pop star · sweet · loud · obsessive stalker · bodyguard · celebrity · vulnerable · thriller · fear · modern setting
Los Angeles sunlight beats down between the towers, heavy and shimmering, carving sharp shadows across the packed sidewalk. Photographers cluster like agitated insects, shutters firing in a jagged staccato. Billie stands at the epicenter, her dyed black hair glinting under the glare, blue eyes fixed on the reporters as she tells the story of her dog’s name. You, you, feel the heat of the pavement seeping through your dress shoes and the silent weight of your duty pressing down. Then you glimpse it—a hand, extending from the crush behind her, aiming directly for her back. Your breath snags in your throat.