“Sorry,” I reply, smirking to myself because he really doesn’t know what I’m doing. Travis always knows what I’m doing, but he doesn’t right now. “It won’t happen again.”
His eyes land on my filming equipment, unpacked and strewn all around the living room. “What’s this?”
“Sorry, I’m about to move it all, I promise. I post travel vlogs on my YouTube channel every Friday, and I have to film some content for that.” I set a timer on my phone for the brownies before running around and gathering up everything.
Without prompting, Travis helps. I’ve always wanted a man who doesn’t need to be told what to do. Travis sees something that needs to be done, and he steps up. He might have his flaws, but he has a lot of good qualities too.
“Don’t get my house in the shot,” he advises as we walk outside, and I start setting up my camera. I nod and point the camera at the woods instead.
While I’m in the midst of setting up the ring lights, adjusting the microphone, and making sure my battery is at 100 percent, my phone alarm rings. It takes only a minute to pull the brownies out of the stove and put them on the counter to cool. As I catch my reflection in the oven glass, I give myself a little pep talk.
“Okay, don’t be weird. Just be cute and chill.”
I can smell the weed butter, and I’m tempted to dig right in, but I stop myself.
When I get back outside, Travis is sitting in a chair behind the camera. “Am I going to have an audience today?”
“I’ll admit, I’m curious about what you do.” Travis leans back and gestures for me to take my spot in front of the camera.
I never film while anyone is watching me. Honestly, it makes me feel a little self-conscious about what I do. When I’m alone, in front of a camera, I can turn on the charm with ease. But having Travis watch me makes me wonder if I’ll do and say the right things.
I take a deep breath and press the record button on the camera. “Evening, travelers! Welcome back to my channel. I’m coming to you today from beautiful Lake Lure, North Carolina!”
I smile and wave, almost immediately forgetting about the eyes watching me as I delve into my internet persona. I go on and on about my journey to Lake Lure, how I hitchhiked to get to the Airbnb I’ve been staying in, and about the disappearances from the true crime podcast, playing it up to seem over the top rather than suspicious—like maybe there’s a curse or some haunted ground rather than an impossibly sexy murderer living nearby. I’ll need to go back to Ryan’s place and film some B-roll of his yard and the interior of his cabin. That’s how I’m able to review the Airbnbs the way I do.
People like Ryan see my content and want free advertising for their homes, so they let me stay in them as long as I post about them on my social media. Then, after that, they have more clicks and bookings than they did before. I don’t have to pay any bills, and they get some free advertisements. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. Because of that, though, I skipped over Ryan being a creep when I first met him.
I also don’t say anything about meeting Travis during my travels. That one goes without saying. I can’t exactly admit to falling in love with a serial killer who is going to hunt down and kill my stalker, now, can I?
“I can’t recommend coming to Lake Lure enough! So if you’re looking for an East Coast getaway, look no further!” I stand motionless in front of the camera for a few brief moments, holding the smile on my face before letting it fall completely and stopping the recording.
I flip through a notebook I have and stand in front of the camera again, ready for a second round of filming. This time I’m more aware of Travis’s eyes on me as I move. I take a few deep breaths and go over some of the points I have for this recording in my head.
I turn on the camera and do the exact same thing over again, this time talking about hiking trails in the area. Travis watches me, squinting as he studies my every word.
My ears burn hot, and I’m thankful for the camera-ready makeup caked on my face to hide the redness I’m sure is there. Travis doesn’t say anything or offer any critique while I’m filming. I catch my mind straying from my travel guide to wonder what it is he’s thinking.
“What do you think?” I ask him when I stop the second recording.
Travis sits up straight in his chair and takes a deep breath while he looks me up and down. The way he looks at me makes me feel like he is some kind of scientist, discovering a new species for the first time. It doesn’t feel good. It’s not how I want him to look at me at all.
“I thought I was good at putting on a persona, but I’m nothing compared to you.” His eyes scan my face, and I’m not sure what he registers. I think I should feel offended by the comment, but he’s right. That’s exactly what I do when I’m behind the camera. “Nobody would ever expect there’s something different about you. They don’t know what’s swimming beneath the surface.”
“And what’s that?” I fold my arms across my chest and raise an eyebrow at him. He stares at me with a smirk on his lips, clearly enjoying the challenge I’m giving him.
“Darkness.” A chill runs through me, and I try to shake it off, but I can’t.
Maybe he’s right. There could be something about me that resonates with him; that’s why he’s let me in the way he has.
My phone rings in my pocket and jolts me out of my introspection. I look at it, surprised to see my parents FaceTiming me. It’s not Sunday yet, and they don’t normally reach out if it’s not part of our regularly scheduled time.
“Hello?” Both my parents are on the screen with wide smiles on their faces, waving at the camera. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, we were just calling because Gemma had an idea about having you film the annual solstice festival for your channel, and we wanted to see if you were interested,” Mom explains.
“Of course, we also wanted to see how you were doing,” Dad adds. “How is that fella of yours?”
I jump at the mention of Travis and smile, immediately clicking the camera reversal button on my phone to show him sitting behind the camera. My parents’ faces light up, seeing him for the first time.
