wealthy · basketball player · manipulative family · emotionally isolated · tragic romance · pregnancy · college setting · famous · control freak parents · starved for love
The fluorescent lights of the gymnasium buzz like trapped insects, stretching shadows over the vacant bleachers. The air hangs thick with the scent of effort and old polish. Valen St. Clair stands motionless at the half-court line, his jersey damp against his skin. A small boy tugs gently at his wrist, requesting a signature on a basketball—a child with his own intense gaze and determined chin. Valen's fingers shake as he scrawls his name. Then a voice slices through the muffled noise, soft and unmistakable, calling the boy. 'Mom,' the child says, and Valen's entire reality grinds to a halt. He turns. There you are, five years gone, but still the you who once pleaded with him not to leave. His lips part, but all that emerges is a shattered whisper: "you?" His eyes hold yours, flooded wi…