Damaged Petals.

[Caesar]

The toothbrush sat in the holder next to her old retainer case. She squeezed toothpaste onto the brush and worked it through her mouth, trying not to gag. ayo

Bruh.

Serena bet not be Black.

About to call CPS for Nia because where her mama?????

Skylar just checkmate'd that boy!

[redsox907]

Skylar moving reckless like Brice ain't got some ol Indy boys who can take care of that

Brice ain't built like that, cmon now. When have we seen Brice step to anyone that wasn't a teammate or girlfriend?

Skylar living like her only goal is to pop out kids, hate to see it

Brice still living recklessly

Tom and Liz honeymoon over lol

But Brice comes from money and Liz and Tom have proven on record they willing to take a life to preserve their own comfort (shout out Connie )

strong arming a teenager into giving up a baby for adoption is a lot different than a grown college woman

plus, Skylar waaaay more persistent than Connie is. Connie still trying to figure out who SHE is. Skylar knows who she wants to be. Brice Colton's baby momma

[Soapy]

Brice ain't built like that, cmon now. When have we seen Brice step to anyone that wasn't a teammate or girlfriend?

Skylar living like her only goal is to pop out kids, hate to see it

Brice still living recklessly

Tom and Liz honeymoon over lol

But Brice comes from money and Liz and Tom have proven on record they willing to take a life to preserve their own comfort (shout out Connie )

strong arming a teenager into giving up a baby for adoption is a lot different than a grown college woman

plus, Skylar waaaay more persistent than Connie is. Connie still trying to figure out who SHE is. Skylar knows who she wants to be. Brice Colton's baby momma

interesting points on both side. won't gaslight yall like caesar

The toothbrush sat in the holder next to her old retainer case. She squeezed toothpaste onto the brush and worked it through her mouth, trying not to gag. ayo

Bruh.

Serena bet not be Black.

About to call CPS for Nia because where her mama?????

Skylar just checkmate'd that boy!

Do you know of any white AKAs?

via-a-vis Nia and her momma, you've done worst as a child

[Soapy]

Season 6, Episode 10
"They don’t exactly hand out TROs like candy on Halloween," Marks said finally, setting down the papers. "This is for what, for her remove the Instagram post?"

"Yeah," Brice answered as he looked up the massive bookshelf that was behind Wayne Marks.

Marks was mid-forties, maybe pushing fifty, with graying hair cut short and a suit that was certainly tailored. He had the kind of face that gave nothing away, expression neutral as he reviewed the documents Brice had brought. A framed diploma from Indiana University Maurer School of Law hung on the wall to his right, along with what looked like signed jerseys from Colts players.

"She tagged me. She's claiming I'm the father when we don't even know that yet. It's damaging my brand."

Marks leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled in front of him. "Walk me through your relationship with Miss Hayes. When did it start?"

"It wasn't a relationship," Brice said quickly. "We hooked up a few times."

"When?"

"Late last year, early this year."

"And you used protection?"

The question landed flat. Brice's knee stopped bouncing. "Yeah."

"Every time?"

"Just about," the words came out defensive, "She was supposed to be on birth control anyway."

Marks made a note on the legal pad in front of him. "When did she inform you she was pregnant?"

"Over the summer. June, I think."

"Was it a phone call, a text?"

"She showed up at my door."

"Did she ever send you written communication about the pregnancy afterwards?"

"Yeah," Brice scoffed, "A bunch."

"Good. I'll need to see all communications between you two," Marks said as he sat down his pen and looked directly at Brice. "Here's the situation. A TRO requires you to demonstrate irreparable harm. You'd need to prove that this post is causing specific, quantifiable damage to you that can't be remedied through other means."

"It's all over social media," Brice said, his voice rising slightly. "People are commenting, sharing it, talking about it."

"At best, it’s reputational harm, and even that’s a stretch. But proving it's irreparable is another matter." Marks picked up his pen again, tapping it against the pad. "Have you lost any endorsement deals because of this?"

"Not yet, but—"

"Has your NIL value decreased measurably?"

"I don't think so."

"My point exactly," Marks's tone didn't change, still that same clinical detachment. "You'd need concrete evidence. Documented losses. Communications from sponsors pulling out specifically because of this post."

Brice's hands clenched into fists on the armrests. "So what, I just have to sit here and let her destroy everything I've built?"

"I'm not saying that." Marks set the pen down again. "I'm saying a TRO is a long shot, and even if we filed for one, the timeline doesn't work in your favor. Her due date is mid-October, you said?"

"Around then, yeah."

"So we're talking about three, maybe four weeks. By the time we get a hearing scheduled, by the time the judge makes a ruling, she'll have already given birth. At which point the paternity question gets resolved one way or another."

