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I nodded, not adding more to her details. I’d given up Kas’s truth a few days ago to ensure he received proper treatment. The urge to lie had been strong. To stick with my story that we’d met on the trail and fallen in love. But if I did that, then Kas wouldn’t have been tested for deficiencies or given what his body sorely needed. I’d take him being pissed off at me if it meant his depleted system was given what it needed to heal.
It was the right thing to do then...but now? Without him here, it felt like I shared things behind his back.
“Normally, children who have lived a life of abuse and sexual molestation can sometimes mimic what they’ve learned from their oppressors,” Dr. Mary said clinically. “With that in mind...has Kas ever hurt you? Are you safe with him? Have you ever felt or do you feel that you’re in danger from him?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek.
How did I answer that without blatantly lying or getting Kas into serious trouble? She gave me a few moments to think about my answer, her eyes shrewd and insightful. Before I could reply, she murmured, “You don’t have to fear he’ll get in trouble from me. I’m not interested in what he has or hasn’t done. I’m here for you. I want to help you.” Her eyes gleamed. “You can speak to me freely, Gemma. Everything we discuss is strictly confidential.”
I reclined and crossed my legs, deciding to tread the line between truth and lies. “He has hurt me in the past.”
She sat up stiffly. “Did he put your life in jeopardy?”
Flashbacks of Kas’s fingers on my throat came and went. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t do such things again. But...I fully believed Jareth had helped push Kas toward healing. The way he’d been able to touch himself in the games room. How he’d stayed with me when we had sex. How he fought against the blackouts and chose to remember instead of allowing his mind to wipe out his present and fill it with his past.
Kas wasn’t fully cured yet, but he’d taken the first few steps, and...I no longer feared he’d slip. He loved me. His heart was now mine, and I had no doubt that loyalty would keep me safe, even if he had setbacks.
“No.” I shook my head, confident and regal. “The initial moments when he hurt me were never directed at me, but more at the past he couldn’t face.” I shrugged. “I’m not justifying his behavior or saying I accept it, but I am willing to forgive because I’ve seen firsthand the growth and healing he’s already made.”
“So, you’re saying you feel safe in his company now?” Her eyes narrowed. “Even though you still barely know each other?”
“I know him better than anyone.” My spine locked into a stiff line.
“Yet you asked our medical team to treat you together. Why did you not want to be separated? Did he command you to do that? Does he allow you out of his presence? You can be honest with me, Gemma.”
I smiled thinly, trying to stay open instead of prickling on Kas’s behalf. “That was for other people’s sake, not mine.”
She tilted her head. “You’re saying he’s a danger to others?”
“I’m saying he’s endured more pain, damage, and suffering than anyone can understand. He hadn’t talked to a single person in eleven years before I found him. He’d shut down. He’d become part animal. My intrusion into his life was the biggest upheaval he’d had since he was abducted. Again, I’m not excusing his behavior nor denying that he struggled having me in his home to begin with, but what I am saying is, he’s fought so hard to be human again. He’s awed me and amazed me at how much he’s fought to deserve some resemblance of happiness.” I leaned forward, my tone slipping into firmness. “If you’re going to ask if my feelings are misplaced, let me assure you they are not. I fell in love with him, that’s true. I fell for a man who many will see as dangerous. But...he’s not. Not anymore.”
Silence fell between us for a while, her eyes never leaving mine.
Finally, she said quietly, “I appreciate your ferocity defending him. The situation you would’ve found yourself in—caring for a man with deep-seated trauma—ca
She patted the file in her lap. “I’ve read his notes. Dr. Wright has diagnosed him with PTSD as well as a severe concussion, mineral deficiencies, and a general lack of care. Are you prepared to continue looking after a man who will need to lean on you possibly for a long time, who will take everything you have to give before he’s able to give anything in return?”
“That’s where you’re wrong. He’s already given me what I’ve given him.”
“Affection?” Her eyebrow rose.
“Loyalty.” My hands balled. “Love.”
She sniffed. “You’ve done an admirable job saving his life, Gemma. If I may call you Gemma?”
I nodded. She’d already used it enough not to need my permission.
