Across the Miles (10 page)

“I'm glad you like it. So, your room is down
the hall. I figured we should just go ahead and call it a night. I
don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.”

“Oh, I am definitely exhausted. So, I'll see
you in the morning. Good night, Rose,” Liam said, and then they
parted ways.

A few minutes later, however, Rose heard a
light knocking on her door.

“Liam? Is that you?” Rose called out.

“Yeah. Can I come in?”

“Sure. What's going on?” Rose asked, as Liam
entered her room.

“I just... that room was unfamiliar and dark
and I was just kind of creeped out and I felt really far away from
you and-”

“Liam, do you just want to sleep in here
tonight?” Rose interrupted, taking pity on the poor guy.

“Yes please,” Liam responded, relieved that
Rose offered.

“Come on, then. Crawl in.”

Liam walked across the room and crawled into
bed next to Rose, making sure to keep his distance from her so she
wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

“Goodnight, Liam.”

“Goodnight, Rose.”

They both passed out the second their heads
hit the pillow.

The next thing Rose knew, she was being
awakened harshly by the sound of her dad's voice.

“I thought I said no funny business!”
Christopher exclaimed loudly, walking into Rose's room.

Rose groggily began looking around, trying to
locate the source of her dad's anger. But when she went to turn,
she found that she couldn't move an inch because Liam was currently
laying in bed with her, his arms wrapped around her.

Oh yeah. Liam had slept in her bed last
night.

“Dad? There was no funny business. I
promise.”

“I come in here to wake you up for breakfast
and I find you wrapped up in the arms of some guy who isn't your
boyfriend?”

“Dad. It's not like that. We're just friends.
Nothing happened. This looks a lot worse than it actually is.”

Christopher was hesitant to believe her, but
he knew Rose wouldn't lie to him, so he nodded his head and left
the room, deciding to give Rose a minute to wake Liam up.

“Liam. Liam! Wake up!” Rose whispered gently
into Liam's ear, but Liam just snuggled closer.

“Liam! Come on! Get up! There's breakfast!”
Rose shouted the last part. And yep, that did it. Liam jolted
awake.

“Breakfast? Where? Let's go!” Liam said,
hopping out of bed eagerly.

“You're impossible...” Rose muttered under
her breath.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Rose quickly lied, getting out of
bed herself.

“So my dad walked in on you cuddled up to me.
He wasn't too happy. So put on your most charming smile because
you've got some work to do,” Rose said, smirking at Liam.

“Wait... are you serious? Please tell me your
joking,” Liam said, taking in his surroundings for the first time
since waking up.

“Oh my god. This isn't the guest room. Oh my
god. I'm in your room. Your dad walked in on me asleep in your
room. I'm so embarrassed. He's going to hate me now. No, worse.
He's going to kill me. Oh my-”

“Liam. Shut up. Please. And just go get
dressed.”

Liam nodded and rushed to his room. He
quickly got dressed, then the pair made their way downstairs
together. Liam purposefully kept his distance from Rose, not
wanting to make Christopher any more uncomfortable or angry at
him.

“Morning. Sleep well?” Christopher asked,
glaring at Liam.

“Yes, dad. Leave Liam alone. He's a friend,
not an enemy,” Rose said to her dad.

“If he's sharing a bed with my daughter, he's
the enemy.” Christopher said.

“Yeah... sorry about that, sir. It was all
completely innocent. I promise,” Liam explained, trying to put on
his warmest smile.

Christopher didn't say anything to that, but
his body language seemed to relax a bit, so Liam felt much more at
ease. He was about to speak again, when a woman came bursting into
the room.

“Rose! Welcome home!” Jennifer, Rose's mom,
shouted.

Rose turned and was greeted with a warm hug
from her mom.

“Mom! Oh, it's so good to see you!” Rose
exclaimed.

“So what's this I hear about you sleeping
with a boy? Your father came storming into our room this morning
ranting on about hands and boys and I don't even know what else. Is
that handsome young gentleman behind you your boyfriend?” Jennifer
questioned.

Rose and Liam both blushed.

“No, ma'am. I'm just a friend. My name is
Liam Walker,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand to shake
Jennifer's, but she wasn't having that. She walked swiftly over to
Liam and swooped him up into a hug.

“It's so nice to meet you Liam- wait... did
you say Liam Walker? As in famous singer Liam Walker? The one Rose
was following around on tour all summer?”

“Yes, ma'am. That would be me.”

“How delightful!” Jennifer exclaimed.

“So tell me. How did you and Rose meet?”
Christopher questioned, wanting to learn more about the man
standing in his house who so obviously had feelings for his
daughter, even if they denied that there was anything going on
between them.

So Liam and Rose set out into the long story,
taking turns in their explanation. They left out details about
their dates and feelings for one another, saying that they simply
hung out instead. They figured it would be best to not complicate
the story more than need be.

By the end of the story, everyone in the
Moore household had relaxed visibly and Liam was being treated like
one of the family. He had completely charmed Christopher and
Jennifer.

After a few more hours of visiting, it was
about time for the pair to head back to the tour bus and hit the
road again. But first, Christopher informed the room that he wanted
to have a private talk with Liam upstairs.

Rose reluctantly left them be, shooting Liam
an apologetic look before going off to gossip with her mom in the
living room for a while, leaving Liam alone to follow Christopher
upstairs.

“I'm sure you know that I have an obligation
to ask what your intentions are with my daughter,” Christopher said
bluntly.

