skinnydragon

Thanks CG! I think it's quite clear by now that David has lost any confidence he ever had in his father. Maybe he'll start calling him "the man who lives in my house." I guess when you're a teenage boy you sort of get used to the fact that your adults don't really pay any attention to you unless you cause them trouble, like getting picked up for smoking a joint or ditching school. Your emotional life is a book written in a language they may have known once, but is as obscure to them as cuneiform tablets would be.

Thank you, jess! Do you really think David is emotionally ready to have anal sex with Donny? With his entire adult support group gone (whoops, you don't know that yet) the ramifications of that incident might be scary. He might run amok, careening around town screwing all the boys: Matty, Twoey, Chuck, ... oh, wait...

Thank you, Geoff! I'm glad you could feel his anguish. The poor kid is almost at rock bottom. We know it's mostly of his own creation, but he doesn't know that and it's no help to where he is right now. His only light seems to be Donny. But someone mentioned, in the review to an earlier chapter, that he was putting all his eggs into one emotional basket. And this is true. David doesn't seem to have a Plan-B.

Thank you, Dayne! That was a very thoughtful set of comments. You certainly helped shed light on the problems our little hero is confronting. Your comment that David is unable to access his own memories and has to rely on what others tell him should remind us that WE TOO have to rely on what David tells us. In the short distance of a few paragraphs he has already offered two or three different conclusions on what "Danny really meant." Then, of course, you had to toss in another. He is spiraling out of control, with Donny being the only parachute available at the moment. But hell, we have 12 chapters left--plenty of time.

Thanks Hunter! I think it is as you have guessed. This is not an insane asylum. Dr. Keating sees no movement in David's therapy beyond what they (mostly David and Donny) have already figured out . Before therapy can significantly help him, he needs to remember, and thus the clinic to do just that. Dr. Keating's big mistake was assuming this very smart boy, who has shown remarkable maturity and seems to be mentally stable, would understand what Syracuse was all about. If he did not explain it very well to David--CAUTION, we only know what David tells us--then he has made a serious error. He certainly didn't know about David's dream. Too bad David didn't tell him about that dream.

Thanks Parker! I don't think Dr. Keating knows what an "utterly unattached and clueless father" David has. As I mentioned somewhere below, therapy seems to be at a dead end until David begins to remember, which the doc doesn't think he has any chance of doing without the intervention of the clinic. So David is safe for two weeks. I think we know better. For 110 chapters, we know better! And we're not worried about getting packed and ready to fly to Europe, either. We can only pray Donny or something else good will save him. Otherwise, I think our boy is lost. I'm hoping it's THAT realization causing the consternation on this page, and not me.

Thanks Def! I talked about Keating in the below replies, so let's think about Ginny here. First, what we don't know (we will Sunday)is that she has a book coming out and will be on a book tour to Albany next week. Let's assume that has distracted her a bit. Here is what she knows: Her son is happy. David, who was confronting orientation demons, seems to have gotten his act together and now has a girlfriend, whom he has proudly brought to her house. When Twoey told her of David's strange phone call and collapsing at Sam's, she immediately called his shrink, not realizing David was not still seeing him. She even told Twoey what signs,in David,to watch for from her third-hand perspective. (Which was pretty accurate.) Of course Twoey couldn't do it because he no longer has any contact with David or anyone--but Ginny does NOT know this. The little breakfast scene Friday morning, no doubt alerted her and flashed some caution lights. Of course she won't get the chance to go into analysis mode, since we know everything is going to break loose either Saturday or Sunday, and Twoey will be gone all day Saturday anyway. So, since she works every day, and also writes, she isn't sitting around thinking of dire scenarios for her son, who, when he is with her and his boyfriend, seems incredibly happy and content.

Thanks spikey! Do not ever forget we get our information basically from David's narrative. HE said it was a mental health facility, not his doctor. As I mentioned to lux, it seems Dr. Keating needs David's memory to return so he can be treated. He knows it won't happen without some sort of intervention (the clinic). To him, David is in no risk for the two vacation weeks, when he will be with friends and family. Of course, we know--by now, I hope--that David's biggest enemy is himself. This means he is at great risk. Donny seems to be helping him, but we know David is only a crisis or two away from losing it.

Thanks lux! David is very good. I'm sure Dr. Keating thinks the only thing left is to get David's memory back so therapy can continue. He does not see a boy in crisis. He see's someone in control of himself and who figured out the abuse on his own. The clinic, in reality, is certainly not what David thinks it is. But we know how he is. For 110 chapters we know how he is. That's why I'm a little surprise at some of the comments here. I'll try to address those in my other replies.

