Mr. Bad Influence

Chapter 12 - Part 1

Kerri watched as Nick jogged up the stairs. He didn't take his gaze off her until he was halfway up the steps. She still wasn't quite sure how she'd ended up outside his place. She hadn't thought about where she was going; she simply drove. All she wanted was to get away from Stephanie.

She sighed again when she thought about Stephanie. If only she could tell Nick what had been going on. But if she were to open her mouth and blab, all the effort she'd put in over the past three years might be voided.

His reaction did take her by surprise.

When her tears escaped, she thought he would force her to tell him what was going on, and she was worried they would get into another of their fights.

Instead, he just held her in his arms and told her he was worried about her.

She grinned as he came back in sight with a box in hand.

"Jenga?" He raised the box and gave it a shake.

She hadn't played that for the longest time. "Yeah."

They played and chatted about her new movie and mission trips and his music. He had just won the first game when his doorbell rang. He glanced at the digital screen by his door, and they turned back to look at each other immediately.

"I guess this is the end of our the-rest-of-the-world-doesn't-exist day," Kerri said.

Nick got up and opened the door. "Pastor Jay."

Pastor Jay looked past Nick and narrowed his eyes at her. "Your mom is freaking out. When she couldn't get you, she tried calling Nick." He turned back to Nick. "And even you weren't contactable. She thought the two of you got into a fight."

"Nope, we're good," Nick said and stepped aside.

Kerri smiled and rearranged the Jenga blocks. "I'm fine. I'm just feeling tired." She put another block in place. "Do you want to join us? We're hiding from the world."

Pastor Jay sat on the couch, staring at the blocks with his hands clasped together.

Nick took a step forward. "She just needed a break. We're fine."

"Can I have a moment with Kerri?"

Nick held Pastor Jay's gaze for a moment before turning to her.

She nodded as discreetly as she could.

"I'll go for a drive," Nick said to her and opened the door. "Pastor Jay, do you want me to get anything?"

"No, thanks." Pastor Jay grinned when Nick closed the door. "I thought he would make a fuss about leaving you alone."

She thought he would, too. He had always been protective of her. Whenever he thought she was in trouble, he wouldn't leave her alone. As much as she appreciated that, it could get suffocating. "He's changed."

"That he has." Pastor Jay helped her rebuild the blocks. "So, has his place changed?"

She scanned the place and shook her head. "Nope." She laughed. "I just realized that I picked out most of the stuff here." The dark gray couch that she'd been sitting on and the dark brown coffee table the Jenga was standing on were all chosen by her.

Nick had bought his place when they were together, and she had helped him pick out his furniture. "He never bothered much about the places he lived in. All he needs is a good bed to sleep in."

He wasn't even interested in getting a place before meeting her. He didn't mind renting a place, then moving whenever too many people found out where he was living. "He got this place because of me. I didn't like having to find him in a new place every couple of months. People always found out where he lived anyway. A gated community would solve the problem."

Pastor Jay's head bobbed up and down. "Did you come here out of familiarity? Or are you still in love with him?"

"I'll always love him."

"Are you in love with him? Both of you have changed over the last three years. You've both grown in different ways. Don't get back together because things are familiar with him."

She placed the wooden block she was holding onto the top and stared at Pastor Jay. "I thought you came to remind me that I promised to stay away from him."

"I wanted that promise from you because the two of you had grown toxic to each other."

"And you don't think we're toxic to each other anymore?"

"I don't know. I know he's grown to be a strong young man. He's still learning, but he's matured so much. So have you. You've seen so much more of the world. You've stretched; you've stepped out of your comfortable world. You have matured so much."

"But I still have a long way to go."

Pastor Jay smiled and nodded. "That itself shows how much you've matured." He took a deep breath as he picked up another block. "I've never told you this, but I used to think that Nick was good for you in some ways."

"Really?"

"Your mom is a good person, but sometimes she's ..."

"She's Claudia Adams, Hollywood's biggest and most glamorous star."

"Exactly."

Kerri grinned.

"She loves you, and she never meant to make you feel less than the wonderful person you are, but she did," he said. "But Nick sees you as just Kerri, the girl he was in love with. You didn't have to be an actress or a singer with him. Despite the crazy world you two were in, you were able to be a normal young lady with him. And I think you, more than anyone in this world, need a little dose of normal in your life."

Pastor Jay put the final wooden block in place. "But I'm not saying that the two of you should be or shouldn't be together. I just want to remind you that you're both different people now."

"But everything feels the same with him."

"Why did you come here?"

She took a deep breath as she considered Pastor Jay's question. "I don't know. I just got into my car and drove."'

"So now, knowing that you ended up here, if we were to reverse time, would you come over again?"

"Yes," she said. She and Nick might have changed, but the comfort she felt from just being in his arms remained.

Pastor Jay nodded and smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just remembered something your mom said about you and Nick."

"What did she say?"

Pastor Jay shook his head. "I'd rather hear what's bothering you."

She shook her head.

"One thing you need to learn. Open your mouth and speak your true thoughts and feelings, not just the right answer you know people want to hear. I understand that's how the media works, but you have to open up to someone, be real with someone. If you can't learn to do that, you'll never have the certainty of the person's love. You'll always think they love the Kerri Adams everyone sees, not the Kerri that you are."

"What if I don't know who Kerri is?"

"Of course you do. You know what you like and what you don't. And from what I've heard, you've begun standing up to your mom over what you want to do. Don't be afraid to tell her what you don't want to do either."

She smiled and nodded.

"All right." Pastor Jay stood. "Will you be all right here alone?"

"I'll be fine. I don't need a babysitter."

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