Chapter 22

Keri sat in the airport lounge, preparing to go to DC to take riding classes for her upcoming movie, Redemption Creek.

Her mom had always been the one to support her in her acting career and looked at her with worry.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to go with you?”

Keri’s mom had planned to accompany her like she did whenever Keri traveled for something like this. This time, though, Keri’s younger sister, Kathy, had been caught taking fentanyl at a party, and she’d ended up in the hospital. Kathy was out of danger, but her family needed her mom at home.

Keri was the second child with an older brother and younger sister. Her dad was an executive at a major corporation. While she’d been born in California, they’d moved to Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and now New York, the company’s headquarters, as he rose through the ranks.

“The studio hired Grace, and she’ll watch over me,” Keri said.

They’d met when Grace worked as a production assistant on the teen show Keri had been on. Several members of that cast would join her on her new film. She and Grace had become good friends, so it wasn’t like they’d sent some stick-in-the-mud.

“Just—” her mom said, then paused; she’d stopped herself from going on a rant. She smiled. “Just have fun.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. That tiny town in Virginia won’t be nearly as dangerous as walking to the corner market,” Keri said.

“I hope so. Your father and I are discussing the possibility of moving. What happened to your sister has been a wake-up call. It’s not the same New York I remember.”

Her mom hugged Keri and let her go through security.

When Keri got to her gate, she sat away from everybody and tried to be inconspicuous. She didn’t want to be bothered by fans.

Keri’s thoughts first turned to worry about her sister. Kathy had attended a teen party at one of her classmates’ homes; their parents had been there to oversee everything. One of the boys brought the drugs and handed them out.

The classmate’s parents had given the kids some space, so they didn’t realize anything was wrong until someone ran in, worried that Kathy might be dying. They found over half of the kids stoned out of their minds. Kathy described it as a peaceful warmth that spread throughout her body, a fuzzy blanket wrapped around her, or a state of pure ecstasy. The next thing she remembered was waking up in the emergency room.

The entire episode scared her, and she told Keri she would never take it again.

Keri forced herself to think about her trip. She’d never ridden a horse; it wasn’t something she’d ever really wanted to do. Now that Keri had landed the movie, she found herself looking forward to it.

Britany and Christina were her best friends on the children’s variety show they’d been on. Keri was the better actor, while the other two sang. They were both working on records at the moment. When the movie idea was floated, the three decided they wanted to do one last project together before continuing on with their respective careers.

Once they’d agreed, Justin and Ryan, who’d also been on the show, jumped on board. It would be good to have part of the cast back together.

Britany always had a thing for Justin, but Keri wondered if he and Ryan didn’t have something going on. While being bi didn’t have the stigma it once did, it still was something most actors or singers didn’t want to be made public. A large portion of the populace looked down on it. Plus, being a bi teen idol would make the fangirls think they would never have a chance, hurting sales.

Keri had always been on the periphery of the group since she didn’t join the show until its fourth season. She recognized that if she wanted to know what was up with the guys, she only needed to ask, but that somehow felt like an invasion of privacy.

Keri was sixteen, a year younger than the others. When they filmed the show, there were times when the others seemed so much older, which meant she got excluded from anything naughty. She hoped she’d now be able to join the after-hours fun.

The PA system announced boarding for Keri’s flight, so she gathered her carry-on and walked to the gate.

Grace awaited her at baggage claim at Dulles.

“Where’s your mom?”

“My sister got herself into some trouble, so I’ve been left unsupervised,” Keri said.

“Good, because I need you to go out with me!”

Keri shook her head and stifled a laugh.

“You only want me to go out with you because if you don’t find a guy, I’ll have to haul your sorry ass back to the hotel.”

Grace shook her head vigorously.

“No, you have it all wrong. I want you to come with me to help me sort through my options. My instincts have been terrible lately, and I need you to work your magic.”

Only a few people—Grace being one of them—knew about Keri’s secret gift: she could read people. All Keri needed to do was look at someone, and she got a sense of what they were like. If Keri tried hard enough, she could guess their thoughts.

Grace was right; she was terrible at picking guys. Before Keri left the show, Grace had picked a real winner in Dan. Grace had called Keri in tears because Dan had gotten hold of her credit card and run up over ten grand in charges. He’d also given her a little parting gift: an STI.

Keri had told her repeatedly that Dan couldn’t be trusted, but he was supposedly incredible in bed. Keri had no idea what that meant, but it was evidently enough for Grace to ignore all the warning signs. Seriously? Dan had a stain on his pants, and that was why another production assistant was rubbing his crotch?!?

“I’ll help you out,” Keri promised, but she held up a finger to slow the happy dance Grace had started. “But you have to act like you’re watching over me for my mother. I’m sure she’ll call you on the sly for daily reports.”

“Deal!” Grace squealed and resumed her dance.

Her antics had gotten Keri noticed, and people were starting to inch forward.

“Let’s get out of here,” Keri said.

Once they got settled, Grace came to Keri’s room and looked through her clothes. Keri had brought mainly jeans and T-shirts because she was supposed to be on horseback most of the time. Grace left and returned with a little black dress that was way too short, in Keri’s opinion.

“I can’t wear that,” Keri said.

“You’re supposed to be my wing-woman. I can’t have you chasing off the guys looking like you’re sixteen or something,” Grace pouted.

“I am sixteen.”

“Tonight, you aren’t. Just loosen up, and I’ll buy you a real drink.”

Grace knew her too well. Keri had complained one time that she’d never even had any alcohol. If her mom hadn’t been back in New York, she would never have fallen for that ... but when would she get a better chance?

“You’re a terrible chaperone,” Keri said, and grabbed the dress to change into.

Over dinner, Keri was allowed a glass of wine. If she were honest, she didn’t see the appeal. She would have preferred something else.

Keri paid for their meal. She kept all her earnings since her father had such a good job. Keri’s mother had gotten her a black American Express card to use when she traveled.