Rock by Lilliana Anderson

Be careful what you wish for, my mother said. I wished to be a rockstar. And my wish came true.
I am the biggest musical talent Australia has ever exported.
And I’ve never been more miserable.

Constantly on the road, singing to packed stadiums, having any woman I want; it’s supposed to be the dream. And at first it was cool—it was epic—but now it’s… hollow. It’s an endless sea of faces screaming by name and not a single one of them knowing the real me.

I’m lonely.
I miss the band.
I miss my brother.
I miss her….

She was the first girl I wanted for more than one night. I think I would have wanted her forever if she wanted me back. But she didn’t. She wanted my bandmate; my brother. And it was exploding their world that made me famous.
I bet they still hate me…

Needing some time on my own, away from the crowds and the noise, I find myself on home soil for the first time in two years. But the quiet is hard to come by. My label wants an album, the press wants a piece of me, and the public makes going anywhere without a disguise a nightmare. Then I meet Lisa and she changes everything.

Closed off and unimpressed by everything about me, she’s the obvious choice when I want someene to be real with. I make her my unauthorised best friend as a result—which she hates, mind you—but she’s cool to hang around because she makes me feel normal. And I like her dog, too.

The problem with Lisa is she hates everything there is about the fame game, which makes me a problem for her. She freaks out around cameras and takes the paparazzi on a mad car chase to avoid being seen. She says she doesn’t want knowing me to mess with her quiet life. But I don’t know, maybe she’s hiding something. Or maybe she’s just playing hard to get… because seriously, who doesn’t want to date a rockstar?