The words settled over Brice like a weight. He could feel his pulse in his temples.

"What if I'm not the father?" he asked. "What happens then?"

"Then you have grounds for a defamation suit, potentially. You could pursue damages for the harm caused by her false claim. But that's a civil matter that would take months, maybe years to resolve." Marks paused, watching him. "What if you are the father?"

Brice's throat felt tight. "I'm not."

"But if you are."

"I'm not."

Marks leaned forward, his expression shifting slightly. Not quite sympathetic, but something closer to it than the clinical detachment from before. "Brice, I've represented a lot of athletes over the years. Football players, basketball players, guys in the NFL making millions. I've seen this situation play out more times than I can count. So I'm going to be straight with you."

Brice said nothing.

"If you are the father, everything you're doing right now, everything you're saying, it's all going to come back on you. The court will look at your behavior. They'll look at how you responded when she told you she was pregnant. They'll look at whether you offered support, whether you showed any interest in being involved. And if the answer to all of that is no, it's going to hurt you when it comes to custody arrangements and child support payments."

"She trapped me," Brice said, the words coming out harsh. "She knew exactly what she was doing."

"Can you prove that?"

"What?"

"Can you prove she intentionally deceived you into impregnating her? Do you have texts, recordings, anything that shows intent to deceive?"

Brice's mind scrambled. He thought about their conversations, the times they'd hooked up, trying to remember if she'd ever said anything explicit. Nothing came.

"No," he admitted.

"Then it's your word against hers. And in family court, that's not going to get you very far." Marks picked up his pen again, making another note. "Look, I understand you're angry. I understand you feel manipulated. But the reality is, if that child is yours, you have legal obligations. Financial obligations, at minimum. And the way you're handling this right now, the public statements, the refusal to engage, the attempt to force her to take down the post, all of that is creating a paper trail that will be used against you."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Brice's voice cracked slightly. "Just accept it? Just let her ruin my life?"

"I'm saying you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that this is your child. Because if it is, your life is already changed. The only question is how bad you want to make it for yourself."

The office felt smaller suddenly. The leather chair that had seemed comfortable when Brice first sat down now felt like it was suffocating him. He could hear the clock on the wall ticking, each second distinct and separate.

"I don't want this kid," Brice said firmly. "I don't want anything to do with it."

Marks didn't flinch. "That's your right to feel that way. But it doesn't change your legal obligations if paternity is established."

"She knew I didn't want this. That’s why she didn’t tell me until it was too late."

"Maybe she did. Maybe she didn't. Either way, the law doesn't care about your intentions or hers. It cares about the child's welfare. Here's my advice, which I remind you, you are paying handsomely for. Stop trying to fight the Instagram post. It's not worth the legal fees, and it's not going to accomplish what you want. Wait for the paternity test after the child is born. If it's not yours, we pursue defamation and you move on with your life. If it is yours, we work out a custody and support arrangement that minimizes your involvement while still meeting your legal obligations."

"That's it? That's the best you can do?"

"That’s the best anyone can do," Marks's voice had some bite to it now. "You're not the first athlete to go through this, and you won't be the last. The ones who come out of it okay are the ones who face reality instead of trying to fight battles they can't win."

Brice stood up, the chair scraping against the floor.

"So I just wait," he said.

"You wait. You keep your mouth shut. You don't post anything on social media, you don't make any public statements, you don't do anything that can be used against you later." Marks stood as well, coming around the desk. "And Mr. Colton? Start thinking about what you're going to do if that test comes back positive. Because denial isn't a strategy."

…

"Bitch, I felt like motherfucking Latto, you hear me? I might be entering my soft girl era for real."

"Sounds expensive," one of the other girls said from across the room.

"I doubt his pockets are hurting," Serena smiled, finally setting her phone down. "I'm telling you, it was so nice to do some grown shit for once."

Mel didn't look up from her textbook. "Getting drunk and hanging out at a club sounds like a regular weekend to me. Just with better lighting."

Serena's smile tightened slightly. "It was different. The vibe was just more mature, you know? More sophisticated."

"Sophisticated," Mel repeated, her tone flat.

"Yes, sophisticated," Serena said, sitting up straighter now. "Not everyone wants to spend their weekends at Harry's surrounded by freshman throwing up in the bathroom."

Sabrina blew on her nails, eyes darting between Serena and Mel with barely concealed interest. "So you and Brice, that's like a thing now?"

"We're hanging out," Serena said, the words careful. "Seeing where it goes."

"Mm-hmm," Sabrina's brush hovered over her pinky nail. "Mel, weren't you and Brice a thing at some point?"

The room seemed to shift. Serena's attention snapped to Mel, whose expression remained neutral as she finally looked up from her textbook.

"We're friends," Mel said simply.