Liam hesitated before responding, “There's
nothing going on between us.”

“Look, kid, I may be old, but I'm not dumb. I
can see that there's
something
going on between you two.
Rose has never brought a guy home before. Maybe you're telling the
truth. Maybe you're not together. But it's pretty obvious that you
two care for one another, so get a move on before you lose
her.”

“I don't really know what to say. I'm not
going to lie to you, though. I really care about Rose. I know we
haven't known each other for that long, but we've spent a lot of
time together. I feel like I really know her. And she really gets
me, too. I enjoy spending time with her. I've told Rose that I care
about her, and she's told me that she returns the sentiment. But
we've decided to remain friends for the time being, because we
don't know what will happen when this tour ends. But, if there is
any possible way for me to be with Rose for longer than this
summer, I will do everything in my power to make that happen.”

Christopher was not expecting that much
honesty from Liam. He knew that Liam really cared about Rose, but
he was in shock from the amount of sincerity in Liam's voice.

“Well, son. I guess I have nothing to do but
give you my approval, then. It's obvious that you truly, deeply
care for Rose. Just... don't break her heart.”

Liam nodded, and the two men made their way
downstairs.

As they were about to enter the living room,
Liam caught the tail-end of Rose's conversation with Jennifer.

“I really, really like him, mom. I just... I
don't know. I wish it could work out. But I promise to keep you
updated on anything that might happen with Liam.”

“What about me?” Liam questioned innocently,
walking all the way into the room.

Rose started at Liam's sudden appearance.

“How much of that did you hear?” Rose
questioned, blushing a deep shade of red.

“Nothing I didn't already know. Don't worry,”
Liam reassured Rose, winking.

“Well, dad. It's getting late. We should
really head out if we're going to make it to Denver, Colorado in
time for Liam's next show. I hate to rush out like this,” Rose
said, standing from the couch and making her way over to her
dad.

“It's fine. I'm just glad I could have you
for today. I missed you. Don't be a stranger,” Christopher said,
hugging Rose goodbye. “And as for you, Liam. Remember what I told
you upstairs.”

Liam nodded, then was surprised when
Christopher pulled him into a hug goodbye as well.

Rose and Liam then took turns hugging
Jennifer and departed from the Moore household, getting on the tour
bus that Liam had called to pick them up.

“Your family is nice, Rose. I see where you
get it from,” Liam said, taking a hold of Rose's hand as they
boarded the bus.

Chapter 13

“Hey guys! Thanks so much for coming out
tonight. It means the world to me,” Liam said to his audience in
Las Vegas at the end of his fifteenth show. He was now
three-fourths of the way done with his tour. He only had a week and
a half left. He knew if he wanted Rose by then, he would have to do
something drastic.

“I want to leave you guys with one last song,
tonight. I've written a lot of songs this summer since meeting my
friend, Rose. What can I say? She's inspired me. She came into my
life and changed everything. Changed how I see the world. And she's
here with me tonight. She's been with me every night. And even
though I keep bombarding her with songs, and I'm sure she's
probably getting tired of it by now, it's the best way I know how
to tell her how I feel. So here it goes.”

Rose giggled from backstage at Liam's joke.
There was no way she'd ever get tired of hearing Liam sing to her.
Liam had the voice of an angel. And Rose always knew that Liam
meant every word of every song that he sang to her. No one had ever
done that for Rose before, and it meant the world to her.

Something between them had shifted in the
past few days since Liam met her family. They were much more
affectionate toward one another now. Rose had opened up a part of
herself by showing Liam her home life. And Liam had been inspired
by his talk with Christopher. And now, more than ever, they were
completely open about how they felt for each other, not bothering
to hide the strong feelings that were so obviously there. They were
truly best friends. They were like two pieces of a puzzle that had
come together.

Liam was constantly hugging Rose, holding her
hand, and snuggling up to her whenever possible. They always
whispered secrets and jokes into each others ears, causing them to
both break into fits of laughter. They were completely honest with
one another. And it was obvious that their feelings were growing
stronger and stronger with every passing day.

But both knew that, with only a little over a
week left on tour, nothing could come out of it.

But they both wanted more. They wanted to be
able to be together. They wanted to say out loud what they felt in
their hearts. They just didn't know how to make that dream a
reality.

And now Liam was singing to Rose again, and
it was as if they were the only two people in the world. Liam
didn't even bother singing the song to the crowd that night. He
never took his eyes off of Rose, who was standing back stage, as
usual.

Can you blame me for doubting before?

My life has been crazy and I've been through
many storms

The power's gone out. The power to
believe

But now there's one thing I'm sure about and
that thing is you and me

I still have my doubts.

I still have my questions

I'm not really sure if I'll ever fully learn
my lesson

But now I have someone worth fighting for

This school of love is in session

All of these fools will rush in

So let's be fools in love

The song ended, and Liam didn't even hear the
applause. The show ended with that song, and Liam swiftly left the
stage, running straight into the arms of Rose, who planted a swift
kiss on Liam's cheek, before whispering, “You mean so much to
me.”

Even though they knew it should be
impossible, maybe, Liam thought, they would still be able to give
this relationship a try.

“What about a long distance relationship?”
Liam questioned that night as they lay in bed, both on their sides,
facing one another, so close that their noses were touching. They
had taken to sharing a bed after that night at Rose's house. They
realized that they both slept much better when the other was close
by.

“I think after having you this summer, that
wouldn't be enough. I want all of you, Liam. I think we both
deserve that.”