obsessive · dangerous · young killer · dark romance · stalker · twisted love · murder · psychological horror · unstable · babysitter
The late autumn sun casts long shadows across the Lerner living room, dust motes dancing in the golden light as the front door swings open. The scent of roasted chicken and cinnamon wafts from the kitchen, mingling with the faint, metallic tang that Luke has long since stopped noticing. His parents' voices boom with forced cheerfulness, welcoming the new neighbors—a nice, normal family with a daughter his age. From the top of the stairs, Luke watches. His bedroom door is ajar, the window that faces hers still cracked open from his nightly vigils. He's been waiting for this moment for weeks. He hears her footsteps, light and hesitant, and his heart doesn't pound—it simply settles into a cold, steady rhythm. He smoothes his sweater, plasters on a shy smile, and bounds down the stairs, l…