ALEX BIANCAS_MOM BOBBY CARLOTTA CASSIE CHRIS_MACKEY COTTON CROWD DEREK GERALDINE JAHIL MATEO MAURICE MEGAN MISS_BRUCE NINA NOAH NURSE OFFICER OLIVIA POLICE_OFFICER SHARON SIMONE STAR WAITRESS NOAH So this is what happened last time on Star. MISS BRUCE Rusty? BOBBY Musty? MISS BRUCE When's the last time I seen your ass? DEREK Don't you think you're doing a little much with this Olivia girl? ALEX Why are you so worried? DEREK Because I can be. NOAH I was hoping you could take a look at my contract with Karma. MEGAN Maurice's club. NOAH I need somebody who knows his weaknesses. COTTON This thing between you and Auntie Cassie has gone too far. CARLOTTA You don't know who she is and what she's capable of. MISS BRUCE You can't keep walking around with all this pain in you like that. You got to figure how to release it. You ever thought about going to get some help? CARLOTTA I'm good. At least I-I'm getting there. STAR Can't believe I'm about to say this, but, I feel like maybe we should call the cops. SIMONE I agree. CASSIE Yo, the cops are not gonna do nothing, this is not even an emergency yet. COTTON Girl, my mama left the house without a purse and a phone. How's that not an emergency to you? ALEX I don't know, maybe we're overthinking this. I mean, she hasn't slept here in the past few days anyway, right? She could come in at any moment. MISS BRUCE Hey, y'all, I can't find C nowhere. What the hell y'all got Steppin' to the Bad Side here for? CASSIE Really, Bruce? COTTON Come on, y'all, let's stick together for Mama, please. MISS BRUCE Cotton, you can't get rid of no storm with thunder on your back. She part of the reason we here. CASSIE You know it's not just me. You know Carlotta's done this before. MISS BRUCE Really, you a evil bitch to bring that up. You know that ain't got nothing to do with this. COTTON What are y'all talking about? MISS BRUCE That's your mama's business. Cassie, why are you still here? CASSIE You know what? Let me know when y’all find her. SIMONE Okay, so what are we supposed to do now? MISS BRUCE You gonna do exactly what Carlotta would want y'all to do. You gon' pray and keep it moving. Now, she got a meeting set up tomorrow with Chris Mackey from Bling Lifestyle Brand to sponsor Rhythm & Bells. ALEX Bling? Wait, they sponsored Coachella last year, right? MISS BRUCE Exactly. They'll give us the capital and the street cred this festival needs. And the plan was to have y'all to seal the deal with the performance at Karma. SIMONE Okay, so, we're supposed to perform when Miss Carlotta's missing? MISS BRUCE Carlotta's been here for all of us. When I ain't have nothing and when y'all decided to Atlanta. The least we can do is make sure we handle this business till we find her. JAHIL Remember this? CARLOTTA Oh, you did not whip that out. Oh, look at your face. JAHIL Why? What's wrong with that? All right, kid in black. Kid in black. CARLOTTA Very good. This'll be good. Oh! One more. Hey! CARLOTTA That's what I'm talking about. CARLOTTA JAHIL Go there. CARLOTTA Uh-oh. CARLOTTA Oh. I don't know about that move right there. That's not gonna work, but I know what will. My winter music festival. It is gonna be crazy; you not even ready. JAHIL Lottie, I'm so proud of you. I mean, you're doing this bigger than we ever imagined. I wish you could stay. CARLOTTA W-Wait a minute. That's my part. Ah. What? Huh? Huh? JAHIL Come on. CARLOTTA Hey. That's right. JAHIL CARLOTTA Well, you should look like that. POLICE OFFICER Ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am! You can't sleep here. Name and ID. Now. CARLOTTA What time is it? I got to get to my meeting. WAITRESS She's homeless and she's been trying to leave without paying. CARLOTTA No, I'm not. Just bring me a phone and I-I'll give you w-whatever I owe you. POLICE OFFICER Ma'am, you're bleeding. WAITRESS And you smell like you peed yourself. POLICE OFFICER You got blood all over you. CARLOTTA Uh I was drinking. The bottle broke. POLICE OFFICER Drinking? CARLOTTA What the hell? WAITRESS Yeah, she was drunk when she came in last night. CARLOTTA I ain't drunk now and I'm not homeless, either. I own a salon a-and I-I run a music label. WAITRESS Yeah, well, I guess doing deals with Diddy in your PJ's really wore you out, huh? CARLOTTA What is your problem, lady?! You got a bad-ass attitude. POLICE OFFICER Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. Hey, hey. That's it, you're out of here! You're out of here! CARLOTTA Get off of me. NOAH Mm-hmm. ? I don't mean to be rude ? So, what do you think? MEGAN The contracts, I can critique. Your music, not so much. NOAH Come on, now, you got to give me something. All right, you're the first person to hear this song. And you're my audience fine, educated sister. MEGAN There you go with all that charm. NOAH Is it working? MEGAN The music is good. It reminds me of your first album. NOAH Yeah, my first album was on a major label. Now I'm on an indie. Good has to be great. MEGAN I left the biggest law firm in Atlanta after my divorce. Started from scratch, became my own boss, just like you're doing now. And I regretted it, just like you're doing now. But trust me, it's worth it. NOAH Thanks. MEGAN I got to go. I'm going to meet Maurice and see what he thinks about these new terms, so wish me luck. NOAH Wish me luck on this song. MEGAN You don't need it. MATEO Hey. NINA I just got an e-mail that our check for Orange Night bounced. Do you know anything about that? MATEO I don't know. It's probably a mix-up. NINA Are you gambling again? Damn it. You promised me that you would stop once we started Gravity Media. How bad is it? MATEO I just borrowed some money to sit at a table with some major players in the media business. NINA You're stealing money from our investors to feed your addiction? We could end up in jail. MATEO I'm sure we can find a way to pay it back. NINA "We?” MATEO Yes, and once we fix it, I promise I'll get some help. MISS BRUCE Mr. Mackey, this festival is gonna be Atlanta's version of Coachella. The girls are on fire and I think the platform is the right target for Bling's lifestyle brand. CHRIS MACKEY Listen, Mr. Bruce. MISS BRUCE It's Miss Bruce. CHRIS MACKEY Right. My meeting was with Carlotta Brown, is she coming? MISS BRUCE I'm filling in for her, and this is her business plan. CHRIS MACKEY Well, I'm not turning over a ten million dollar check to someone like you. MISS BRUCE Like me? CHRIS MACKEY I'll continue this with Carlotta tonight at the club. She will be there? MATEO Yes, sir. She will be. Mateo Ferrera, pleasure to meet you. CHRIS MACKEY You also. Tonight, gentlemen. MATEO We'll see you later. Where the hell is she? MISS BRUCE Look, she had something to do. MATEO You tell Carlotta to get her ass to the club tonight. MISS BRUCE She'll be there, Mateo. MATEO Well, she better be. Because we need to land Bling. SHARON The officer who brought you in says he found you in a concerning condition. CARLOTTA Anytime a black woman does anything other than smile, they think she crazy. SHARON How’d you hurt yourself? CARLOTTA I told you I had an accident. Look, there is nothing wrong with me. I've just been under a lot of stress lately. SHARON I can see that; you seem agitated. CARLOTTA Because I keep trying to explain to you that. SHARON Calm down. CARLOTTA Don't tell me to calm down. It's not against the law to walk down the street. I ended up in a coffee shop and the next thing I know is the sun came up before I did. That's all. SHARON Have you ever had any issues with mental health? CARLOTTA Look, I do not need to be in here, I have meetings to get to. My name is Carlotta Brown, I am the CEO of Gravity Records. All you have to do is google it. SHARON I did and it appears this isn't your first incident. You had a bit of a break in the past. CARLOTTA What? SHARON Karma. You had a very public argument with the owner. There appears to be a loss of control. CARLOTTA I had a fight with my sister. SHARON And another public incident this morning. CARLOTTA Look, you are not about to put a mental case on me. Now let me out of this place. SHARON Miss Brown, I'm afraid I can't do that. With your behavior, you leave me no choice. For your safety, you will be placed on a 72 hour hold. STAR This feel different when you're pregnant. MISS BRUCE Hey, y'all. Cotton called. Cops found Carlotta. She was in a diner, asleep. Poor thing peed herself. They got her in the hospital under psych evaluation. SIMONE But she ain't even crazy. MISS BRUCE Being locked in them kind of places can make you think you crazy. So, I think the biggest thing for us right now is to make sure we nail this performance tonight. STAR Did you have your meeting with Bling? MISS BRUCE I got mine covered on this end. You make sure you figure out how to twerk without that baby falling out. ALEX Olivia, hi. