Page 1 of Big & Burly Rockstar

Chapter 1

Elli

The skin at the back of my neck prickles and I glance over my shoulder at the darkening street behind me, but nobody is looking at me. Still, the feeling of being watched doesn’t leave me. You’re being paranoid. There’s no way he’s found you.

I walk faster, the weight of the water and wine in my backpack making sweat gleam on my brow. It’s a balmy summer evening, and the air is filled with birdsong and laughter. Every person I pass looks happy. Every single one. It makes me hate them.

Once I reach my front door, I look around again but notice nothing out of the ordinary. With fumbling fingers, I unlock the door and hurry upstairs and into the cool darkness of my apartment. After locking up, I dump my backpack on the floor, lean back against the door and close my eyes, breathing a sigh of relief.

By the time I’ve put the water and wine into the fridge, my heartbeat has almost returned to normal. Everything is okay. No one followed you.

Still, I’ll have to be more careful. I’ve lived in this shabby apartment for six months now, and I can count the number of times I’ve left it on one hand. The only reason I went out today is because I forgot to add drinks to my weekly grocery order and the tap-water here is undrinkable.

I sit down on my bed and grab my laptop to watch Grey’s Anatomy for the umpteenth time. It gets my mind off of my own problems and gives me something to look forward to in the mind-numbing dreariness my life has become. Just when Meredith finds out that her one-night-stand is her new boss, my phone buzzes next to me. The sight of the unknown number turns my insides to acid. My hand shaking, I pick up the phone.

“Elli? Are you there?”

The female voice makes my shoulders sag with relief. It’s not him. “Yeah. Hi. Sorry, who is this?”

“It’s Carrie.”

I furrow my brow. My cousin Carrie and I have never been that close, with her being more than a decade older than me. And she’s certainly never called me before. “Oh, hi. How are you?”

“Good, good,” she says, sounding distracted. “Listen, I was talking to your mom earlier, and she said you’re looking for a job. And I have something I think you might be interested in.”

I clench my teeth. Apparently, online tutoring isn’t a real job, even though it pays for this apartment and everything else I need. I haven’t taken a penny from my parents since I turned eighteen three years ago.

“I have a job,” I tell her, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. It’s not her fault my mom misled her, after all.

“Oh.” She pauses. “Sorry. Uh, can I at least tell you about the job? It’s very well paid.”

I suppress a sigh and look around the shabby apartment. I could use more money, that’s for sure. But there aren’t that many well-paying jobs you can do without ever leaving your home, and I doubt whatever Carrie has to offer will be any different. “Sure. Go ahead,” I say, mentally already tuning out.

“So, I started working as a PA for the manager of this band. And well—this is a delicate situation. I can’t tell you who it is I’m talking about if you don’t take the job, but—”

Despite myself, my interest is piqued. Last I heard, Carrie was working for some fat-cat lawyer. She must’ve kept her new job a secret, otherwise my mom would’ve told me about it. “What’s the job, Carrie?”

She clears her throat. “You see, one of the band members has a—well, his reputation isn’t exactly stellar. And my boss, he thought that maybe him having a nice girl-next-door kind of girlfriend could help his image. You know, him being seen with a normal woman, not some stunning model or anything. Plus, well—” Carrie lets out an uncomfortable laugh. “He needs someone to keep him in line. To stop him from making, uh, less than great decisions.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

Carrie laughs nervously. “Isn’t it obvious? We want you to be his girlfriend. It’ll all be fake, of course. And you’ll be paid very well. It’s only for a year. You’d get half a million dollars.”

I stare unseeingly at my laptop screen. I feel like I’m in some sort of weird dream. Half a million dollars. Having that much money would mean I could hire a private investigator. It would also mean I might be able to leave the country. In my mind’s eye I see myself lying on some faraway beach, my only worry being what I should eat for dinner. I wouldn’t have to look over my shoulder constantly. I could go outside, have friends, like a normal person. And I could finally play gigs again and not worry so much if I earn enough money. On the other hand…

“I take it I would also have to be seen with him in public?”

“Well, yeah. That’s the entire point, isn’t it?”

I press my lips together. If I have to appear in public, I’d make myself an easy target. True, if whoever’s girlfriend I’m supposed to be has enough money to pay me half a million dollars, there will probably be bodyguards. Still. It’s not worth the risk. “Sorry, Carrie. Can’t do it.”

She sighs. “It was worth a try.”

After we exchange the required pleasantries, I hang up, wondering if I made a mistake. No, I tell myself. It would’ve been too dangerous.

Suddenly feeling bone tired, I decide to have an early night. I close my laptop and snuggle under the covers, not even bothering to brush my teeth.

The sound of my doorbell ringing wakes me. I sit bolt upright in bed, my heart pounding and my stomach churning, immediately wide awake. My whole body trembling, I pad to the window and pull the curtain back just enough so I can look outside. There’s nobody there.

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