“A concussion of his degree can take years to fully heal. He’s looking at a substantial length of rehab, therapy, and other medical treatments before he’ll be back to normal.”
Normal?
What was normal for Kas?
I didn’t think even he knew.
“Whatever he needs, I’m willing to pay for.” I crossed my arms. “Money isn’t an object.”
“That’s very generous of you.” Dr. Mary smiled. “And I’m sure he appreciates it greatly. But I need you to know how difficult caring for a partner with mental trauma can be—especially one who is so new to life and being back in a society.”
“I’ll ask for help if necessary.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She smiled again, thoughts clouding her eyes.
“Anything else?”
She licked her lips, her professional façade falling a little. “I’m not going to say I don’t understand. I, myself, fell for a man who’d survived a traumatic event in his youth. It was what led me to become a psychiatrist and volunteer the time I could to helping women escape from situations where their own and their children’s lives are at risk. I understand the deep satisfaction you’ll earn each day Kassen wakes up calmer, happier, and more centered. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I cleared you both for discharge without fully making you comprehend the levity of what you’re taking on. The rehabilitation of a man who, by all accounts, has no name, no history, and no family won’t be easy.”
I shivered, recalling the brief meeting with the police Kas had had yesterday. They’d arrived, asked a few questions about where he’d been snatched from, what he could remember, and any other facts he could give before Kas had turned stony and uncooperative.
They’d wanted an interview once we were no longer in the hospital, but I didn’t know how successful that would be this early on. Having the uniformed officers in our room—even for five minutes—had set Kas on a razor-sharp edge.
I hadn’t been able to tell if Kas had been truthful or not. He’d said he couldn’t remember his real name. And, according to Jareth, he’d been a foster kid—same as Jareth—which meant the home he’d been living in before Storymaker abducted him would’ve been transient anyway.
Without a name or location, finding his family (if he even had one) would almost be impossible.
Kas truly was alone.
No, he’s not.
He has me.
My chin arched, answering the doctor’s question. “I’m prepared for it not to be easy. Whatever comes next won’t be nearly as hard as living with him alone in the very same house where he was trapped and hurt. I’ll have my family to help show him he’s safe. I’ll have my home to protect him. And he’ll have me...fighting beside him every step of the way.”
* * * * *
“Gemstone?! Holy frosting on a goddamn cupcake, is that really you?”
I laughed as all my worries and stress from the past few weeks faded instantly at the sound of my brother’s voice. “Hey, Joshy-kins.”
“Oh, my God, I don’t even care that you used that nickname. God, it’s good to hear your voice!”
My eyes stung as I sat on the single bed in our private hospital room and spoke into the cell phone I’d bought from the gift shop downstairs after speaking with Dr. Mary Cha
“I’m so sorry I vanished for a while.” I wiped at a tear that dared to fall. “It wasn’t my intention to age you beyond your years.”
“Well, for the record, I have thirty gray hairs because of you, my heart has become a fan of palpitations whenever I get a text late at night, and I swear to God I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since the local news picked up your disappearance and found it highly entertaining to air morbid hypotheses of what happened to you.” His voice switched from the jovial brother I knew into someone serious and sad. “Honestly, Gem, it’s been bad. Your YouTube cha
That last one is eerily close.
“You shouldn’t be reading them, you know that.” I leaned back against the overly starched pillow. “Some are avid climbers and follow me to learn and share what I love, but others are just nasty trolls who haven’t peeled themselves off a couch in a decade, let alone go exercise in nature.”
“Yeah, I know.” He sighed heavily. “It’s just been...hard.” Silence fell for a bit before he muttered, “I missed you. Who would’ve thought I’d miss my a
I laughed softly as he sighed again. “Where have you been, Gem? What happened? I’ll admit I was a few days late looking for you, but...I’m so used to you disappearing on some stupid rock hunt that I thought for sure you’d be home, dirty and tired, forcing me to watch unedited versions of your ass climbing some scary cliff.”
He sighed again, his voice quieter. “But there was no mention of a boulder in Mammoth Cave in that group you gave me access to. I asked in the forum, and no one could help. It was like...you disappeared.”
“I’m so sorry. Someone deleted the post. It wasn’t your fault you couldn’t find it. I should’ve screenshot it and sent it to you.”