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot that you were coming, it's a weird, crazy time. Carlotta's in the hospital. OLIVIA Oh, my God, Carlotta. She's like a second mother to you. Should we go see her or. SIMONE Girl, back up, you don't even know her. I need some air. STAR Yo, so this might not be a good time for you to, you know, hang out and do whatever you do with Alex. OLIVIA Uh, I can help. Maybe run errands, something? I just want to keep my mind off tomorrow, okay? It would've been Bianca's birthday. ALEX Oh, o-of course. No, stay. Okay, it's- We can figure out something for you to do. OLIVIA Okay. MEGAN This is what my client wants. I know you can do better, Maurice. MAURICE I hope you know he's using you. MEGAN Excuse me? MAURICE Of all the lawyers in Atlanta, he trots you up in here? He's trying to get to me so I can cave to his demands. MEGAN You always make everything about you. MAURICE Has he tried to press up on you yet? MEGAN That's none of your business. Oh. MAURICE You didn't answer the question. I still love you and he's taking full advantage. MEGAN Bring something to the table for my client so we can sign and finish this. MAURICE Megan. NINA Hey. Hey, I was looking for you. You okay? SIMONE Just family stuff. I'm just worried. You know, Miss Carlotta wandered off last night. And the police found her this morning and they decided to put her on a 72 hour psych hold. And we're all trying to be strong for her, but. NINA I know what it's like to have to be strong when you don't know if you can. Hey, listen, I came to find you to say, if you need help with the script thing, I can help. SIMONE Thanks. I'll think about it. MATEO Nina. SIMONE Yeah, I should probably get back to rehearsal, though. MATEO No word from Carlotta? NINA She's not going to call you back. She's in the hospital. She's not showing up tonight. MATEO Well, no Carlotta, no money, no festival. NINA Since when do you care so much about this damn festival? Two months ago you wanted to close Gravity Records. MATEO And I still might. But if this festival can be the answer for our financial problems, of course I'm gonna do it. NINA Listen to yourself. We're gonna find another way to fix your damn problem. MATEO BOBBY I appreciate you taking me the last minute, know what I'm saying? I mean, I know you're busy. MISS BRUCE Look, cutting hair keeps me calm. I don't know what to do with Carlotta being stuck in a hospital like that. How're things with y'all? You and Noah getting along? BOBBY You know that boy always pushing me. MISS BRUCE As he should. You can't disappoint somebody over and over. That boy almost took his life. BOBBY And I saved it. MISS BRUCE Okay, well, Bobby, you ain't getting no trophies handed to you over here 'cause of something you caused. And I ain't about to waste time telling you how you need all the black beat off your ass for what you did to your son. I've got my own mess. This Carlotta stuff is. BOBBY I guess it brings you back to your pop's. The pastor, right? I know you used to talk about it all the time. MISS BRUCE You know he locked me up like Carlotta when I told him I was gay. Had them folks call me everything but a child of God and yet that's exactly what they wanted me to be. You know, Stevie Wonder could see more than church folk. BOBBY Oh, I know that laugh. The one you push out so you don't feel. You have to face it. MISS BRUCE Now, who are you supposed to be? Iyanla? Did you come here to get a haircut, or you came to fix my life? BOBBY Can't nobody fix your life. MISS BRUCE Hold your head still so I can cut these little nappy edges of yours. COTTON Mama. Hey. I left you some clothes at the front desk. CARLOTTA Okay. COTTON Hey, they're not trying to hurt you in here, huh? CARLOTTA Nah, I'm okay. Better than they think I am. COTTON Mama, we were so worried. We all went looking for you. The girls, Miss Bruce. Even Auntie Cassie came- CARLOTTA Cassie? That bitch is the reason why I'm here. She ain't tell you that? COTTON Mama, Titi Cassie don't have nothing to do with this. This is about you doing too much. She told us how you used