Fireworks 3 and 4

Chapter 6ixty-Four

    "Only family is allowed."

    "Bitch, I am her family. At this point, I'm her motherfucking roommate, with how often I'm flying to this jaded ass city. Out of my way." Bri pushed past the nurse, her face twisted up. "If you have a problem with it, take it up with Drake. Yes, as in Drizzy Drake with the owl sweaters and shit." She entered the hospital room and stopped in her tracks when she saw that Drake was seated at Mia's bedside.

    He looked up at her. "Take what up with me?"

    "They had the nerve to act like I'm not her family," Bri said, hurrying to Mia's side and sweeping her friend's hair back from her face. "Has she woken up at all?"

    "In and out," Drake said, sounding weary.

    Bri gave him a long and hard look. As beautiful as the man was, he looked like he had been through it - and not just with this latest event. "How are you holding up?"

    "I'm just wondering when her and I are going to catch a break," he said, not quite meeting her direct gaze. "It's always one thing after another."

    Instead of going in on him and reminding him that he was the cause for some of those rough patches, she decided to give him a bit of grace. "You realized that, too, huh?"

    He smiled weakly. "You don't have to say it. I know I'm the cause for a lot of it."

    Not for the first time, she joked, "Any time you want to give me those next lottery numbers, I'm ready with my notepad app."

    Laughing, he sighed and glanced over at Mia, whose eyes were closed. "You were on the phone with her when she collapsed?"

    Bitch, uh-oh. "Yeah," Bri responded hesitantly.

    Then, his eyes did swivel to meet hers. "What were you talking about when she stopped answering?"

    Shit...um, the sky. The weather. P-Valley. The fact that Jesse Williams was in a play where he showed his diznee....umm... "We...we were discussing a lot of things."

    "What were you talking about at that moment though?"

    Bri ran a hand through her hair. "Just...her career and this new life she's been living," she replied after some thought. Mentally, she gave herself a pat on the back. It wasn't a lie, but didn't specify the fact that he was the subject at hand when Mia dropped. 

    He stared at her so long and hard, that for a minute she thought he had her figured out. After all, he seemed to be the most perceptive man of the entire male species. 

    She shifted her weight from one foot of the other while he looked her over. "Take a picture, dude, it would last longer."

    Finally, he broke eye contact and returned his attention to Mia. "Everyone is judging her for taking me back," he said, his voice cracking. "I've considered walking away from her, just so she doesn't have to deal with my shit. But I can't function without her."

    Bri rolled her eyes heavenward. I really don't want to have another serious conversation right now. Especially not without some drinks. "You two do seem to have one major catastrophe after another," she admitted.

    "Which is probably why she's lying in this hospital diagnosed with exhaustion," he finished for her. "You can be honest with me. You don't have to sugarcoat shit, Bri. You've never done that with me in the past."

    "It's my fucking babies," she said, her shoulders sagging. "They started me on this sugarcoating BS and once I've started, it's hard to stop it."