Page 2 of Verse Two
“We regret to inform you that your flight has been delayed for the next two days due to the impending snowstorm. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause, but please know that the safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance to us. Your new flight information has already been updated and emailed to each of you.”
As she continued to deliver the information for the new flight, I closed my eyes briefly. It wasalwayssomething.
“What did they say?” Wilder asked.
I sighed. “My flight is delayed for two days. I’m so glad I didn’t check any luggage.”
I had the bulk of my things sent ahead to the apartment Maria secured for me in Paris. All I had with me was a carry-on that held a couple of outfits and essentials.
It was times like these that I missed the South. I didn’t mind cold air, and maybe even a little snow, but blizzards being the seasonal norm was something I’d probably never adjust to.
“Maria is going to hate this because I’m still going home, and I’m getting at least a week in with my parents,” I said, shaking my head.
“Well, she can cry about it or fire you, and we both know she ain’t doin’ the second one.”
“Exactly. Anyway, I guess I’m coming back home. Let me get out of here before the storm comes and they lock down the airport.”
Wilder squealed. “Yay! See you in a minute.”
We hung up, and I went straight to the airline’s app on my phone to confirm that they had rescheduled my flight. Once that was done, I stood and grabbed my carry-on. The handle on my rolling bag was stuck, so I leaned over to fix it. Once I was finally able to pull it up, I heard a voice that temporarily paralyzed me.
“I thought I was trippin’, but it really is you. Wassup, Doll?”
I hadn’t heard the nickname in over a decade because only one person in the world called me that. We were only kids, but there was no mistaking his effect on me. He was the literal reason none of my relationships lasted more than a few months and why finding a man was so low on my priority list. No man would ever be him, and he was . . .everything.
With a pounding heart, I slowly straightened my body and lifted my eyes to meet those of the man who had stolen my heart and never bothered returning it.
Brixton Isaac Ellis.
Two
Brixton Isaac Ellis
Ikissed my teeth as I declined yet another call from my ex-girlfriend, LaShontae.
I opened my text messaging app and opened the newest text from Raymond Holmes, Lil Fifty’s manager.
Raymond: We just wired thepayment.
Before texting back, I logged into my bank app and checked the pending deposits. Sure enough, there was one in the amount of onehundredfifty thousand dollars. I then went back to my messages.
Me: Received.
My usual price for writing a song was fifty thousand, but because he asked for full reference tracks for both songs and he wanted them within the week, I added another fifty thousand.
Lil Fifty was a pretty big rapper from New York. He had a nice flow, but his pen was trash, and that was where I came in. He had gotten himself involved in a rap battle with Young Vibe. Vibe had dropped two tracks already, and it had been almost two weeks since then.
Fifty knew he couldn’t go on without responding, so his team bought me a flight to New York so that I could come up with something for him to record. I had been in the songwriting business for the last few years, and it was a lucrative career but one that I no longer wanted to be a part of after the week I’d had.
I hadn’t spent time around Fifty before this week, but after getting to know the dude, I low-key wanted to renege on my agreement to give him the songs.
He was a fraud who had never lived the life he rapped about. Before I flew in, I was under the impression that he wrote his own raps but wanted input on how to make his diss tracks better. As it turned out, he wanted me to writeforhim. That made me wonder how many of his songs he actually composed himself.
Because I couldn’t respect a rapper who didn’t write their own raps, I usually only worked with singers. This was a favor for a producer that I had a lot of respect for, so I did it, but I could promise that it would be the last time I worked with Lil Fifty. I was pretty sure the tracks I provided him with would win this battle for him, but I didn’t feel good about a lame getting clout off my pen.
Just as I was about to set my phone down, it chimed again.
Tae: I’m tired of you acting like this is 100% on me. You have to understand the position you put me in, Brixton. You leave me here for weeks at a time and barely check up on me when you’re gone. I got lonely and made a mistake, but I regret it and I freaking miss you.