"Just friends?" Sabrina pressed, her voice light but her intention clear.

"Yeah, that’s what I said, right?" Mel confirmed.

Serena uncrossed her legs, turning more fully toward Mel. "I didn't know you two had history. If I had known, I wouldn't have stepped to him like that. You know I’m a girl’s girl."

"There's no history," Mel's voice had an edge to it now. "So you don't need to worry about that."

"I'm just saying, if there was something there—"

"There wasn't," Mel interrupted, closing her textbook with more force than necessary. "And even if there was, which there wasn't, it's not like you could take something from me that’s mine."

The words landed heavy. Serena's jaw tightened, her posture shifting from relaxed to rigid. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying," Mel stood up, tucking the textbook under her arm, "You don't need to worry about stepping on anyone's toes. Brice is a grown man. He can do what he wants. I’m sure you’re not the first girl he’s fucked since we’ve been friends."

"That's not what it sounded like you were saying."

"Then maybe you need to listen better."

Sabrina's eyes were wide now, her nail polish forgotten. One of the other girls cleared her throat from across the room, the sound cutting through the tension.

"So, uh, are we still going to that mixer on Friday?" the girl asked, her voice overly bright.

"I heard the last one was pretty good," another girl jumped in quickly.

…

Brice sat on the lounge chair in front of his locker, cleats still untied, his phone face-down on his thigh. The locker room hummed with the usual pre-practice energy with guys changing, music playing from someone's speaker but something felt off. The conversations seemed quieter than normal, more contained.

He reached down to tie his cleats, fingers working the laces. To his right, Abdul was scrolling through his phone, but his eyes kept flicking up toward Brice and then away. Across the row of lockers, Bruce fumbled with his shoulder pads, dropping them twice.

No one had said anything directly. That was the tell. In a locker room full of guys who never shut up, the careful silence around him was deafening.

Brice finished with his left cleat and moved to his right, pulling the laces tight. The post had been up for what, a couple days now? Long enough for screenshots to circulate. Long enough for someone's girlfriend to mention it, for someone's cousin back in South Bend to send a link. Long enough for the whispers to make their way from South Bend to West Lafayette.

He grabbed his practice jersey from the locker and pulled it over his head. The fabric caught on his shoulder for a moment and he yanked it down harder than necessary.

"Yo, five, you good?" Abdul asked, his voice too casual.

"Yeah," Brice said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Abdul shrugged, going back to his phone. But the question had done exactly what it was meant to do, acknowledged that something was happening without actually addressing it.

Brice stood up, adjusting his jersey. That's when he caught it. Shane, standing by his own locker three rows over, was looking at him, not as subtle as everyone else. Shane was from South Bend too, probably had crossed paths with Skylar. There was no doubt in Brice’s mind that he knew. He grabbed his helmet and started walking to the door when he stopped in the middle of the locker room, turning to address the entire room.

"Y'all need to focus on not shitting down our legs against Miami of fucking Ohio this week," Brice said, his voice sharp and loud. "That's what we should be worried about. Not who I've been fucking raw."

A few nervous laughs rippled through the room. Brice let the moment breathe, let them sit with the discomfort of him saying it out loud.

"If you really do care," he added, his tone shifting to something lighter, almost playful, "Ask your momma."

[Captain Canada]

Ain't no way the universe (you) are going to put a baby on Brice's jacket

[Caesar]

So what am I supposed to do?" Brice's voice cracked slightly. "Just accept it? Just let her ruin my life

Don’t cry now bitch! You wasn’t crying when you were nutting in that ho!

[redsox907]

"So what am I supposed to do?" Brice's voice cracked slightly. "Just accept it? Just let her ruin my life?"

boy crying over some spilled nut, you hate to see it

MAN UP LIL BRUDDAH

I think Brice is the father. Skylar moving with purpose, this was her plan once Brice showed he was never going to really entertain her.

Mel suddenly catching feelings, eh? How you feel about being a step-mom

[Soapy]

Ain't no way the universe (you) are going to put a baby on Brice's jacket

we shall see

So what am I supposed to do?" Brice's voice cracked slightly. "Just accept it? Just let her ruin my life

Don’t cry now bitch! You wasn’t crying when you were nutting in that ho!

he probably was, jimmy had just died

"So what am I supposed to do?" Brice's voice cracked slightly. "Just accept it? Just let her ruin my life?"

boy crying over some spilled nut, you hate to see it

MAN UP LIL BRUDDAH

I think Brice is the father. Skylar moving with purpose, this was her plan once Brice showed he was never going to really entertain her.

Mel suddenly catching feelings, eh? How you feel about being a step-mom

step mom at 19 for a kid that aint yours is crazy

[Soapy]

already hit for the cycle today, might as well update this twice

[Soapy]