Nick grinned and handed Kerri her green tea latte as she stepped aside for him to enter. "I ordered room service. I thought you'd prefer your breakfast hot."
She nodded.
Kerri was still in her robe, but her hair was wet and she looked awake.
"Why did you get up so early?"
"My lawyer called, then my mom dropped by."
"Is everything all right?"
"With my mom? I'm not sure. She was so strange, but that wasn't why I called you." She pointed to the couch. She took a seat as well, but she chose the seat on the other end of the couch.
"This feels ominous."
She pressed her palms together and tapped the edge of her index fingers on her lips. "Before I tell you anything, I want you to know that everything I did was my own choice."
He frowned.
"No one forced me to do anything."
"Kerri—"
"I'm getting to it." Kerri took a deep breath and continued. "That night we crashed, you had drugs in your car and your blood test came back positive for cocaine. That would have been your third strike."
He ran his hand through his hair. "You did something, didn't you? I kept wondering why they didn't charge me. I knew they found the drugs, and they took my blood."
She nodded slowly. "The day after the crash, after my parents and Pastor Jay left, Stephanie showed up at my ward. She said she was a DEA agent and told me that they'd found drugs in the car. Since my results came back clean, they believed the drugs were yours."
"They were."
"That was when she reminded me that you already had two DUIs, and this third charge could bring you a lot of trouble."
"Kerri ..."
"Stephanie offered me a deal. She said if I were to help buy drugs for her, your charges would go away."
"Buy drugs for her?"
"I wasn't sure what they wanted it for. They just got me to buy cocaine from high-end dealers, just a few packets each time. I didn't ask why; I just did as I was told. I never used the drugs. I just bought and handed them to Stephanie."
"Just bought and handed them to Stephanie. Do you know how dangerous that could've been?" He hadn't meant to shout, but his words came out that way.
Kerri's eyes widened, and she leaned back from him.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. I was ..."
"Worried about me," she said and leaned forward. "It wasn't your fault."
"You took the deal to protect me. How is that not my fault?" He stood and walked over to the window. "Pastor Jay was right. I am toxic to you."
"That was three years ago."
"And you're still paying the price now. You need to stop. I don't care if I have to go to jail."
"I do." She took his hand and looked at him. "I know you're probably dealing with a lot of guilt, but as I said, it was my choice. No one forced me. I did it for you because I loved you, and I still do. Now I'm asking you not to bail on us because you're upset or think you've messed up my life. I need you, Nick. Please don't ..." She looked down and swallowed. "Please don't walk out of here thinking you're doing me a favor."
He sighed heavily and pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry to be the cause of what you've been going through for the last three years."
He leaned back and tipped her chin up to him. "I'm not going to be the boy I used to be. I won't walk away and leave you in a mess. I'll get you out of this."
"It's almost over. There are just two more things I need to do."
"I'll do them, whatever they are."
She straightened and licked her lips. "I need to download a virus onto the dealer's phone so Stephanie can track him."
"This Stephanie, does she actually think you're a trained professional?"
Kerri laughed softly.
"Oh, Kerri." He ran his hand through her hair. "What did I ever do for God to give you to me?"
Nick stepped away from her when his phone vibrated. He took out the phone and checked Roland's text message. "This can't be good."
"What's wrong?"
"Your mom's appearing in an interview with Hannah. Actually, she's crashing an interview that Hannah's doing."
Kerri groaned. "I had hoped the whole third party thing would just go away. I guess it isn't going away fast enough."
"Have you seen what Hannah has been posting?" They moved to the couch, and Nick switched on the TV.
"No."
"At first, when the photos of the scratches surfaced, she said she acted out of impulse because she loved me so much and she never meant to hurt you." He scanned through the channels. "Then when the photos of us kissing leaked—"
"Let me guess, she played the victim."
Nick put the remote down when he saw Claudia on screen. "Yup."
"And welcome back. I'm sure everyone's really interested to know what Claudia Adams has to say about the situation with Nick, Kerri, and Hannah."
Kerri buried her face in her hands.
"It'll be fine." Nick rubbed his hand down Kerri's back. "If anyone can fix this, it'll be your mom."
"But she was so strange just now."
Kerri's mother smiled sweetly to the camera. "First of all, I'd like to apologize to Hannah. I don't know what Kerri said to you, neither do I know exactly what's going on between Nick and her, but I am sure that this situation wouldn't have occurred if I hadn't meddled in their relationship three years ago."
"I don't understand," the interviewer said, and her mother nodded.