In the chapter after Kiel "jumped" I began to wonder about Geoff. And now you have me wondering even more. Great chapter. Carl!

I'm still with it Carl! And enjoying it too. I'm assuming from the title, there's more to come with Tim. Geoff's father was really f***ed up! But I think it's stuff like that which makes certain people such homophobes. Not all, but some. Anyway, this was a very good chapter.

Well, Carl, I'm diving into another one of your stories. I think this one captured me, right away, with "When you’re pathetically uncoordinated, you consider things like that." Anyway, I've thoroughly enjoyed chapter one and am on my way to more!

Well, CG, whatever happened between Mikey and his dad didn't seem to interfere with his attendance at the subsequent study sessions. I enjoyed the first scene, under the truck, and all your double entendres. It was also nicely revealed, when Greg realized just how much he was helping his Yank. That's an important thing to know, given the memories from Maine. Another nice thing you do is select one couple to concentrate on, along with a section for J&M. It sort of lets us see the similarities and differences of the relationships. Another great chapter, CG!

Truly entertaining, Dayne! But then, each of your WLM chapters have been. More than once, you've beautifully described a scene with lots of people talking over each other, and you always make it seem like the reader is right there, catching these bits of conversation. That's a fantastic talent you have. Like the others have mentioned, the last part of the chapter, in introspection, put a perfect bit of punctuation to this section. You're a very talented writer! Thanks for this chapter and this great story!

Mike and David always seem to be misreading the other. (I know, I know, who am I to complain about that? ) But it's difficult to understand how they've been together for 8 years. Of course there have been hints that things were different before David lost his job, and maybe that was the catalyst for this growing tension. Aside from that, you would think, knowing Mike was behind a surprise party for him, David would have cut him a little slack. Also, Vicky glomming onto the 'attraction' with Rain was a little disquieting, both for David and us. Another great chapter in this complex story, lux!

Thank you, Ron! Yes, it was intense to write and rewrite too!

This was a very entertaining series of "stories" Hunter! I enjoyed them very much, and they really said a lot, comparing the expected reactions to the actual ones and their side effects. Well done!

Thanks Ron! Unfortunately, from the chapter you're on, you won't like what happens next. Try not to OD on the story. Some people binge-read it and have never been heard from again!

Well, it was a good ride while it lasted! Some very well written scenes in this one, Ron. The only hope is, Travis and Raliegh's confrontation with Dorian, a member of the Pride harassment committee, will spell their doom. The alternative would be for Dorian to hire a hit-man with Dad's credit card (do they take credit cards?). btw shouldn't the secret service be around soon checking up on Dorian? That would make an interesting sidebar for T&R to consider.

Dear friend, I we ever meet irl, I--um, may need to take a wee step backward to protect myself. These were beautifully, if terrifyingly, well written. I'm confident you were channeling someone else when you got the inspiration for these. Maybe a politician from The States or something. btw I've seen one of those giant hogweed thingys. Nicely wrought, Parker.

Thanks Ron! I'm glad you are enjoying it! It isn't all light and fluffy though--just a warning

Gone from sight Locked away Gone from thought Far away Gone from life Cast away - David *** Twoey Erik, Mom and I were having breakfast. He’s been extra sweet and caring since I sorta drove him to getting my attention with a slap on Wednesday. You can tell how bad he feels about it, poor guy. Mom brought something up. “I haven’t seen your friend David around for such a long time! How is he doing?” “I see him in my math class. He

Thank you, Def! Like you said, he can't help himself with Donny. Maybe it's the combination of realizing Donny recognized what the doctor didn't (at least in David's mind) and his raging hormones, amplified by sexual fantasies of Donny. Whatever it is, nothing short of a crisis will derail this Donny-Express. The doctor will do a clumsy (IMHO) job of explaining the therapy in chapter 109, leading David to very, very bad assumptions. Just what he needs, right?

Thank you, Parker! That was a very thoughtful description. Your last line, that David will hurt everybody, and therein lies his danger was very insightful. More dangerous will be if he ever realizes this.

Thanks spikey! I liked your line "He also sees what he wants and goes for it." Maybe that's exactly what David needs to realize his true orientation. Matty's subtlety was totally lost on someone like David, who reads even the most obvious advances in the way his mind has been programmed to respond. Twoey, likewise, misread David. Waiting for his angel to come around to realizing what his orientation is, was doomed to failure. David was NEVER going to be able to do that on his own. And so, Donny. Team-Donny, yeah. Maybe I should post half-days so we'd have 26 more chapters and get enough time for Team-Twoey and Team-Donny to coalesce. Oh-oh. What about Team-Matty?