What's luv?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-☆°☆_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-

Korina parked her car at the curb, taking a deep breath before stepping out.The afternoon sun pressed down on her heavy and hot, and she felt a strange tension in her chest - but she brushed it off.

Ahead of her, she spotted Ren - her brother - laughing as he held little Kory up in the air like an airplane, spinning him gently.Kory's giggles floated through the air, pure and bright.

Korina smiled faintly, warmth rushing through her at the sight of her son.She needed this today - just a few precious minutes with him.

But then she noticed Tomica.

Standing stiffly off to the side, arms folded, shooting looks that could kill.She wasn't saying anything yet, but her body language screamed that she was itching for a reason to start something.

Korina told herself to focus on Kory.Nothing else mattered.

She stepped forward, calling Kory's name softly.Ren lowered him to the ground and Kory toddled toward her on little legs.

But just as Korina bent down to scoop him up -- a sudden, brutal pain shot through her chest.

She froze.

Her hand flew instinctively to her side as a dizzying wave of weakness crashed over her.

Colors blurred, the sidewalk seeming to tilt under her feet.

"Mommy!" Kory giggled, running at her full speed -- but Ren was faster.

He scooped Kory up, mid-run, the smile on his face fading when he caught sight of Korina's expression.

"You good?" Ren asked sharply, stepping between her and Kory now.

"I'm... fine," Korina muttered through gritted teeth, trying to stand upright - but the pain only worsened.

Tomica, sensing something was wrong but saying nothing, stepped forward awkwardly.

Ren didn't hesitate.He pushed Kory gently toward Tomica."Take him inside. Now."

Tomica opened her mouth like she wanted to argue, but one look at Ren's face and she snapped her mouth shut.Grumbling under her breath, she scooped Kory into her arms and walked quickly toward the house, her heels clacking angrily against the concrete.

Korina barely registered it happening.Her breathing was shallow now, and her vision was spotty.

Ren grabbed her by the elbow, holding her upright."Come on. You're going to the hospital. No arguing."

"I don't-"Her words slurred, her knees buckled, and Ren caught her before she hit the ground.

"You're going," he said through gritted teeth.

And this time, Korina didn't fight him.

The last thing she saw before slipping fully into darkness was Kory's little face peeking from the house window, his tiny hand pressed to the glass --but thankfully, he didn't see her collapse.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-☆°☆_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-Korina slowly blinked awake under the bright white hospital lights, the sterile smell of disinfectant burning her nose.Her body felt heavy, almost disconnected from her mind, and for a few moments, she didn't know where she was.

Then it all came crashing back -The pain.Ren's panicked face.The rush to the hospital.

She shifted slightly and winced, feeling the IV taped to her arm.

The door creaked open.

Navira was the first to rush to her side, her face pale with worry.Behind her, Whitney Houston entered, trying to offer a soft smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Kori," Navira whispered, brushing Korina's hair back from her forehead, "you're okay, girl. You're okay."

Korina opened her mouth to speak, but the tears came first.Hot, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

A doctor entered the room then, clipboard in hand.His expression was serious but gentle.

"Miss Korina," he started carefully, "we've run some tests based on the symptoms you came in with. You've been diagnosed with lupus."

The words hit her like a punch to the gut.

Lupus.

The word echoed around the room, loud and ugly.

"No," Korina whispered, shaking her head as the tears spilled faster. "No, no, no, no-"

Whitney grabbed one of her hands tightly, Navira the other.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said quietly, placing a few papers on the counter. "Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease. It's serious - but it's not the end. With treatment and care, many people live full lives."

But Korina wasn't hearing that.

All she heard was sick.Weak.Not enough.

"This is the end," she sobbed, pressing her hands to her face. "I can't- I can't do this. How am I supposed to raise Kory? How am I supposed to sing, to tour-?"

Her voice cracked under the weight of her panic.

Navira quickly pulled her into a hug, rocking her gently."Kori, listen to me," she said firmly. "This ain't the end. You're still here. You're still breathing. You're strong - stronger than anyone I know."

Whitney leaned in closer, her voice low but fierce."Girl, don't you dare count yourself out. We ain't about to let you just lay down and give up. You hear me? You are Korina."

Korina cried into Navira's shoulder, letting it all out - the fear, the anger, the sadness.

It felt like the world was closing in on her, but for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel alone.Navira and Whitney held her up - literally and emotionally.

