Sean and Demi hadn't been close for a while. The only reason that they had become friends was because Naya Rivera, his ex-girlfriend, had introduced the two of them when they worked together on Glee. Of course they ended up breaking up and Demi always found some way to express her dismay towards the end of their relationship because she just "shipped" them so hard. At first, Demi annoyed the fuck out of him and he only hung out with her to make Naya happy. But then Demi actually grew on him. He finally understood what people meant when they said that there was just something that makes you wanna be around her, that attracts you to her, something that makes you fall in love with her.
Sean was in no way in love with Demi because she clearly had a good thing going with Drake who was one of his best friends, but he did genuinely care about her and he just wanted her to be happy. He could tell, even though things had seemed to be getting better, that staying in California didn't make her happy. So when she approached him about getting away, he couldn't say no to her. No one really said no to Demi.
He had invited her to the studio because they were supposed to be collaborating on something similar to a song that he had done with Jhene earlier in the year. Demi came in with a tired look on her face, the bags around her eyes unmistakable and the paleness of her skin alarming since she was always glowing. But today she looked like the walking dead.
"Well shit, did Drake suck the damn life out of your body?" He said that because of the giant hickey on her collarbone. She usually would've laughed along but this time he shot her a glare so he knew that something must've been really wrong. Well...of course something was wrong. Details of her intimate personal life just got exposed.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked but Demi shook her head. She plopped down in the seat next to him and pulled her legs up to her chest. She had a VMAs performance coming up soon but it honestly didn't look like she was up for doing anything except sleeping.
"I don't wanna be here anymore." Her voice was muffled but he still heard her and his eyes widened in alarm.
"Look I know things are tough but killing yourself is not the answer this is gonna pass-"
"Sean, you are a fucking idiot. I'm not gonna kill myself. I just wanna get out of here for a little bit, ya know? Drake thinks things are getting better but this is never going to go away. Ever. I just need some peace and quiet for a while, just to get a clear look at things," she explained after she had picked her head up so that he could clearly hear her. Sean didn't know what to say but he understood where she was coming from. If that was happening to him he would want to get away for a while too.
"I just bought a private jet...where are you trying to go?"
"Somewhere remote and quiet but also kid friendly because I'm taking Lola with me. Just somewhere no one would think to look for me. Do you know any places like that?" Demi asked as Sean thought for a little bit then nodded his head.
"I have the perfect place. I can have my jet ready-"
"After the VMAs. I wanna go after the VMAs. And please don't tell anyone about this Sean. It's just between you and me, okay?" Demi pleaded and Sean nodded his head. Drake was his friend and he wasn't trying to come in between their relationship but if Demi really wanted to disappear, who was he to stop her?
It had been a week since Demi left and Drake still had no clue as to where she could've gone. There were just too many places that she could be but then too many places that she just wouldn't be and he couldn't narrow them down and find a specific place. He had checked at every airport in California to see if she had boarded any but they weren't allowed to give that information out. He couldn't even bribe it out of anyone. It wasn't like he could call the police because Demi clearly wasn't kidnapped and neither was Lola. She willingly left and he really didn't even understand why.
Things had been going great between them. She just won a VMA and her performance had been rated one of the best of the night. People were beginning to not care about what had happened between her and Trey and just focus on her music, just like she wanted. And now that everything was turning around she just up and disappeared? She finally told him that she loved him but now she was just gone without saying goodbye and without leaving even a subtle hint as to where she might go?
In some ways, this was much worse than when she had left to get an abortion. He knew where she was going. He knew what was happening so he cut ties with her and they didn't speak for months. But he didn't know where she was or what was happening and why she even left and that irritated him to no end. He just wanted to spend all of his time looking for her but he had a career and a life and he couldn't stop the world for her, even if he wanted to. He just wished that she hadn't been so selfish and just picked up and left without telling a soul.
Drake was in line at In N Out to get a bite to eat but when the bells chimed on the door, signaling that another customer had walked in, he turned around and was met with a familiar face. It was that Wilmer guy that Demi used to be involved with, a guy that was years older than she was and the complete opposite of Drake. But they had known each other for a while and maybe he knew where Demi might've disappeared to. He had just never talked to him in his life so striking up a conversation with him in the middle of a burger joint would be weird.
"It's Wilmer right?" Drake held his hand out and Wilmer shook it with a nod of his head. He was a little bit scruffy...just a tad bit. Demi had interesting taste in men.
