The taxi pulled up to the front of Rose's house, and Rose paid the driver, arguing to Liam that if he got to pay for dinner the other night, Rose got to pay for this.
Liam reached out and grabbed Rose's hand, hoping that she wouldn't mind showing this kind of affection in front of her parents. Rose didn't let go, so he figured it must be okay, and they made their way to the front door. Christopher, Rose's dad, opened the door before they could even knock, though. Apparently, he had been standing by the window, waiting excitedly for his daughter's return home.
“Rose!” Christopher cried out, snatching his daughter up in a tight hug, which forced Liam to let go of Rose's hand. Christopher hadn't even noticed Liam yet.
“Dad! I missed you!” Rose said, hugging her dad back just as eagerly.
When they let go, Christopher finally seemed to notice Liam.
“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. Rose, you didn't tell me you were bringing anyone with you. Not that I mind. It's nice to meet you, young man. I'm Christopher, Rose's father. And you are?” Christopher asked, reaching out a hand to shake Liam's.
“I'm Liam, sir. It's nice to meet you,” Liam replied, reaching out his own hand to meet Christopher's.
“Rose, this your boyfriend?” Christopher directly asked his daughter. Rose blushed.
“No, dad. This is Liam Walker. As in, famous singer, Liam Walker. The guy I was following around on tour.”
“Never heard of him,” Christopher replied, shrugging.
Liam was actually pretty relieved at this news. This meant that Christopher hadn't seen all the paparazzi shots of him and Rose together. Because, trust him, the paparazzi had gotten many more shots of the two together since that first one. Of course, they were never caught doing anything he would be ashamed of, because they never did anything to be ashamed of. But still.
Also, this meant that Liam had no unrealistic expectations to live up to. He could just be himself and start from scratch in gaining the man's respect.
And wow... Liam was surprised at how much he wanted to impress Rose's dad. Especially considering he and Rose weren't even dating. But maybe... one day...
But Liam's thoughts were interrupted when Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, taking him on a tour of the house. Rose called out over her shoulder, “Hey, dad! Where's mom?”
“She's already sleeping. It's pretty late, so I'm actually going to go to bed, too. You two be sure to get some rest. And no funny business. We'll catch up in the morning.”
And then Christopher was heading upstairs, and Rose and Liam were left alone.
“Sooo... this is my childhood home. What do you think?” Rose asked, leading Liam around the house.
“It's lovely. You decorated it, didn't you?” Liam asked.
“How could you tell?” Rose replied, happy that Liam approved.
“Just a lucky guess. Anything this fabulous had to be done by you. Sooo... where's your room?”
“It's right upstairs. But remember, no funny business,” Rose joked as she led them upstairs, knowing full well that no such thing would happen with Liam. At least, not yet.
“This is my room. What do you think?” Rose asked, as Liam made his way around her room, taking it all in.
“It's nice. It really reflects your personality.”
There were drawings of clothing designs that Rose had done in high school on the walls, albums of Rose's favorite bands covered her desk, and the closet was easily the biggest one Liam had ever seen.
“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
Across the Miles Page 8
