Mr. Bad Influence

Chapter 5 - Part 1

Nick's Twitter feed exploded with pictures of Kerri and him, some of him holding her hand, some of him holding her in his arms while she cried.

Though they didn't complete the interview, the show had released it anyway. He had watched it up until the moment before Kerri started crying. He couldn't stand watching her cry again.

I'd do it a million times over. He would, too.

Grabbing his phone, he lay back on the couch and checked his Twitter feed again to see if Kerri had responded.

He doubted that she would, but he was desperate for any news of her. Her assistant had texted him to let him know that she was home. When he asked for Kerri's number, her assistant refused to give it to him.

He supposed he should be glad that Kerri had found an assistant who was loyal to her.

His scrolling of the endless Twitter feed was disrupted when a call came in from Hannah. He wasn't interested in picking up anyone's call now. He returned to his Twitter feed until another call came in.

He frowned. He recognized that number immediately, and he also knew things weren't good if Kerri's mother was calling him. "Is something wrong with Kerri?"

"She isn't with you?"

"No. Why?"

"Dana said she canceled her schedule for the day, and her phone's switched off."

Kerri always did that whenever she felt she needed space.

"She isn't with me," he said.

"I knew she shouldn't do the interview."

"I'm sorry."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. "I'm not blaming you, Nick. I'm just worried about her."

"I'll find her."

"You know where she is?"

"She didn't tell me anything." But he could guess. "I'll find her," he said again. "I'll call when I do."

He called his music producer after that, telling him that he would have to cancel their plans for the day. Everything was on track anyway. They were just knocking out the details for their promotional tour, and he could leave that up to Roland.

He got into his car and drove. He hadn't been to the place in three years, but he was certain Kerri was there. They both loved the place, loved how quiet and isolated it was. It was a place where they could find peace in the insane world they lived in.

It would be a long drive. He grinned as he thought about all those times when they were able to find the time to head out there and escape from the rest of the world. They would have so much fun on the drive there. The music would be turned up, and they would be singing all the way there.

Since he became famous, the world's eyes had zoomed in on him, judging him on every move he made. It was so suffocating that several times he had considered leaving everything behind, considered changing his name and disappearing from the media completely.

He and Kerri had talked about doing that, and the lake house was where they could head out to disappear.

There, with Kerri, he didn't have to maintain an image. He didn't have to be superstar Nick Evans. He didn't have to pose for photos or force a smile when he didn't want to. There, the whole world consisted only of Kerri and him.

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