Fireworks 3 and 4

Chapter 6ixty-Five

    Mia woke up later that evening and was overwhelmed at the sight of Bri. "You didn't fly here."

    "Bitch, I thought you were dead. Of course I flew here." Bri hugged her as gently as she good.

    With a happy smile, Mia turned eyes to Drake, who still sat in the corner of the room.

    Bri gave him a look. "I'll give you two a minute."

    Drake shook his head. "I'll give you two a minute."

    Mia watched him leave the room, feeling a touch of sadness.

    "He's torturing himself over how much he's hurt you," Bri told her.

    "I can't get that dancer's words out of my head," Mia said, her voice sounding more hoarse than usual. "How I can't make up my mind whether or not I want to be with him."

    "Considering everything, I think anyone would be confused," Bri said, sitting into one of the chairs at her friend's bedside.

    A nurse breezed in, greeting Mia and checking her vitals. "How are you feeling?"

    "Just tired, and...I could use some water," Mia replied, gingerly touching her throat.

    "I'll definitely grab you a cup of water and a cup of ice," the nurse said, making note of the vitals on the monitor before exiting the room.

     Bri looked after the nurse. "File that as job number five hundred seventy-three that I could never fucking do."

    Mia laughed.

    "But you're feeling okay? You scared the shit out of me, mamas."

    "I'm okay. I think everything just caught up to me. The Aubrey stuff, the tour I have coming up. What the dancer said. Some of the things you said. It's just...a lot."

    Bri nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

    "No," Mia said quickly, shaking her head. "You didn't say anything wrong. You were just being a good friend. I don't want 'yes' people around me. That's how entertainers go crazy. I need to be surrounded by honesty and people who are genuine. So, please...always speak your mind with me. Me being in here isn't your fault. It's not anyone's fault, I just...my body is talking to me, telling me I should be resting more. I'm going to listen to it."

    "Sounds like a good idea," Bri said, with a faltering smile.

    "Did you bring your babies here?" Mia asked, raising up on her elbows a little.

    "Stay your ass in the horizontal position, first of all," Bri said, shaking a finger at her. "And no, I didn't bring the babies. They're home with daddy."

    "How long do I get to keep you?"

    Bri gave Mia a crazy look. "Like I'm a shih tzu or some shit."

    Mia burst out laughing, then wrapped her arms around herself. "Ah," she murmured, settling down.

    "I'm only here for a couple of days," Bri answered, sobering quickly. "I feel guilty for always leaving Shawn with the kids. He's convinced I'm living some kind of hot girl summer double life or some shit."

    "Seriously?" Mia tried to hold back a laugh and failed.

    A short knock sounded on the door before it was slowly pushed open. A soft voice greeted, "I'm looking for two crazy bitches who go by the names Bri and Mia."

    Mia's brows shot up and she sat up in her hospital bed. "Desirae?"

    The honey brown-haired Latina slinked into the room, dressed to impress as always.  

    Bri clapped her hands excitedly. "Back together bitches! I wish it were under better circumstances, but we'll get Mia some crutches or a wheelchair so she can turn up."

    The two young women smothered their bedridden friend with hugs before launching into all sorts of gossip and tea-sharing. 

    Desirae made sure to express concern for her friend and make sure she was okay before launching into details of her romance with a Persian engineer. "Sooooo fucking sexy," she said while extending an arm housing several expensive bracelets. "And sooooo fucking giving. I love his ass. Wait, let me show you how fine he is. You wouldn't even believe how fine he is."

    The room was filled with so much love, Mia could hardly contain her excitement. Her own body's weakness served to remind her of her limitations, though.

~~~~~~

    Drake peered in through the window of the hospital room. His heart was warmed at the sight of Desirae and Bri showering Mia with love. A small pang hit his heart as he wished that he could give her love as pure as what he was witnessing. He couldn't help but feel like he was toxic to her. 

    She has all of the love she needs right now. She doesn't need me. The last thing she needs is me stressing her out while she tries to think of some way to defend to her friends why she's taking me back.

    So, slowly be backed away from the window and with hands tucked into the pockets of his pants, he left the hospital.