to wander around- CARLOTTA Don't listen to a word she has to say. Cassie wanted Andy dead. That bullet that hit your father was meant for him. Cassie killed your daddy. COTTON But, but, Mama she was how. CARLOTTA Look, I'm sorry. COTTON But she told me, Mama. CARLOTTA I did not want to hurt you, but this lie has been weighing itself down on me, and I can't hold it no more. I'm just too tired. COTTON I got. STAR It looks a lot better on Alex. OLIVIA She asked me to bring a few things for her. STAR Hmm. I heard about how you jumped in on her solo performance the other night. That was weird. I just want to let you know, if you try something like that tomorrow night. OLIVIA What you gonna do? Hmm? STAR Oh, it's not what, baby, it's how. Where'd you come from, by the way? OLIVIA Hong Kong. STAR Oh, you're funny. Okay. Good to know. I could be funny, too. Watch. OLIVIA Don't watch too hard, you know, it's dark outside. I wouldn't want you to trip and fall with that baby. STAR Threaten my child's life again and you'll be buried next to your dead sister. DEREK I got to go. STAR What up? DEREK Hey. Any news on Carlotta? STAR Nothing yet. But you know who actually needs to be locked up? That Olivia girl. She's crazy. DEREK You see the irony there? Calling somebody else crazy. STAR All right. Then nobody knows crazy better than me, right? I'm dead-ass worried about Alex. DEREK I can't keep up with you. One minute you're making a diss track about Alex, the next you're telling “the man at home in a wheelchair” that you're worried about her. STAR Yeah. Alex and I are family. We fight but I would never let somebody hurt her. So tell me you don't think there's something wrong with this Olivia girl? DEREK I didn't trust her from the jump. STAR Then look into her. We got to get that ho away from Alex before she starts wearing your girlfriend like a jacket. 'Cause that's the type of vibe she got. CASSIE Cot, I've had people looking for your mama all day. Cotton, have you heard anything? COTTON She's fine. She was at a coffee shop, some white lady called the cops. She freaked out. CASSIE They arrested her ass, didn't they? COTTON They put a 5150 on her at Saint Paul's Hospital. CASSIE Damn. They always trying to find new ways to lock a bitch up. But you know what, this might be good for your mama, 'cause she been trippin' lately. COTTON She said the same thing about you. CASSIE Look, I just wish I could find a way to help her. But you know she's not asking nobody for no help. Even when she was 12 and Mama was out trappin', she damn near ran the house. Even had Daddy taking orders. She was the only one he paid attention to, anyways so. MAURICE Cassie, you got a minute? CASSIE Not now, Maurice. I'm talking to my niece. COTTON No, I got to go check on the salon. CASSIE Cot, you okay? MAURICE I just got an interesting call from Mateo at Gravity Media. He's looking for a big name to hook a sponsor for his winter festival. CASSIE Hmm. MAURICE He doesn't think Take 3 is big enough. CASSIE So he wants Noah? MAURICE I told him we'd consider. In return, he guarantees Noah headlining for the R&B fest. CASSIE Tell him no. MAURICE Uh, what do you mean no? We get Noah headlining, we can start making bigger moves. We already took her biggest artist, now we could take her festival, too. CASSIE Maurice, I need you to chill, okay? She is my blood. And you better watch your back before you find yours on the floor. And that's not a threat. Ask about me. ALEX You went to Derek about Olivia? STAR Yeah, because you don't know the girl. ALEX I know that her sister just died, and she's going through a very emotional time right now. Why don't you get that? SIMONE Yeah, but that bitch hijacked your first solo performance, and you didn't even blink. ALEX Yeah, well, that's not the first time that's happened. And I checked her for that. STAR Okay. Well, you reacted very differently, didn't you? So obviously she's in your head. ALEX She is grieving. Just like Carlotta is. STAR All right. Before you say anything, we're rehearsing. We just had to switch up some of the choreography. MISS BRUCE Forget about the performance. It got chopped. SIMONE What? MISS BRUCE Straight Ricky Martin says he doesn't need Take 3 to land the sponsor. He has somebody bigger. Noah Brooks. ALEX You have got to be kidding