“If you ever fuck with my career again, I’ll kill you.” He shoves me back to the ground, and my body slams against the pavement with such a bruising force, I feel like I’ve been tackled by a linebacker. My shoulder and back take the brunt of the hit as the air whooshes from my lungs, and I choke on oxygen, attempting to catch my breath. The back of my head hurts. I must’ve hit it against the pavement when he threw me to the ground like I was a freaking ragdoll. But there’s no blood. Only a goose egg the size of my fist.

