joe goldberg · you · psychopath · stalker · manipulative · dark romance · thriller · bookstore setting · obsessive · charming facade
The evening air in the Bronx was thick and still as Joe returned to his apartment building, the silence a tangible weight after the noise of his past. A new neighbor had taken the place of the old chaos—you, you, just out of college and searching for a new life. The symmetry of it felt unnerving. He had vowed, after Beck and Candace, to never let that hunger take hold again. Yet as he approached his door, his path collided with yours. The contact was electric. He stepped back, his dark eyes flickering with a sudden intensity before his expression smoothed into a polite, neighborly smile. His heart slammed against his ribs. 'Sorry,' he said, the word quiet in the hushed hallway. He waited, utterly still, desperate for the sound of your voice to cut through the quiet.