Mr. Bad Influence

Chapter 11 - Part 2

Nick opened the door and found Kerri standing in front of him, her eyes closed. "What's wrong?"

She stepped forward and leaned into his arms.

He wrapped his arms over her back. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm so tired."

"From what?" he asked without letting go of her. He waited, but her only reaction was to tighten her arms around him. "Let's get out of here. We'll go wherever you want."

"Nick."

Nick looked over his shoulder as Kerri took a step back. He glared at Roland, but Roland wasn't going to keep his mouth shut.

"You can't leave now. The music awards is in two days."

"I'm sorry. You're busy." Kerri turned. "I shouldn't have—"

"Roland's leaving," Nick said and grabbed Kerri's hand, worried she would dash off before he could kick Roland out.

"Right, of course I am." Roland got up and strode to the door. "You'd better not disappear."

"He won't," Kerri said. "He'll be there for the performance, and he'll do great."

"You promise?" Roland said to Kerri.

"I promise. He'll be there."

Roland's head bobbed up and down slowly. "It's nice to see you again. I'll leave the two of you alone."

Kerri turned back to Nick. "I'm sorry. I—"

"Come in."

Kerri took a small step forward, then stopped.

"I'm not letting you leave. If I have to throw you over my shoulder and haul you in, I will."

She laughed softly and gave his hand a squeeze. "I don't want to go."

He nodded slowly. "Great. Then come in, and we'll both cancel whatever we have on today and laze the day away."

She arched her brow.

"I mean it. Call Dana and your mom. Call whoever you need to. Once you step through this doorway, we'll shut the rest of the world out." To prove that he meant what he said, he let go of her hand and went to grab his phone off the coffee table. He tilted the phone toward her so she could see who he was calling. "Roland, I can't make it to practice today. I can't make it for that, either."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kerri raising her hand, probably to stop him. "No, cancel everything. I want to rest today. I'm not going anywhere. That's all." He ended the call, switched off his phone, and jerked his chin forward. "Your turn."

"Nick, your performance is—"

"I'm prepared for that. I'm prepared to screw that up horribly for you as well." He raised his hand, palm facing her, before she could speak. "But I won't."

She broke into a small smile and pulled out her phone while shaking her head. She called Dana and told her to cancel her training, then she texted her mom to let her know she was taking another break. "Done," she said after tapping the send button.

Nick grinned as he stepped to the side. "Welcome."

She switched off her phone and stepped in.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Nick closed the door and turned to Kerri, who had settled on the couch.

She kicked off her shoes and folded up her legs on his couch.

He loved seeing her so at home at his place.

"I want to. Trust me. I want more than anything to tell you everything."

"But you won't."

"I can't."

Nick stared at her. "Kerri, you're scaring me. I'm worried you're entangled in something so serious that nothing I can do will be able to help you."

She licked her lips and said, "I'll be fine."

"You don't sound that convinced about it yourself." He sat on the coffee table and took both her hands into his. "Kerri, I'll be crushed beyond any help if anything happens to you. You know that, right?"

A teardrop slipped down her cheek. "I'm sorry." She reached for her face, but he intercepted her hand.

He sighed heavily and brushed the tear away with his thumb. Moving over to the couch, he pulled her into his arms. "I'm going to say it once and for all. You can always cry in front of me. I will never think you're trying to manipulate me with your tears. Seeing you swallow your tears only makes me feel worse."

"I'm sorry. I'm just exhausted with the whole thing." She looked up at him, her lashes wet. "I'm ... I'm just exhausted."

He pulled her back into her arms. "Then don't think about it anymore. I don't know why you can't tell me, but just rest for now. Forget about whatever is bothering you. You're here with me, and I won't let anything happen to you. For now, let's just forget about everything else. The rest of the world outside doesn't exist."

She nodded in his arms and remained there for a couple of minutes. "Do you have junk food?"

"Always."

She laughed softly, and he brushed her hair from her face. If he could, he would keep her in his house forever. That way, she wouldn't have to go back out there and deal with whatever she was so tired from. "I'll be right back."

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