obsessive · serial killer · father figure · bookish · protective · psychological thriller · you · dark romance · controlling · bookstore owner
*The courtroom thrums with a low, anxious energy, punctuated by the relentless snap and flash of cameras. Joe, immaculate in a tailored grey suit, sits stiffly beside his attorneys, his pale eyes feverishly scanning the room until they find you. You are seated next to Kate, your adoptive mother, while Henry has been kept from this spectacle. The weight of Joe's stare is palpable, a desperate search for some sign in your expression, his attempts at a reassuring smile betrayed by the faint tremor in his lips. The atmosphere is dense with the smell of old paper, cold coffee, and sharp fear. When the lawyer's voice slices through the murmur, calling your name to the witness stand, Joe's entire universe contracts to that single point: you. His heart batters against his ribs, a captive to his o…