me. STAR So they're taking us out of Rhythm & Bells, too, or what? MISS BRUCE I don't know. Mateo's taking over the event. He says he can handle the sponsor himself, and he knows about Carlotta. ALEX How did he find out about that? MISS BRUCE Only Satan knows. NINA Uh, let me call you back. Simone, how's Carlotta? SIMONE What do you mean "how's Carlotta?" How did Mateo figure out about her? NINA What did he do? SIMONE Don't act like you don't know. I know y'all are a team. I trusted you. I thought that we were friends. NINA Mateo's my husband. And you're my artist. SIMONE Right. OLIVIA I didn't threaten her baby. I told her to be careful because she was getting herself worked up. ALEX Look, I'm really not here to play she said, she said, Olivia. OLIVIA She's jealous of our friendship. She's probably lonely. I mean, the real is, nobody likes her. Not even her sister. ALEX Yeah, well, that's Star. Okay? She is who she is. And no matter how complicated it is between us, you have got to respect her. Both of them. Or we just can't hang out anymore. OLIVIA I was wrong. Okay? I admit it. ALEX Look, I get we both have a lot going on. So maybe you should just spend some time with your family. OLIVIA Since you're not performing anymore, maybe you could come, too. Meet my Mom. Tell her about your last conversation with Bianca. We could go tonight. ALEX Um. Yeah, sure. Yeah, I'd love that. Oh, okay. NURSE Miss Brown. You awake? You have another visitor. CARLOTTA I don't want to see no more visitors. NURSE So tell Christine Brown to leave? CARLOTTA No. You can let her in. Nurse, get her out of here. CASSIE Wait. What happened to your hand? CARLOTTA Don't. I'd rather let the devil himself sit on this bed before your ass. CASSIE You're my sister, I don't care what's going on. They told me they had you up here on a hold. I just came to lay my eyes on you. CARLOTTA Well, now you see me. Now go. CASSIE Nobody's ever seen you like this. But I remember, when Daddy left you ran away- CARLOTTA I'm not doing this with you. Now go! Get out! Get her ass out of here! CASSIE All right! I'ma go. MISS BRUCE You must be off the wagon 'cause you done lost your damn mind. How the hell you gonna work with Mateo while Carlotta's down like this? Probably because you left her high and dry. NOAH What are you talking about? MISS BRUCE Carlotta's in the hospital. We were all trying to save this festival. 'Cause that's what family do for family. I know your daddy messed you up good, but that ain't what we do around here. NOAH What happened to Carlotta? I-I didn't know. MISS BRUCE Probably 'cause you're busy worried about yourself. Sober don't mean selfish. NOAH Uh, wait. What can I do? MAURICE I just got Noah a headlining spot in the biggest festival in Atlanta. MEGAN I'll have my client sign the deal first thing tomorrow. MAURICE Good. Mateo also asked me to come on as a consultant for the festival. So, let's celebrate. Let me get you a drink. Still Sauvignon Blanc? MEGAN Jack, straight up. But not tonight. MAURICE Yeah, maybe next time. CASSIE Didn't I tell you where your blood would fall, bitch? MAURICE Listen, I ain't nobody's bitch. Second, I know you're not gonna shoot me in here. Now, I just got our artist into the biggest music festival in Atlanta. Maybe it's time to start thinking about who's really running things in here. Enjoy the show, Cassie. CROWD NOAH Yep, yep, yeah, yeah. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much for being here tonight, y'all. I want to send a special shoutout to Chris Mackey, that's why you see me in this full Bling Lifestyle gear. Give it up for Chris Mackey. Yeah, yeah. CROWD NOAH Appreciate you, boy. STAR Where is Alex? NOAH All right, now let's kick this night off. SIMONE I don't know. I tried calling her. She's not answering her phone. NOAH with my special guests, Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Take 3. CROWD NOAH Yes. Where's Alex? STAR Just keep it going. NOAH Tonight is very special. We'd like to dedicate it to Carlotta Brown. CROWD SIMONE Miss Carlotta couldn't make it with us here tonight. STAR But none of us would be here without her, so we want to make sure tonight is poppin' for Carlotta, all right? CROWD NOAH Yeah. CROWD CHRIS MACKEY Yeah. Sure. MATEO NOAH Thank you so much. You know what? I think