, I'm not going to tell you what to do. Calvin has been with you from the start, he's seen everything, and he only wants the best for you. That's one thing I do know."

"I know, but I think I just need to get away from them."

"I have given you an option—"

"I know, but I feel like I'm just running away. I've never ran from a problem—"