They stayed there with her in that hospital room for hours.Telling jokes.Reminding her of all the things she had survived before.Swearing that lupus wasn't going to steal her future - not without a fight.

And somewhere between the tears and laughter, Korina found a tiny flicker of strength in her chest.Small, but real.

She wasn't done yet.

Navira tightened her arms around Korina, refusing to let her sink any deeper into her sadness.She gently wiped Korina's tears with the sleeve of her sweater and spoke in a low, soothing voice.

"Kori, girl...you ain't done. This ain't the end of your story, you hear me?" Navira said firmly. "You are too damn bright to let this disease dim your light. Lupus ain't ready for someone like you."

Korina sniffled, half-smiling at her friend's strength.But just as Navira was about to say more, there was a knock at the door.

In stepped DMX, chain swinging around his neck, his eyes low with concern.And right behind him was Ralph, carrying a small bag and looking like he had just run a marathon to get there.

The two men locked eyes - the room instantly tense.

Korina blinked, realizing they had never met before - and definitely not under these circumstances.

"Uh- y'all, chill," she said quickly, her voice hoarse but a little amused. "X, this Ralph. Ralph, this X. We just friends - me and X," she clarified, waving her hand weakly between her and DMX. "Ain't no drama."

DMX chuckled low under his breath, flashing Ralph a nod.Ralph relaxed, offering a tight smile in return.

"Good," Ralph said under his breath, clearly still sizing DMX up.

Navira caught the vibe immediately and tugged Ralph by the arm."Come on, Romeo," she teased lightly. "Let's give 'em a minute."

With that, Navira and Ralph stepped out into the hallway, leaving Korina alone with DMX.

X pulled a chair closer to the bed, sitting with his elbows on his knees, looking at her with pure worry."Damn, Kori..." he muttered. "You can't be in here like this, man. We got- we got four tracks together already. You're the one that made 'em sound right. I can't lose you too."

Korina smiled weakly at him, touched by how deeply he cared.

"I'm not going nowhere, X," she whispered. "Not yet. Not if I can help it."

He nodded but looked down at his hands, not fully convinced.He wasn't used to seeing people he loved in hospital beds. It shook him more than he wanted to admit.

They sat in silence for a moment, letting the hum of the hospital fill the space.

A few minutes later, Ralph reappeared, holding a massive bouquet of flowers, a teddy bear, and a thick handful of handwritten notes.He looked like he had raided an entire gift shop.

"Somebody's extra," Korina teased weakly, her heart warming at the sight.

"The nurse said you might be discharged in about two or three weeks if everything goes good," Ralph said, setting the flowers on the nightstand carefully. "You'll be back home soon, baby."

For the first time since hearing the word lupus, Korina smiled wide enough to show her teeth.

"Three weeks ain't bad," she whispered, clutching one of the notes he handed her.

Ralph pulled up a chair next to her bed, and the two fell into a soft conversation - talking about little things, stupid things - anything to make the moment feel normal again.Korina told him about funny dreams she had, and Ralph told her about almost getting lost in the hospital trying to find her room.

It felt good.It felt safe.

But the peace didn't last long.

Navira burst back into the room like a gust of wind, grinning wide when she caught the two lovebirds all cozy.

"Awwww," she cooed dramatically, teasing Korina. "Look at you two! Acting like a damn Hallmark movie."

Korina rolled her eyes but blushed, hiding her face with her hand.

Just then, a small voice piped up - Kory.He had slipped in behind Navira without anyone noticing.

"Where's Eric ?" he asked innocently, looking around.

At the mention of Eazy, the air shifted.

Navira cleared her throat awkwardly, kneeling down to Kory's level.

"Uh Eazy...he didn't wanna come, " Navira said softly, choosing her words carefully. "Sometimes grown-ups got their own...feelings to figure out."

Korina's chest tightened at that.Even now, Eazy-E, someone she had been close to, couldn't face her.

Not like this.

But instead of letting the sadness crush her again, Korina looked at her son and smiled."It's okay, ," she said.

And somehow...even with all the pain, she believed it.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-☆°☆_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-It had been two days since the bomb dropped.Two long ass days of lying in that stiff hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering:What the fuck did I do wrong?Why wouldn't Eric even look at her? Why did it feel like the world had shifted overnight?

Korina sighed, rolling her eyes at herself.Self-pity was a bitch. And she was not about to let herself drown in it.

Just as she adjusted her IV and tried to find something good on the tiny ass hospital TV, the door creaked open.

