Laura and Vanessa walk into Laura's new apartment with a huge box full of stuff. She sets it down next to the rest of the full boxes and turns to her mom. "Well, that's the last box", she leans against the wall and wipes her forehead. Changing the subject, she says, "Mom, you said when we had left Colorado that we weren't coming back".
"How do you remember that? You were five".
"Trust me, we remember more than you think", Vanessa says. Laura walks over to her already opened water bottle and takes a drink.
Ellen sits on the old couch that they gave to their daughter, "So do you have connections with your friends in Dallas?".
"Yes, I do".
Do you have Emma's number?".
"Mom", rolling her eyes, "I haven't talked to Emma in two years".
"Really?" she looks disappointed, "I liked Emma".
It feels awkward with this conversation. "So are Andy and Dad over at your place, Vanessa?". Andy is Vanessa's long time boyfriend.
"Yes", her older sister answers.
"Does Andy like it?".
"I hope so".
Laura nods, "Well, I'm going to start unpacking. I need to make this place feel like home".
"Yeah, and I should go help Andy with our apartment", Vanessa adds.
Ellen stands up and approaches her, "If you need anything call us. We are only down the street". She pulls Laura into a tight hug, "I love you".
Ellen is hugging Laura so tight that she is having a hard time catching her breath, "I love you, too, Mom. I will be alright". She pulls out of the smothering hug.
Ellen takes a moment to look at her beautiful daughter's dark brown eyes. "I am so proud of you. It's going to be weird without your presence in our home", she looks over to Vanessa, "Both of you". She begins to walk to the door. "Remember if you need anything, gas, money, food, love, we are near. Oh, and don't forget to call me. Also, don't forget to get quarters to do your laundry and make sure you make time to eat".
Vanessa begins ushering her mother out the door, "Mom, she'll be fine. Don't worry".
Before her mother can say anymore Laura says a final, "I love you", and closes the door. She turns around and leans against the door and lets out a sigh of relief. She walks over to one of the many boxes and opens it. She pauses and looks at all the stuff in the box, "Screw it, I'm going out". She grabs her sweater, keys and purse and walks out the door.
Ross, Rocky and Riker all walk into the busy club. They become surrounded by shouting drunks and people dancing and grinding on each other. They make their way over to the counter. They ask the bartender for three beers. They ask each other about work and if anything interesting happened during the day. Rocky suddenly becomes distracted by a girl across the bar. He takes another swig of his beer and then gets up and walks over to her. "Well that will be the last time we see him tonight", Riker says, amused. Suddenly a girl sits down next to Riker and bumps him, almost knocking him out of his seat.
"I'm so sorry. I'm a klutz".
"It's fine, don't worry about it", he looks at the girl. She has long golden brown hair and big brown eyes. She has a soft pretty face. She seems so familiar, then it clicks. "Laura?".
Laura turns back to look at him, she's surprised, "Riker?".
Without looking away from her, he nudges Ross, causing Ross to spill some of his beer. "What the hell, Riker?". Suddenly he catches her eye and just sits there speechless.
With the same expression, she asks, "Ross?".
"I don't believe it. Laura?".
"Oh my God!" she jumps up and gives both of them a hug, "I have missed you guys so much!".
Ross has a huge smile spread across his face, ear to ear, "I can't believe this! You came back!".
Laura begins looking around the bar, "Where is everyone else?".
"Well Rocky is off somewhere flirting with some girl and Rydel and Ryland aren't here", Riker says.
"So Rocky's become quite the ladies' man", Laura says with a smile.
Suddenly, Rocky walks up. "Speak of the devil", Ross says, looking down at his empty beer bottle.
Rocky has a cocky smile on his face, "Guess what, guys? I got a lovely girls number". The smile slowly melts from his face and is replaced with an expression of shock.
Riker updates him, "Laura's back".
"Hey Rocky", she smiles.
"What the- Laura!", he gives her a huge hug. He takes a seat next to his brothers and asks for another beer. "What brings you back to Colorado?".
"Honestly, my dad decided he likes it better here, after 15 years", she rolls her eyes.
"God", Ross is still smiling, "I'm so glad you're back".
Laura nods in agreement, "Yeah, me too. You guys look great", she lightly ruffles Ross' wavy blond hair. "So anything big happen while I was gone?".
"Rydel has a boyfriend. His name is Ellington Ratliff, but we just call him Ratliff", Rocky says.
"Tomorrow is Ryland's birthday", Riker mentions.
"No way!" Laura says excitedly, "How old is he now? I'm going to have to see him".
This reminds Riker of the birthday party tomorrow. "He's turning 20. You should bring Vanessa and come and join us at our parents' house".
"That sounds like fun. I'll have to kidnap Vanessa for awhile from Andy, her boyfriend", Laura laughs, "Do your folks still live in the same house?".
"No", Ross grabs a napkin and writes down the address of the new house and slides it over to Laura, "Here's the address".
"I'm sorry to have to cut this short, but we have to be getting back to our apartment so we can help get ready for Ryland's party tomorrow, but, Laura, it's great to see you again", Riker gives her a hug.
Rocky gives her a hug next, "We have a lot to catch up on, and feel free to join us for Ryland's party, too".
"That I shall", Laura says with a grin, "It's so good to see you guys, like, you don't even know".
Ross gives her a last hug, "Oh trust me, I know. See you tomorrow". He follows his brothers out of the bar and they head back home.
