I chose a hard shell thing which I thought was called a taco. Placing it on my plate, I caught her stunning stare. “That would be helpful, thanks.”

“An outdoor kind of therapy.”

I nodded and took a bite. Crunchy lettuce, tasty meat, and a heaping of creamy avocado. I closed my eyes in bliss. “God, I’d forgotten how food can make everything better.”

She nodded, a sad look coming into her eyes. “Were you fed well...before you were on your own?”

I wolfed down the rest of the taco and helped myself to a flaky pastry thing from the Indian container. “Not really. We had more than enough to keep us alive, of course, but it was just bland necessity, not a reward.” I swallowed hard against a swift memory of the times we were given food as a reward. Normally, I would bury those recollections and shovel more earth onto the grave of who I’d been, but tonight, I forced myself to be fully open with Gem.

After everything she’d done for me...I wanted to be better now instead of months from now. I wanted her to be safe with me. I wanted her to be able to fall asleep in my arms and not wake up bruised. “We would earn a big roast meal if we had a...long day serving. If you were bleeding or a guest was particularly proud of what they did to you, they could request a meal as a treat for us.”

Gemma stopped eating and shivered. “God, I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged and took a bite of the pastry. Potato and carrot all seasoned in a curry paste. “It’s in the past.”

“And you’re here now.”

I nodded and held her hazel stare. “With you.”

“With me.”

A shy smile broke her gorgeous face. “And you asked me to marry you.”

“I did.” I smiled back, still shocked and awed, with a mix of terror and pride.

“That was a surprise.”

“To me as well.” I chuckled. “It hadn’t been in my head until that very moment, but I guess it’s been in my heart for a while.”

Her cheeks pinked. “How long?”

“Probably when I woke up and thought you were the genie from my fable.”

She froze, her mind scooting back through all the moments between us. “Wait...you were still heavily concussed. I didn’t think you remembered those interactions?” Her eyes darted to the side. “There were many sides of you that woke during those first few days. And each wasn’t aware of the other.”

I grabbed a bottle of water and sipped, leaning back against the couch. We’d pushed the coffee table away and cleaned up the mess of the TV, leaving a good-sized piece of carpet for our picnic. “I only remembered the other day. In the hospital, actually. You were sleeping across the room, and I was watching you. I had a vague daydream of you saying you’d bring me happiness and felt an overwhelming sense of peace. When I went back to sleep and woke the next morning, I remembered that it wasn’t a daydream but a memory.”

I moved closer to her and pulled her into me. “You said you’d grant me happiness, Gem. That you’d make my wish come true.” My lips touched hers. The moment I kissed her, the air in my lungs vanished, leaving me light-headed with a tortured groan. “And you’ve kept that promise.”

“Always.” She kissed me back.

I yanked her onto my lap, hoping I didn’t just wipe out a bunch of food.

Her hands landed in my hair, and we forgot all about eating.

My headache faded a little as she ran her fingers over my scalp and her tongue lashed against mine.

She swept me away from a day of being the best I could be, allowing me to let go for a moment, to be hers, to be free in her arms because there...I found true happiness.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

DOT18: ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED to The Girl Gravity Can’t See?

User123: Nah, last I heard she’d been abducted by a psychopath. My sister’s friend told my boyfriend who told me that her Jeep was spotted in a lake. Her body was eaten by crabs.

DOT18: OMG, for real?

Scar89: Don’t listen to them. Just ’cause she hasn’t posted a video in a while doesn’t mean she’s dead, guys! Life happens to the best of us.

DOT18: But she always had new content every week! How am I supposed to get my skills up if she doesn’t post anymore? I’m trying to get good enough so I can apply for the Olympics now it’s a thing!

User123: There are other climbers on YouTube, you dick. Learn there.

DOT18: Don’t call me a dick! I like Gemma’s vids. She explains why she goes for a certain hold and where to hold your body weight to stop the gravity swing.

FGH1: She won’t post another video ever.

Kait: How do you know?

FGH1: ’Cause she’s dead. Chopped up into little pieces.

Sizi: That’s sick!

FGH1: Yeah, well, she deserved it for whoring herself out on YouTube. Those tight leggings and filming her ass climbing up a cliff? She was asking for it.

DOT18: I’m reporting you for abuse.

FGH1: Go for it. It’s the truth. She got snatched and murdered for being a video slut. I’m going to find her body and show all you guys the truth. And then I’m going to use her bones as toothpicks.

Wow...

Josh wasn’t kidding.

I closed out of the comment section on the last video I’d posted before going missing and slouched on the couch. My spare laptop hummed on my thighs, granting heat to my legs, reminding me all over again that it was time to tackle the overflowing inboxes, the countless messages, DM’s, and tags.

I missed my main laptop that was still in my Jeep back in the valley. Eventually, I would have to go back for all my abandoned gear. My eyes trailed to my trusty backpack that I’d managed to stuff into the helicopter when they came to put out the fire.

I should probably empty that too and sort out my life now that I’m back.

But then again, if sorting out my life included dealing with this online mess? I didn’t know if I had the energy. I’d expected some backlash—it wasn’t the internet if there weren’t a few random trolls. But this? I wasn’t expecting it to go so dark.

Use my bones as toothpicks?

Who are these people?

I’d always allowed commenting on my videos on YouTube as I liked having an open Q&A session for an hour after I uploaded the latest recording. I’d answer climbing questions, coach a little on what they were doing wrong, and generally share pieces of myself with the watchers who made my career possible.

But after reading the filth that’d been spewed all over my last video...I second-guessed that strategy.

Over sixteen thousand comments and the longer the time went from my last upload, the more disgusting the comments became until the most recent posts were just assholes joining in for the hell of it.

Apparently, I wasn’t just dead. My corpse had been transformed into some sort of apparatus that men could climb whenever they wanted, using dildos for shoes.

I have to give them some credit for their imagination, I guess.

However, it wasn’t exactly inducive to wanting to put myself back out there.

I squeezed my eyes closed and inhaled deeply.

After so long away from social media and not having internet in the valley, I was tempted to just shut it all down. I’d enjoyed not having the distraction of an online world or feeling like I had to continually produce content.

I had more than enough money saved and invested to never have to work again. I didn’t need to put myself out there for assholes to tear me to ribbons just because they were bored.

But...it was comments like the ones buried beneath the filth that kept me going: