Fireworks 3 and 4

Chapter 6ixty-Three

    "Are you sure you don't want to live the simple, soft life like me, chile? Because you cannot escape the drama to save your life."

    Mia laughed at Bri, but the laughter was short-lived. "What she said got to me. It got me to act out of character."

    "Yeah, it did," Bri agreed. "Because since when were you some kind of UFC champ or something? Since when have your hands been rated E for Everyone?"

    "I'm just tired of the bullshit."

    Bri lapsed into silence.

    Mia didn't know what she was looking for in this conversation. She didn't know if she was trying to vent, or if she needed someone to convince her that what Farrah said was bullshit. "I couldn't see anything but red at the time, but it's a good thing Aubrey held me back."

    "He won points for that," Bri allowed.

    "What?"

    "Nothing, girl."

    "Bri, since when do you hold back?"

    "Ugh, it's something I've been doing ever since I had these kids," Bri muttered. "There isn't even a thought process to it anymore, it's just automatic 'choose your battles' mode. You're right, I'm sorry. I kind of already said it a few minutes ago and you probably assumed I was kidding. But...are you sure this is the life you want for yourself?"

    Mia frowned as she stepped out onto her condo balcony. "Meaning?"

    "Meaning, you're at a point in your career where you can step out of the light and create the life you really want," Bri clarified. "Because I know your ass. I know you don't want this messiness. Once upon a time, all you wanted was to sit in your room and play music."

    It felt like a lifetime ago, and it felt like that was an entirely different person. "I...wouldn't even know how to go back to that, how to get back to the woman I was then," Mia admitted.

    "What do you mean? You make the choice and then you fucking do it."

    "That would mean walking away from Aubrey too."

    "Not necessarily," Bri said. "You can walk away from being in the spotlight and just be his cute little housewife who drops music sometimes. And you could stay with him, but...I don't know. Maybe you should walk away from him."

    Stunned, Mia couldn't even find the words to respond. When she finally found her voice, she said, "You were always the one who told me I should stay with him."

    "I know."

    "You judged me for even thinking about leaving him, because he was so fine, and because he was Drake, and because he was so fine," Mia said, her words tumbling over each other. "And now you think I should walk away from him? When we're finally starting to work shit out?"

    "Look at how much shit you two have had to work out, though," Bri pointed out. "Yes, the man is fine, but fineness has its limits. You're always stressed out. You're back and forth over whether or not you want to be with him-"

    "Now you sound like the dancer who hit on him," Mia mumbled, her heart breaking.

    "Don't you dare compare me to that parched bitch," Bri told her. 

    Mia held onto the balcony railing for support. She could feel her legs giving way beneath her. She threw a desperate look towards the balcony door leading back into her living room, but could already feeling herself sinking to her knees. The sound of traffic carried up to her from below. 

    Bri sighed loudly. "All I want is for my friend to be happy. If Drake is honestly that for you, then by all means keep working shit out and forgiving him when he fucks up. He's trying, and I get that, and it's great that he's trying...but at what point is trying not enough? At what point do we just go out and find a man who not only tries, but succeeds up in this bitch?"

    The sound of her voice began to sound muffled and all of a sudden the phone in Mia's hand felt so heavy. She slowly blinked once, twice, and then saw nothing but black.

    "Don't tell me you're giving me the fucking silent treatment over this, Mia." Pause. "Mia? Mia? Mia!"