Fireworks 3 and 4

Chapter Ten

    Thank God for Chubbs. That was a sentiment Mia expressed on at least a weekly basis. He kept her company, helped bring her shopping bags up to the hotel room when hotel staff didn't bother to offer, and made sure she was okay before retiring to his own room.

    "Okay" was a relative term. Despite having shopped to her heart's content, she didn't feel "okay." All of the insecurities and fears she'd had prior to the shopping spree were still there. On the surface, she was indignant. Proud. Even a little insulted that he would think it was okay for her to have to sneak into her own hotel through the back door, like some crazed fan trying to scheme her way into his hotel room. Deeper down, though, she was scared...scared of losing him to someone he had claimed to love ever since he was twenty-two years old. Scared that maybe, as much as she thought she was the woman for him, maybe she wasn't.

    Travis seemed to think that he was the man for Rihanna, but maybe both he and Mia were just deluding themselves. Maybe they were just allowing themselves to think what they wanted, in order to hold onto the people they wanted to keep in their lives.

    The fear of losing Drake ran deep. It almost drove her to running back into his arms, but pride wouldn't let her do that. As much as she feared losing him, she feared losing herself more. And running to him when she knew he was in the wrong would be doing just that.

    She stood at the balcony window of her hotel room, peering out at the Miami city skyline. Miami didn't boast the best skyline she'd ever seen in all of her recent travels, but it was colorful. Lights sparkled and twinkled, little tiny beacons in a brightening sky.

    With the travel itinerary she had to suffer through, she should be in bed asleep. Sleep was all too rare these days. Her mind was moving a million miles a minute though, and sleep wasn't even possible when she was so consumed by worry and doubts. The hotel room bar provided some comfort, liquid relief that settled a warm calm over her. Drinking a few glasses of wine resulted in a slight numbing effect.

    Turning away from the window, she surveyed the hotel room. It felt so...empty without him in it. These days, either he was around or someone from his crew always was. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been completely alone. Wrapping her arms around herself, she moved through the living room of the suite and towards the bedroom, where she broke out a pen and a notebook.

    Writing was her therapy. Even in a time like this, a time when she was emotionally wrecked, writing and music did more for her than any licensed psychologist ever could.

    Two verses into a song, and there was a knocking sound coming from outside of the bedroom. She continued writing, figuring that another hotel guest must have a visitor. The knocking continued, though.

    Seated on the edge of the bed, she stared down the hallway. It had been hours since she'd put her phone on Mute, but the screen still lit up periodically, indicating that she has incoming calls and messages coming in. Those messages went ignored, but persistent door-knocking wasn't quite so easily ignored. For one, she didn't want other quests to be disturbed, and for two...if the man on the other side of her hotel room door was who she thought it was, she wanted to see him and wanted to hear the apology she knew she deserved.

    She slowly set aside the pen and notebook, and stood up from the bed. Her steps out of the bedroom were hesitant, halting. A part of her wanted to see him, and a part of her felt like it was too soon to see him. Ultimately, though, she hated fighting or arguing with him. Whenever they were separated, it felt like she was missing the other half of herself.

    When she reached the door, she stood in front of it. She didn't speak, didn't move to touch it.

    "Mia?"