Fireworks 3 and 4

Fireworks: Forever Chapter Twelve

    "Are we going to talk about this?" A question after a day of being on the receiving end of silent treatment.

    Mia walked around the bedroom getting ready for bed, silent. Nonresponsive. She couldn't even look at him.

    He sighed and entered the bedroom, careful not to stand in her way.

    Barefoot, she padded into the master bathroom.

    Lowering onto the bed, he watched her. "You're angry with me for not telling you what I've seen."

    She gathered her hair up in her hands and proceeded to wrap it for the night.

    "You're angry with me for even thinking of going along with this storyline shit. You're angry with me...for a lot of reasons, probably. What you don't realize is, everything I'm doing and considering is because I'm trying to protect you."

    With her hair perfectly wrapped, she flipped up the sink faucet and opened the cabinet to grab a tube of toothpaste.

    "And the SZA shit...you don't have to worry about that."

    "I don't have to worry about you making out with an ex-girlfriend at the request of some big, bad, powerful conglomerate of individuals who are treating the biggest names in this industry like a heap of discarded Sesame Street puppets?" she inquired, applying toothpaste to her electronic toothbrush. "There's an interesting take."

    The response wasn't the most positive. It was glaring sarcasm. But at least she's talking to me. She's broken this silent treatment shit. I'll take it. "Look...I understand why you're worried."

    "I'm not just worried, Aubrey. I'm fucking terrified." With a frustrated sigh, she started brushing her teeth while looking at her reflection. 

    "You heard me say a lot of shit that pissed you off," he said, "but what you didn't hear was me telling Solana - I mean, SZA - that somehow I believe you have the power to take them down."

    Her hand froze in mid-brush. She turned her head and finally dared to look at him. 

    "With some of the shit we've been through, some of the shit you've seen me do, you probably thought that I wouldn't hesitate to wage a war against these assholes."

    The look in her eyes softened a bit. 

    "When someone was taking advantage you, I fucked them up. I went to bat for you, literally fought for you. You probably expected me to do the same thing here. But...these guys aren't an egotistical NFL player who's trying to cop a feel, Mia. Fuck. I hate how that sounds, because I don't want to diminish how evil he was. But..." He struggled to think of how to express his thoughts out loud. "Imagine...imagine a squad full of Trevors who only care about what they want. Imagine...that this squad of Trevors has an endless amount of resources and nearly complete control of the entertainment industry. Imagine they're willing to kill, frame, or completely destroy the reputation of anyone who doesn't give them what they want - and they don't limit those threats to just you. You have to worry about your family. Your friends. Their families. Because sometimes they don't just want to end you. That would be too easy, for failing to give them what they wanted from you. Sometimes, they want you to have to live with regret and guilt for whatever they've done to the people you love."

    She lowered her hand and rinsed off her toothbrush before reapplying more toothpaste. 

    "I've fucked up in our relationship," he went on. "I know that. You probably doubt how much I love you sometimes, but I love you more than I ever thought possible. I love you more than I love myself. If anything happened to you, Mia, I..." He shook his head, unable to complete the thought.