aLOVEthing

twenty | the best policy

Stephen practiced his shooting & ball handling diligently at the practice facility. Although the upcoming season wasn't too far away, he had his mindset on preparing himself for battle. He wanted to be better this season, and he wanted to show up this season.

Not only for himself, the coach or the team. But for the fans as well.

Bettering himself was an everyday goal. As long as he accomplished anything throughout the day, he's satisfied the requirements. Just as long as he could feel good and feel the positivity.

But for some reason, his teammates always figured something was wrong if he worked too hard and talked less.

What if he just didn't want to talk?

"There's never a day where you just 'don't want to talk.'" Dray said with air-quotes as he came closer to him. "So what is it?"

"I'm just focusing."

"Focusing on what? You damn near about to burn a hole in that ball just by looking at it."

"I don't know, I'm just trying to get ready for the season. Get my mindset right."

"Mmm-mm, nope. Ain't cutting it. Let's try this conversation again." Dray walked away a couple of steps, only to walk back in Steph's view. "So what's really wrong, Steph?" Stephen sighed, knowing Draymond was going to do the most to find out what was bugging him.

"It just doesn't feel right?"

"What? Please don't say your relationship, cause I could almost kill you in front of all these goddamn people."

"No. Me and Heart are perfectly fine, actually."

"Then what is it?"

"I feel guilty."

"About what? You need to say more than that."

"The girls. Seeing those girls and trying to advantage of that when I was having issues with Heart."

"Aw come on, bruh. Don't be so hard on yourself." Steph excused himself from the court to take a seat and drink some water. He draped the towel over his head as he kept his eyes on his teammates doing work in the facility. Dray sat next to him as he did the same before returning his attention back to Stephen. "For one thing, you never did anything with them females."

"I mean I tried to take advantage of them, which makes me feel awful enough. And two, they've touched me! Kissed on me! That's worse."

"I told you girls had cooties." Stephen scrunched his forehead at Dray. "Aight, but back to my point.. which was you not feeding into anything."

"I know, but I don't wanna hide that from her. I still saw them and I still had them over. I went back to a strip club knowing what we've been through."

"So what are you trying to say here?"

"Our relationship is heavily built on trust. & I can't lie to her about it. Can't hide it or anything."

"Are you going to talk to her about it sometime soon?"

"Yeah hopefully later. I'm just scared it'll create another bump in the road for us."

"Nah, I think you'll be good. You're playing your part in being a good man to her. That takes a lot." Dray scratched his head. "Hell, I wouldn't do that." He mumbled under his breath. "But you good, bruh. She'll appreciate the honesty. You two can overcome anything."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. No lie, it's going to make her upset but give her a few days to let it marinate. Just make sure you're there for her through the process. Kind of like what you're doing now. Ain't nothin' new."

"Yeah. I think my biggest fear is her hearing it from somebody else."

"True. That wouldn't be good." He slightly rubbed his chin. "Although I'd kind of like to see Heart beat your ass."

"Not helping, Dray."

"Obviously that wouldn't happen. Stop overthinking. You'll be good. Sheesh. You so in your feelings, you makin' me get in mine."

"I'm sorry. I just wanna do what's right. I love that girl, and I would never want to do anything to make her feel small, or disrespect her."

"You're a good man. Show me your ways." Steph chuckled.

"That's for me to know and you to learn on your own."

"Fine, I'll ask Klay then."

"Klay?" They busted out in laughter after letting the joke marinate for a minute.

"Shut up, I can hear both of you bigheads talking shit."

"You just mad cause ya head so damn small for them shoulders." Dray yelled as Klay shook his head as he continued to work on his free throws. "I'd rather have a big ass head than a raisin lookin' one."

"Not today, Dray."

"Not today, Dray." Draymond mocked him as he walked towards his own court. Steph didn't know what he would do without those two. The thoughts have been eating him alive because he wasn't sure how to approach the situation and be honest about it. He knew it'd be hard to come out with but he had to do it somehow. There was no way he was going to continue with the relationship without being completely honest about things.

Mama always said honesty was the best policy. And Steph sure loved his mama.

After practice, he immediately drove over to Heart's. His heart was racing and the anxiety was building, making him feel a bit nauseous. He just wanted to spend time with her and move things forward without holding back.

As he approached the little guest home, he noticed her on the phone through the small window. He kept his eyes on her as she slowly nodded her head and put the phone down. Then, she buried her head into her hands.

"Baby, what is it?" He immediately ran to her and rubbed her back. He listened to the small sniffles she let out before she pulled away completely.

She wasn't completely breaking down, but she still wasn't happy to the point that some tears managed to escape her eyes.

"What is it?" He looked at her in the eyes.

"Ugh, Wardell. I didn't think things could get much worse."

"Tell me about it."

"That was the prison where Auntie Lisa is at."

"Is she okay?" Heart silently looked at him and cried even more.

"No. She's really sick. They aren't sure how long she has."

"W-what?"

"How do I tell Logan? What do I do?" She began to cry even harder. "Ugh, I know she wasn't always the best but without her, I wouldn't have had a home. I don't even know if I'd be alive."

"It's okay baby, I know. You don't have to explain yourself."

"I need to see her."

"I can go take you, alright? We'll figure this out. We'll figure it all out." He pulled her into a tight hug, allowing her to release her emotions onto him. Steph knew he had to push the talk somewhere down the line until things settled down but he also didn't want to wait.

Too many things wanted to happen at once and he wished he could keep her in a bubble and protect her from everything.

Not his babygirl.