"I was the reason behind their breakup. I was the one who convinced my husband and our pastor that the best thing for Kerri was for her to have a clean break with Nick. I transferred her to another hospital, and I made sure she and Nick dropped all contact. They never had a chance to end things properly because of me. I'm not giving any excuses; I'm not saying she is or isn't at fault."
"Oh, mom." Kerri ran her hand through her hair.
Her mother paused and looked down at her clasped hands. "There's always been something between Nick and Kerri," her mother said, almost in a whisper, and Nick found himself leaning forward, getting drawn into whatever Claudia was saying. "Something so strong that I thought the best way to end things was for her to cut him off completely."
"She told me that nothing was going on between the two of them, but the photos proved she was lying," Hannah spat.
Claudia nodded slowly. "As I said, I don't know what happened. But the two of them, it seems their destiny is written in the stars." Her mother laughed. "I don't believe in astrology, but when I see the two of them together, I get the feeling that they are meant for each other, which was what I was worried about, especially since Nick wasn't at a very good place then."
Written in the stars.
Kerri laughed. "Only my mom could turn the situation into a fairytale."
Hannah opened her mouth to speak, but the interviewer spoke first, "And you're no longer worried?"
Claudia took a deep breath and tilted her head to the side. "Nick and Kerri have changed; they were merely kids then, and they both made mistakes."
"And you think that lying and cheating is the right way to start things over?" Hannah asked as she threw her hands in the air.
"I wasn't lying," Kerri said to the TV. "Nothing happened before she showed up."
"No," Claudia answered. "But they're still young, and I'm sure they will continue to make mistakes. God knows how many mistakes I made when I was young." She laughed and shook her head. "I just thank God that smartphones and social media didn't exist then."
The interviewer laughed along.
"Hannah," Claudia leaned forward again, "I'm sorry that my decision three years ago resulted in you getting hurt, but Kerri was never the third party. The two of them were the original parties until the evil mother stepped in to break them up."
"Oh, you weren't the evil mother," the interviewer said and waved it off. "You're her mother. You were worried; it was understandable."
"Still, I apologize." Her mother reached over and took Hannah's hand. "I hope you'll someday find someone you can make mistakes with, someone who can make you smile with his words even after getting splashed with red paint on the red carpet, and someone who will hold you in his arms and stain his own clothes despite having to perform on stage."
"Yes, that was rather sweet of Nick," the interviewer said and went on to conclude the interview.
"Yeah, that was rather sweet of me." Nick winked at Kerri.
Kerri laughed and leaned onto his lap. "It was."
He played with her hair. "You know, I think your mom did the right thing back then."
Kerri arched her brow. "Really?"
He nodded. "I'm glad to be with you now that we're a little older, but I'm sorry for dragging you into the scandal with Hannah. I'm also—"
"Nick, stop apologizing." She sat up straight and turned to him. "Everything's been written in the stars, right?"
They laughed, and Nick leaned forward to give her a peck on the forehead. "Don't you need to go to the gym today?"
Kerri shrugged. "I may not have the role anymore."
"What?"
"My mom asked me how much I wanted the role."
"Oh, no."
Her head bobbed up and down. "At first I thought she wanted to convince me to drop it, but," she gestured to the TV, "I think she's trying to make sure I keep the role."
"Why would the studio drop you over this? It's just more publicity for the movie."
"The studio executives didn't want me for the role. They wanted someone else, but the director said he wouldn't do it without me as the lead."
Nick sighed. "I'm sorry. I know how much work you've put in to prepare for the role."
"My mom is a fantastic manager." Kerri ran her hand through her hair. "I know what my mom said, but you do know that ultimately, I was the one who didn't contact you."
He looked at her, uncertain about the point she was trying to make.
"Did I make the right decision to cut all communication with you? I didn't want you to think that I abandoned you like your mom, but ..."
"I know you're not like my mom." He smoothed the single strand of wayward hair from her face. "Everything's been written in the stars, right? I'm sure God had it all planned out."
Kerri smiled and nodded. "So don't feel bad about the role. If God closes the door, there must be a good reason. No matter what, all will be fine."
He tucked her hair behind her ear. "I used to get frustrated when you said that."
"Yeah, I know. But I never understood why."
"Because I was proud. Because I thought you should look to me for solutions, not just let things be and let God have His way."
"So you wanted me to fight God?"
"I wanted to be your God," he said. "Not anymore, though. Because I know I can't."
She gave him a small smile.
"But this is what I think. You should go. They haven't officially dropped you, so do your part. That's the honorable thing to do."
"Honorable thing to do," she mumbled and shrugged. "If you think so."
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