Stay With Me

Chapter 9 - Ross

I stopped on the way home to grab a soda, and while I was walking down the sidewalk back to my car, I got a text message that stopped me dead in my tracks.

"I'm actually not staying in Cali, I'm going back to Texas with my family. You cant escape me Ross. Or can you?"

I looked up from my phone and these two guys were right in front of me. I tried to walk past them and they moved so I couldn't get through.

"We're here to clear some stuff up from Cam, actually." The bigger one grunted. The two of the towered over me. I shoved my phone in my jacket pocket and tried to speak, but before I opened my mouth, they had me on the ground.

After these guys beat me up, they just left. I got back in the car and sped back to Laura's house.

I got out, and grabbed our bags. I walked up to the door, and it was locked. I groaned but then remembered I had a spare key. I opened the door and put our stuff down upstairs in Laura's room. I walked across the hall to examine my bruises and cuts. I looked like a mess. I had a cut on my cheekbone. I flinched in pain as I lifted up my shirt, revealing huge bruises all over my stomach. I sighed and walked back into Laura's room to unpack any of our stuff. I picked out any clothes we already wore and threw them in the washer. I put my now organized suitcase in the corner of Laura's room. I walked in silence around it, taking in everything. I sat down on her bed as I was looking at picture frames on her desk. Her and her whole family, smiling from ear to ear. Her and her sister Vanessa, holding a small puppy. The cast of Austin and Ally one of the first days we started. And last on the desk, was two pictures of me and her. I picked up the first one. It was a picture that somebody else took of me hugging Laura as we finished our last song of the last date of R5's tour. I thought back to that day. It was almost more than 6 months ago.

We just finished singing our last song of the R5 tour. We were all so happy. We all walked backstage and me, Rocky, Rydel, Ryland, Ratliff, and Riker all hugged so tight. Rydel pulled me over away from everyone.

"Hey Ross, i know Laura's not here, and itll be hard, but youll get through it." She patted me on the back. I smiled, because my sister always knew what to say.

It seemed like all my siblings knew something was up. Riker whisteled and Laura walked in.

"Laura, i cant believe youre here!" I ran over and hugged her, picking her up and twirling her. I set her down and she just looked at me, her smile beaming.

"It's been a long four months." She smiled, her eyes filled with tears.

"It sure has," I pulled her in tighter, feeling her tear drops on my chest.

The other one from almost two years ago, with big cheesy smiles on our face when we went to Disney Land that one time. I smiled and pulled it off the desk, holding it. I remember this day like it was yesterday.

R5 and Laura's family all went as a small vacation. Me and Laura were on the tower of terror, scared to death. My mom looked at me, laughing.

"Smile!" She joked as she took a picture, less than minutes before the ride started.

We were almost shaking, so we held a thumbs up and smiled in the goofiest way. That was probably the first time I got close with Laura.

"We've come a long way, haven't we?" I felt myself saying. I looked back to the desk and saw a tiny stack of empty picture frames, waiting to be filled. I found myself wondering if every picture waiting to be put in them had been related to her and me. Of course not.

I stood up and walked over to her desk, sitting down in the chair beside it. I opened up drawer after drawer. I shouldn't be doing this.

I picked out a tiny notebook. Her song book. It had tons of songs she wrote, ones she liked, and even small parts of unfinished ones. I flipped to a clean page and started writing down a song that was always my favorite to sing at concerts.

"In the back of a taxi cab, one

Quick turn you were on my lap, we

Touched hands and we pulled them back

Yeah

I Want U Bad!

And even though it should be so wrong,

I can't help but feel this strong, 'cause

The way you turn me on

Like a light switch

I might just go crazy

'Cause you're my best friends baby

But you got me thinking maybe, just maybe

I don't know what to do!

I'm in love with

Someone else's girl you

Rock my world

But you're the one that I can't have, girl

I Want U Bad!

In my crazy mind

I'm with you all the time

'Cause you're the best I never had

Oh, girl

I Want U Bad!"

After I finished writing, I scrawled a note at the end.

" It's funny, this song was always the ending to our tour
❤️Ross "

I was changing into some sweatpants and a sweatshirt when I heard a car door. I went downstairs to see that Laura was hugging Vanessa goodbye. She smiled at me and walked past me to go upstairs.

Vanessa turned to me, and whispered whenever Laura ran upstairs.

"Treat her good, she sure does talk a lot about you, Rossy." She winked and patted me on the shoulder as she left. Rossy. That's the stupid nickname Laura and my family calls me. I chuckled and headed upstairs after Laura.