"Uh yeah, you're her new boyfriend, right?" He was sure that Wilmer knew the answer to that but he nodded his head anyways.
"You know she kind of just left after the VMAs and no one has been able to find her. Any idea where she might be?" Drake questioned, just because he didn't want to entertain some long winded conversation with this guy.
"If she's trying not to be found, she's somewhere obvious. She probably hasn't even left the United States or she might be on one of the Virgin Islands or something. I know a lot has been going on with her lately but she's not gonna stay out there forever. She'll come back and maybe you just have to let her do it on her own time," Wilmer answered with a light shrug of his shoulders. Drake didn't know what to say after that so he turned back around and waited for his turn to order his food.
Lola looked up from the epic sand castle that she had been working on for the past thirty minutes to look at her aunt. A few days ago she had packed up all of their stuff and said that they were going on a secret vacation to somewhere super fun. And of course Lola believed her because her Auntie Demi was always taking her fun places. And it was fun here. She forgot what it was called but a nice lady had braided her hair and made it all pretty and the food was so good and they got to go swimming every single day. It was like heaven. The only thing that would make it better would be if they went to Disneyworld. Disneyland was cool but Lola heard that Disneyworld was so much better.
Her Auntie Demi seemed happier too. She was smiling a lot and they had spent a lot of time together giggling and eating all the sweet treats that the island had to offer and watching a million silly movies. They took lots of pictures and videos and she seemed like her old Auntie Demi, not the new one who was always crying and stuff. And Lola liked her that way.
Deciding to take a break, Lola stood up and brushed the sand off of her thighs and her hands before running over to where her Auntie Demi was. They had the beach all to themselves and that never happened in California.
"Auntie Demi!" Lola squealed, attacking her with a hug and getting situated in her lap. Demi took off her sunglasses and flashed her a white smile.
"Did you finish your castle?"
"No, I need a break. What are you doing?"
"I'm tanning, baby," Demi replied as Lola quirked her eyebrow.
"Can I do that too?"
"You don't need to because you already have beautifully perfect skin and you don't need to do anything to change it," Demi cooed, kissing all over her face as Lola squealed and squirmed around in her arms.
"But your skin is perfect too Auntie Demi," Lola said, running her hand down Demi's arms as she smiled and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl.
"Do you like it here?" Demi asked and Lola eagerly nodded her head. The food was better and it was always pretty and sunny and they had an entire beach to themselves. How could she not like it?
"You know we can't stay here forever though, right?" Demi reminded her but Lola nodded her head again. Of course they would have to go back home eventually but Lola didn't want to leave anytime soon. Going back home meant that her Auntie Demi would get sad again and then she'd keep getting asked about going to visit her mommy and home just wasn't a happy place right now.
"I wish we could." Lola rested her head on Demi's chest and closed her eyes as she began to run her hands over her hair and kissed her forehead.
"I wish we could too."
After Lola fell asleep, Demi carried her back to the villa that they were staying in and laid her down. She was probably tired out from being in the sun and the water all day so she was due for a nap anyways. And if she ended up staying up all night Demi really didn't mind, even if she would've if they were at home.
But they were in Jamaica and things were different here. People didn't know who she was and it was just her and Lola and they had privacy and they were almost completely disconnected from the rest of the world and Demi loved that. She really did just need a vacation. She knew she had to go back soon because she had the iHeart Radio festival to perform at and if she didn't show up then she would definitely get dropped by her label. Her phone had been left at home and only one person knew where she was and she told him that if it was really necessary, he could tell her management where she was as long as they promised to let her come back in her own time.
Demi didn't want to be forced to leave. She wanted to go back home because she was ready to, not because she had people flying out here and forcing her to leave when she wasn't ready to. At the end of the day she was a responsible, grown adult and she could make her own decisions, even if they didn't seem right to everyone else. She just needed to get out for a while and she felt like no one around her would really understand that.
She felt horrible for leaving Drake behind though. During the VMAs she had actually changed her mind about leaving because she was having such an amazing time and then she finally told Drake that she loved him and the look on his face was just everything to her. But then she had that stupid fight with Mila and she just imagined all the news outlets picking up on the story and it was too much for her so she decided to go. It wasn't worth staying. Maybe she should've told Drake where she went but maybe he would use this time and realize that she wasn't good enough for him. She had all this drama in her life and was literally dragging him through hell with her. Maybe he would find someone else and he could be happy and not have to deal with all of her burdens. Truthfully, she didn't want him to leave her. But they always did anyways and Drake would be no different.