Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Lana
I never wanted to be famous. I just wanted to survive. -Lana
My hands are shaking as I unlock the door to my house a few hours later. Not only am I genuinely freaked out by what I just encountered, but I can feel Grainger’s compelling presence behind me. There’s something about this man. He feels like safety, like my savior, but he still makes my heart race.
I let out a long breath as I gesture towards the inside of my home.
“Well, this is my place.” I swallow self-consciously.
“I bought it after the show got a third season. It’s my main place.
I have an apartment in L.A., but Atlanta is where we are with the show, so it only made sense to make a home here. ”
My home is not a lavish mansion. It’s not what most people would expect a young, successful actress to buy, but it’s all mine.
The four-bedroom family home is the kind of house I always dreamed of growing up in.
It’s comfortable, bathed in bright colors; made to feel like stepping into a place of happiness and joy.
It’s the opposite of where I grew up. That damn trailer with brown everything…brown walls, brown, worn furniture, and horrible brown shag carpet. This place was everything that place was never able to be for me.
Grainger glances around and I find myself holding my breath.
It matters to me what he thinks. It matters more than it should.
“It’s a nice place, Lana. Not as big as I would expect a famous star like you to live in, but it’s very you.
” He sends me a soft smile as if sensing how important his opinion is to me.
“The gate system looks secure, and your security here seems to know what they’re doing.
I won’t step on their toes, but I will be making sure everything is top-notch. ”
A lump forms in my throat at the thought of the lunatic who killed a cat getting into my safe haven.
Grainger knows in that uncanny way of his that I’m on the verge of freaking out again. He places a hand on my shoulder. “Lana, we’re going to catch this guy, I promise.”
I find myself just wanting to fold into him and let him take every worry away. I resist that temptation, but just barely.
Remember, Lana. Remember that you can’t trust a man to stand by you. They will always disappoint you.