it's about time we announced Atlanta's answer to Coachella. Y'all give it up for Carlotta Brown's Rhythm & Bells. CROWD NOAH Thank you. Give it up for Take 3. CROWD STAR Where have you been? I've been calling you all night. DEREK I thought Alex was with y'all. SIMONE She ain't been answering her phone. STAR No, and I think she's still with the Olivia bitch. I told you to look into her. DEREK I did. All I got was her parents' number, so. STAR Did you call them? Call them. DEREK All right. BIANCAS MOM Hello? DEREK Hey, this is Derek. Alex Crane's boyfriend. BIANCAS MOM Oh, Alex, yes. She's been so generous, the way she's reached out. DEREK Yeah, we were just trying to get a hold of her. I know she was going over there with Olivia today. BIANCAS MOM Olivia? DEREK Bianca's sister. BIANCAS MOM Olivia is not Bianca's sister. She tried to hurt my daughter. You better stay away from her, baby. CARLOTTA I thought I got rid of you. CASSIE I'm back. CASSIE They all killed it tonight for you. All for you. CROWD CARLOTTA You know, you're the reason I'm here. You and that blood constantly dripping off your dirty ass hands. Andy, Jahil. Who're you gonna kill next, huh? CASSIE I didn't kill Andy. CARLOTTA I swear to God! What is wrong with you? Why, why, why. CASSIE No, I didn't kill. Everything's gonna be- Jahil's death is on me. But you got to let it go. You got to give it to me. You don't have to be the big sister you were when Daddy left. CARLOTTA You don't even know who your daddy is. CASSIE I know he loved you more than he loved me. And Mama, too. CARLOTTA I'm good. You can go now. CASSIE You're not good. Look, me and Maurice ain't gonna fire at you while you're down like this. We need you on your A so we can whoop your ass that way. OLIVIA Come on. I want to show you some of Bianca's things. ALEX Um. Where are your parents? OLIVIA They're not home. GERALDINE Where's my pizza? OLIVIA Shut up! That's just my aunt. GERALDINE You care more for that damn iguana than you do me! OLIVIA God. Just stay here. I'll be right back. Come on. GERALDINE Who the hell is this? OLIVIA Don't worry about it! OLIVIA out of here. Are you looking for something? ALEX Olivia, where's my phone? OLIVIA I took it. I took it means it ain't yours no more, bitch. CHRIS MACKEY I underestimated you guys. The show was legit. I'm down to invest in Carlotta's festival. MATEO Sounds great to me, man. CHRIS MACKEY Business affairs can start drafting contracts first thing tomorrow. You'll have access to the funds right away. NINA Oh, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Legal counsel will complete the terms upon Carlotta's return. Until then, the money will stay in escrow. Mr. Mackey wanted a guarantee of her involvement. This is our guarantee. CHRIS MACKEY That sounds fair. Great doing business. MATEO My pleasure. SHARON We've decided to release you. Your vitals look good. And I've determined you're not a danger to yourself or anyone else. But I suggest you continue to seek help for yourself. Black women are the strongest beings on earth, but we're still not invincible. CARLOTTA I was I am struggling. My husband died a few months ago. Nobody even knew he was my husband. We kept it quiet. Almost so quiet that my heart forgot, too, until he was gone. He was the only person who knew me inside and out. The only person who knew everything. SHARON The only one you ever let in. It's okay to let other people in. CARLOTTA Not with this. I got all this anger and pain. I always tried to protect Cassie, but all she wants to do is compete with me. She has no idea what I did for her. How I protected her. I always took it. Always. SHARON Took what? CARLOTTA She thinks Daddy loved me more than her. But that wasn't love. SHARON You have to deal with this pain. Take some time to yourself. It's not selfish, I promise you. It's freedom. ALEX Why did you bring me here? OLIVIA I want to be your friend, Alex. It's simple. But you were listening to that bitch, Star. ALEX Look, okay, I am your friend. OLIVIA Get up. Don't lie to me. I've been watching you for a while. And then I read that Bianca was sitting next to you on the plane and I got jealous. ALEX Your sister is different. OLIVIA That wasn't my sister. Okay? That was some girl at high school that didn't talk to me. I saw you posting on her