Dream Big (Sequel to Dreamer)

Chapter Twelve

Tia's POV

"Tia, this isn't a good idea." Shawn warns me, and I roll my eyes. "What's the worst thing that could happen?" I sass, shaking my head at the camera. "You could get hit by a car. You could get lost. You could get hypothermia. You could get cooked from the inside out by the sun." Shawn listed, and I laugh as I shove the last thing into my suitcase. "I'm driving a car to the bus station in Tuscaloosa, forty five minutes away. Shawn, I'm not going that far." I place it on the ground, looking at the empty room before me. All of my clothes and other must have items were packed away. My dad was taking my mom to a routine check up, and wouldn't be back for three hours since it was in Birmingham. They didn't know I was leaving. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Shawn asked wearily. "This phone is in your name. If I didn't want to do this then why do I have it?" I sassed again, trying to hide my nerves. Shawn rolls his eyes, and I tell him I'll call him soon. My parents were going to the police station after my mom's appointment, taking my old phone with them. I had already moved those precious pictures to this phone last night, in secret of course, so I wasn't worried about losing them. I grabbed the car keys off the hook and rolled the two suitcases out the door with a duffle bag on my back. I grabbed two more bags from the house, along with all the cash I'd been saving for the last two years. I moved every penny I had from savings into my checking account once I got in the car, and then I wrote myself a check for the bank account I set up in Canada. I scanned it in, made sure I had all of my tickets and paper work ready to go before I started my car and left with Shawn on the phone. "I'll be seeing you soon, Shawn. Just a few more days." I tell him, smiling. I was nervous, knowing we were going to be breaking a lot of laws here soon. "They're going to charge me for statutory rape. They're going to charge me for kidnapping. They're going to charge me with child endangerment. They're going to charge you with identity theft. They're going to charge you with false documentation." He begins to panic, and I had to yell over him. "I tricked them into signing those papers! That's hardly false documentation or identity theft. You tried to talk me out of this, so no you won't be charged with any of that, especially since we've never done the deed." I reason, and Shawn goes quiet. "We aren't breaking any laws. We're being extremely careful about this. You've never sent me anything illegal, even if your shirtless selfies should be." Shawn's face goes white, and I ask him what's wrong. "The one of me at the beach, in those black swim trunks." Shawn tells me, his nerves definitely climbing. "What about it?" I ask, confused. "I had a um..." he hints, and I scrunch my eyebrows together. "Had a what? Your boxers showing? Big whoop." I shrug. "No, but that makes it worse. Um... I had a... a-a certain thing... named by my fans... m-made a uh... a-appearance..." Shawn hints, and I begin to laugh. "You're worried about Benito? Oh my god, the cops won't notice him in a picture." I kept laughing and Shawn frowns. "It's not Benito... it's Frank." He finally days, and I pause for a moment. "Who's Fra- Oh!" I start, and then I turn bright red all over. "Well, um, I've... I've stared at that picture a lot, and I've never noticed... Frank... before, and so um... I-I doubt they will..." I assure him, really not wanting to talk about Frank. "Can we not talk about Frank?" I ask, shifting uncomfortably. "So, uh... where do you want to sleep when you get here?" Shawn asks, and I pause. "I figured I would be staying in the guest room... why?" I ask, rather confused. I mean, I absolutely love the idea of sharing a room with him, but I didn't know how he felt about that, or if there were certain steps he felt you needed when moving in together. "Well, I mean, I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, and I didn't know if you wanted to share a room or if you wanted to stay in the guest room. I mean, I'm cool either way..." Shawn rambled, and I smiled. "Are you trying to tell me you were hoping to share a room?" I ask, still blushing horribly. "Maybe." Shawn says quickly, and I smile wider. "I'd love to, Shawn." I glance at my phone and quickly back at the road, seeing Shawn smiling. "Hey, have you heard anything from Chandler since you left?" I ask, and he sighs. "No, I haven't. Have you?" Shawn asks, and I frown. "I got a DM on Instagram from him, and he told me he was moving back to LA to focus on his career. We talked for a while, and I told him that I was leaving home and moving to Pickering with you. He told me that I was welcome to stay in LA for a few days to rest at his place. He says that he misses me." I tell Shawn, and everything is quiet for a few minutes. "Did you accept his offer?" He asks, almost worried. "I told him that I might could stay for a day or two, but no longer than that. I told him my parents didn't know I was leaving, and they were bound to check at his place after a few days." Shawn sighed, and then asked me to go over the plan again. "I'm driving up to Tuscaloosa. My friend, Nathan, is going to meet me at a Mexican restaurant in town. We're going to eat lunch, and then he's taking me to the bus station. From there, we're taking a bus to Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, he and I are staying the night in a hotel. The next day I'm going to take a bus the airport." I start, then Shawn cuts me off. "Isn't Atlanta, Georgia to the right of Alabama?" Shawn asks, and I nod. "I'm throwing them off. If I go to Mississippi, they'll suspect that I'm going to Canada a lot sooner." I explain, and then continue. "Then Nathan will take a bus back to Tuscaloosa. I'll fly out to LA, stay with Chandler for two days, and then he'll drive me to the border where your parents will pick me up, we'll cross over, and I'll wait at their house until you can come get me. Shawn lets out a sigh of relief, and I smile. "Four more days, at minimum." I tell him, and the car goes quiet as I drive.