"...this is what I meant about communication being the part that matters. From my end I'm just trying to reassure you, not dismiss that you're worried about your friend. Explaining where I'm coming from isn't brushing you off, it's just... if you were trusting me to fix your car, wouldn't it make you feel a little better to say I've done it before than just saying I'll try my best not to break it worse?"

They do need to be clear and direct. Drake takes a breath, patting his hip so Sable stands up on her back legs and he can pet her while he thinks how to explain without betraying Jesus' trust.

"I'll choose my words more carefully from now on, I'm sorry. But I'm not comfortable here, if that means anything. I just know how to navigate it. And I agreed with you because we're on the same page -- he's told me that there's a whole lot that's not okay. I'm not guessing, I know what a bunch of his problems are and he's heard some of mine. If there's more than what we've talked about I just have to trust that he'll bring them up when he needs to." Which is more than he can say for Rosita, whose defensiveness is raising more red flags for him than Jesus ever has... "It seems like we're not gonna be able to be friends so long as I'm signed with him because of the power dynamic? That's okay if it's the case, I just wanna know if I can ask who the hell treated you so badly that you'd assume I don't care about your feelings either."