Page 101 of Love U Down II

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Genie walked over and set the microphone on the table while Charm and Allison quickly hopped up.

The three of them and Steven quietly left the room and Drix sat in the newly vacated seat beside me.

“What’s up?” he asked seriously.

“Why do you think something is up?” I cut my eyes at him and started to rip open one of the bags in front of me.

“Because you were running shit while I was gone and now…” He tilted his head while he took me in. “You don’t seem as confident as you did when I first came back.” He swallowed. “Do I fuck with your confidence, Twin?”

“No,” I answered quickly. “No. That’s not it. Seriously. I feel like you support me. I know you support me.”

“But?”

“But I don’t know,” I scoffed.

Drix sat beside me and watched while I took a container out of the bag, popped it open, and grabbed a fry. He waited while I ate a few before he set his hand on my knee and leaned into me.

“What’s going on, Yo? For real. Talk to me. Am I throwing you off your game? Do you want me to ghost the label for a little bit so you can work this shit how you need to? Or do you want me to take a more hands on approach for this fundraiser shit or what? What do you need from me?”

“Nothing. Seriously.” I looked at him and exhaled.

I had no idea how to tell my husband that I was questioning my ear because I had a song flop and people who’d never even performed professionally were doing better than I was musically. I wasn’t sure how to tell him that I loved him and was proud of him but was also slightly disappointed that he was doing so well while my barely started career was already on the decline.

I felt like I just needed to shut up. I didn’t need to complain or compare or make his success about my failures after he’d spent years and years working on his music—writing, rapping, arranging, producing, mixing, mastering, and heading his own promotion and distribution. Everything he had, he deserved, and the last thing I wanted was for him to think I didn’t know that.

I pulled my eyes away from him.

“You need something,” he accused. “And you won’t get help unless you ask for it.”

“Jesus, Berlin, just because I asked your opinion about a fucking––”

He cut me off. “Ay. I don’t think I’ve ever cursed at you in the entire time I’ve known you, so watch yo’ mothafuckin’ mouth when you talking to me, Myome.” He grabbed my chin and tilted my head back to look me in my eyes. “I love you and I want to help you, but if you don’t want my help, there are plenty of waysto voice that shit calmly and respectfully. I don’t disrespect you. Don’t disrespect me.”

“Okay.” I turned my head and he let my chin go. “Can we just get back to these performances and talk about it later?”

“Hell fuck no. How about that?” He turned in his seat and kicked his feet onto the table. “All this shit is cancelled until further notice.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Do I look like I’m laughing?” He crossed his arms over his broad chest and slouched in his seat. “I know something got to be wrong if you tripping out on me, and if you can’t talk to me about whatever it is, you damn sure don’t need to be talking to anybody else.”

I rolled my eyes but popped more food into my mouth.

Drix got comfortable and we sat in silence while I ate. When I finished, he was still sitting beside me, his eyes focused forward.

I exhaled.

“How long are you going to sit there?”

He let his head loll to the side so he could look at me. He shrugged.

“As long as it takes.”

“To wear me down?”

“For you to stop being a brat and realize you ain’t got to navigate the entire fucking world alone, Myome.”

“And you’re proving that by sitting there in silence and holding up these tryouts that you recommended I host?”