In walked Ice Cube - cool as hell as always, black hoodie, dark jeans, and a brown paper bag in one hand.But that wasn't the thing that made Korina sit up straighter.

It was what was tucked under his other arm - a damn notepad.

Her notepad.

The one she thought she lost years ago.The one full of lyrics she had written back when they were just kids running through Compton with a dream bigger than their block.

"Look what the fuck I found diggin' through my garage," Cube said, smirking as he tossed it onto the bed.

Korina's mouth dropped open. She flipped through it with shaking fingers - pages and pages of her sloppy-ass handwriting, her old rhymes, her broken dreams.

"Damn," she breathed out. "I ain't seen this shit in forever."

Cube chuckled and leaned back against the wall, arms crossed.Then, his smile faded a little. He stared at her, real serious now.

"You ain't tell me, Kori," he said low. "You do somethin' to Eric?"

Korina blinked at him, hurt flashing across her face."What? Hell nah, Cube! I ain't do shit to him!" she said, sharper than she meant to. "Why everybody actin' like I stabbed the motherfucker?"

Cube shrugged, not saying he believed her but not saying he didn't either.That uncertainty stung more than she wanted to admit.

But she let it slide.Fuck it. If people wanted to believe bullshit, let 'em.

She looked down at the notepad again, tracing an old lyric with her finger, before laughing a little under her breath.

"This shit's corny," she said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but it's real," Cube said, a rare softness in his voice. "Shit came from somewhere."

They both sat in silence for a second, just letting the years catch up to them.

Then, Cube pushed himself off the wall and plopped down in the chair next to her bed.

"Who got you wantin' to do this rap shit in the first place?" he asked suddenly, curiosity glinting in his eyes.

Korina laughed."Man...shit...so many people."

They started listing names, one after the other, like it was a freestyle battle.

"Richard Pryor," Korina said, grinning."Yeah, he had the realest bars without even rappin'," Cube laughed.

"Aretha Franklin," Cube said next."Facts," Korina agreed. "Powerhouse vocals, no fuckin' auto-tune bullshit."

"James Brown, too. That motherfucker didn't even speak English half the time but you felt it," Cube said, cracking them both up.

They kept going - naming everybody from Nina Simone to Sam Cooke to Dorothy Dandridge to even Paul Robeson.Hell, they even shouted out some real hood heroes they grew up seeing: that old drunk dude on the corner who somehow made the blues sound beautiful, the single moms who turned heartbreak into art, the guys rapping on the stoop with broken radios.

They laughed, cursed, talked about growing up in Compton, getting their first bikes stolen, dodging trouble, and trying to dream bigger than their zip code would allow.

But then...the conversation shifted.

Korina brought up Luther Vandross.

"Man...that voice," she said, eyes glistening a little. "That shit could heal a broken soul."

Cube nodded, real slow, a respect in his eyes that few people earned from him.

"Swear to God," he said. "Every time that man sang, felt like he was talkin' to me."

They fell into a deep quiet, both feeling that heavy, beautiful weight Luther left behind.

That's when Cube suddenly sat up straighter, a wild look flashing in his eyes.

"Ayo," he said. "We needa record somethin'. Today."

Korina laughed, thinking he was joking."Motherfucker, I'm in a hospital bed!"

"And?!" Cube said, grinning like a maniac. "I'll bring the shit here! Laptop, beat machine, mic, everything. Bet."

She stared at him like he lost his damn mind.

"You serious?"

"Hell yeah. Ain't nothin' stoppin' you, Kori. Not no lupus, not no bullshit drama, nothin'."

Something in his voice lit a fire inside her.

Fuck it.

"Alright," she said. "Let's run it."

Two hours later, the tiny hospital room looked like a bootleg studio.Cube's boy showed up with a laptop, speakers, an old mic, and a bunch of wires tangled like spaghetti.

The nurses shot them dirty looks, but nobody kicked them out.

And just like that - they did it.

Three fucking songs.

Banging beats, raw-ass lyrics, all heart, all hustle.

Korina's voice cracked a little from weakness but somehow that just made the shit realer.

Cube hyped her up between takes.

"Yeah, motherfucker! That's the real Kori! Fuck all that sad shit!"

When they were done, they both sat back, sweating and laughing like kids.

"You a damn beast," Cube said, shaking his head.

"And you a crazy motherfucker for draggin' a studio into a hospital," Korina shot back, grinning so wide it hurt.

For the first time in days, she didn't feel sick.She didn't feel abandoned.She felt...alive.