The next afternoon, all of the brothers, Rydel and her boyfriend, Ellington Ratliff are at their parents' house adding last touches to the party stuff, when the doorbell rings. "I'll get it", Ross walks over to the front door and opens it. "Hey Laura", he looks over to the taller brunette next to her standing next to her. "Vanessa?" he smiles at her and gives her a hug. "Come on in", letting them through the door. He calls in the direction of the stairs, "Ryland, come down here, there is someone here to see you".
Ryland comes prancing down the stairs, "What?".
"Ryland, say hey to Vanessa and Laura".
"Hey!" he says excitedly, giving them both hugs.
"Happy birthday", they both say in unison.
"Thanks".
Ross suggests, "Ryland, why don't we show them around the new place?".
"Yeah, sure".
"Do you guys have a pool?" Vanessa asks.
"Yeah, we do! This one is better than the old one!". They head to the back door, talking excitedly about a water slide.
Laura lets out a little chuckle, "Okay then".
"I guess we're out", Ross agrees, "So are you working anywhere?".
She shakes her head, "Nope. I'm going to start job hunting tomorrow. I kind of have to pay this thing called rent. You familiar with the word?".
"Oh, all too well". They laugh. "Hang on, I am going to go check on something upstairs", Ross says before darting up the steps. Laura walks into the living room where Stormie, Mark, Rydel and Ratliff are sitting. Stormie jumps up and rushes over to Laura.
"Oh my goodness! Laura, is it really you? You are so beautiful and grown up!. She gives Laura a nice hug. "So how is Ellen doing?" she asks.
"She's good. Glad to be back, as are all of us".
"Laura!" Rydel exclaims running to her and engulfing her in a hug.
"Delly!" Laura says back, as they rock in their hug.
"Ross missed you so much, lady", Rydel says, pulling out of the hug.
"I missed him too! I missed all of you", she smiles kindly.
"Let me introduce by boyfried, Ellington, but we just call him Ratliff", Rydel says as a brown haired guy comes to give Laura a hug. "He is the drummer in the band that Riker, Ross, Rocky and I all put together".
"You have a band?" Laura is excited.
"Yeah, Ross is the lead singer, Riker plays the bass, Rocky is the lead guitarist, I play the keyboard and Ratliff is the drummer".
"How's it going?" Laura asks.
"Well right now we are just playing little gigs in town, but hopefully one day will be international rockstars", Ratliff says, nudging Rydel.
"Hopefully", she says, smiling at him.
"You guys are major cute", Laura says with a laugh.
"Alright", Stormie calls out to everyone, "It's time to come down for dinner and presents!". Everyone joins each other at the table and enjoys a meal of spaghetti and homemade meatballs with a side of garlic bread. They eventually finish off the party with cake, then everyone says their goodbyes and leave to wherever they need to go.
Once Laura gets home, she calls Ross. They sit on the phone for awhile, just talking. "So, I hear you guys have a band", Laura says.
"Oh yeah, we are called R5".
"I would love to hear some of your guys' stuff".
"Definitely", Ross confirms. "I'll send you a link to one of our videos".
"You better", Laura says and Ross laughs. "So I need to talk to my mother tomorrow", Laura mentions.
"Why? About what?".
"Living on my own, and being able to be independent and to take care of myself", Laura lets out a big sigh, "She just smothers me, it's like 'Mom, I need to breathe', you know?".
"Well has something happened to you before? Has something happened to Vanessa? Perhaps she's just having a hard time letting you go. Mom was extremely clingy when Riker first moved out, she'll adjust. Just give her some time".
"I don't know. It's just really annoying me".
Ross tries to lighten the mood, "I bet I can be 10 times more annoying than she can".
"Ha! I highly doubt that".
"Is that a challenge?".
Laura can't help but laugh, "No. Not at all. Please don't".
"Are you sure? Because I will go to all different levels to make it happen".
Laura laughs at his teasing, "You have not changed one bit".
There is a silent pause on the other end, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?".
"Oh, don't worry. It's a good thing. You are the same Ross Lynch I used to know and I love it".
"Good. I aim to please".
Laura can't quit smiling, "Well, it's getting late. I should probably let you go. I have to get up and find a job", she lets out another huge sigh.
"Yeah, I have work tomorrow, so I shall bid you goodnight. Sweet dreams, and good luck with talking to your mom tomorrow".
"Yeah, thanks".
"Bye. I'll talk to you tomorrow".
"Bye Ross", she hangs up and gets up to shut her window before taking one last glance at the clear night sky. She goes into her bathroom and gets ready for bed and gets into her red plaid pajamas and pulls on a white t-shirt. She sits down on her bed and then realizes that the window is open. "Did I not just close that?", she's extremely suspicious. She gets up and shuts it again, this time locking it. She looks around the room cautiously, and that is when she sees that her closet door is open a crack. Feeling very paranoid now, she grabs a large flashlight, just in case she needs to defend herself. She slowly approaches the closet door and quickly whips it open. She flashes the light inside. It's empty. She lowers her flashlight and puts her hand to her face, "Oh my God, Laura, this is ridiculous". She closes the closet door, trying to calm herself down. She gets under her blanket on her bed and reaches over to turn off her lamp. She finally begins to doze off when she hears something. She sits up with a start and opens her eyes, but it's too dark to see anything. "Who is there?", she waits for a reply, but never receives one. "I said, who is there? I'm fucking serious", she can't control her voice from shaking. She reaches over to turn on her lamp but as she's reaching over she feels something reach around her and places something over her nose and mouth, dragging her off the bed. She fights and struggles, but the grip is too strong. Suddenly, she can't fight anymore and she begins to slow down as she loses the battle and slowly slips out of consciousness.