page. That's when I reached out to you. ALEX You tricked me? OLIVIA People like me don't get to be friends with people like you. Okay? I wanted to see what it was like. ALEX See wh- What what was like? OLIVIA To be seen. To be famous. Okay? To be happy. ALEX A girl died because of my fame, okay? I promise it won't make you happy. I would give anything to not be seen sometimes. OLIVIA Because you take it for granted. Do you know how different my life would be if-if I could be seen? ALEX Look, everybody's gonna see you like this. Is that what you want? To be seen like this? I will explain everything to them, okay? I swear. OLIVIA You won't have to. OFFICER Are you all right? OFFICER Ms. Crane, are you okay? ALEX Yeah. DEREK Baby, we're here. SIMONE Alex, are you okay? STAR I hope they lock that bitch up. They said she did this to Bianca, too. She's crazy. What did she do to you? ALEX She just needs help. SIMONE Let's get you home. MISS BRUCE Oh, Lord, have mercy. She has risen. SIMONE Miss C! CARLOTTA MISS BRUCE I missed you. CARLOTTA I missed you, too. Hey, y'all. Mm. Thank you so much for holding me down while I was gone. STAR I mean, Mateo ruined his pretty face running his damn mouth, but we got it together. CARLOTTA Well, good. You should be able to handle him while I'm gone. There's this retreat in Jamaica that Ayanna told me about a long time ago. Don't look so sad. I'll be back. I just need to finally deal with some things I've been holding in for a long time. So I'm gonna get me some therapy, some sun. SIMONE And find a fine ass man. Like Idris. CARLOTTA Mm-hmm. As long as he ain't a preacher, or a record label executive. ALEX Yep. None of those. CARLOTTA Give me a minute. Listen, I know I should've told you a long time ago, but promise me you won't do nothing to Cassie while I'm gone. COTTON Mama, she's a monster. CARLOTTA I can't protect you while I'm not here. That's only gonna cause me more stress. Please, Cotton. COTTON I got you. CARLOTTA All right. MISS BRUCE Hey, it's Bruce. Look, can you meet me somewhere? I need to get something off my chest. STAR How you doing? ALEX I've been through so much crazy stuff this year, I'm just numb to it at this point. SIMONE Yeah. But, Alex, don't push down those feelings. You know, that's what Carlotta did and look what happened to her. You're a good person, okay? You cared about Bianca, but you can't let this guilt take over. It wasn't even your fault. ALEX Yeah, but you weren't there. I stopped that girl from having a life. SIMONE There's nothing that you could've done about that. Get off of that plane, Alex. You're alive. Act like it. STAR And we got an album to make, so if you could get it together, that'd be great. SIMONE ALEX You are a broken record. STAR I know. I said it for effect. But you have been around us long enough to know crazy, so I kind of feel like you should've seen that Looney Tunes bitch coming. ALEX Yeah, that's true. I mean, I clocked you guys were insane from the jump, so. STAR But here you are. ALEX Yeah. I don't know why. STAR You want a hug? ALEX Not really. STAR You do. BOBBY Hey. MISS BRUCE I'm good. I don't know why I called you down here. BOBBY I'm here. So you can stop acting like you don't need nobody. How you feeling? MISS BRUCE Stuck. The strongest woman I know found healing today. Now I got to find it, too. Daddy. This place still looks the same. BOBBY Yeah, but you're not the same. MISS BRUCE I'd be lying if I said some Sunday mornings I don't still hear that little boy's voice in my head, praying and asking God to make him normal. I wish I can tell him he was already normal. Not just him, everybody. BOBBY Then tell them. NOAH You really got me everything I asked for? There's just one more thing. CARLOTTA You always knew me better than anybody, Jahil. Held me up. Thank you. Good-bye. JAHIL Good-bye, Lottie. BOBBY He must really love you, make you black and gay. MISS BRUCE Why do you say that? BOBBY We're the only ones that come close to suffering like he did. MISS BRUCE And yet we rise. BOBBY Yeah, I suppose we do. ALEX I'm really sorry I didn't believe you. DEREK I'm just happy you're safe. Mm. ALEX Of course. Star, what do you want? DEREK Yeah. STAR Go online. ALEX Why? STAR Now! DEREK What the hell is this? ALEX Olivia she said she'd been watching me for a while.