Jeff Burton

I'm kind of in agreement with Aiden on what he told Will about the baby, but Will's mental state is honestly so over the place, I don't think getting hit by a 2x4 would straighten any of it out lol. I'm not sure if I feel sorry for Joey or not. Was he actually mad at Will? Was he porking all the chicks just so he could prove he was a masculine straight male? I mean based on the evidence so far, he was a jerk that deserved what he got. But the evidence at face value is so often not the real story. I seriously do wish I knew where Joey's thoughts where, hopefully his true motivation does come out because being a friend for that long and having that outcome just sucks.

The first thing I noticed when I drifted back into awareness was Luca’s comforting warmth behind me. The second was the throbbing pain in my head. The events from the night before replayed in my brain like a rerun I didn’t ask for. The argument. The realization. The punch. The way my feet had pounded through the rain like I could outrun the sound of my father’s voice. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. At minimum, I thought he’d just be disappointed again. Maybe he’d threaten

Well there it is. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

There's always chapter 10!

I've tried to write this reply like six times now and non of it sounds right so I'll say You're Welcome. It's always been my goal to use my troubled emotions to help others with theirs, not only with writing but also with just talking to people going through a tough time. I guess it's my purpose or at least one of them. If I ever try to get any of my work published it would be this one. And if I do, I'll make sure you get a signed copy. Thank you. ❤️

Very interesting points indeed and some interesting questions, that will hopefully be answered in time. Everyone has their part to play in this story and Daddy isn't done yet.

Looking back at the stuff I've written I just realized this was the first time I've written an unaccepting parental unit. Huh, neat. And yeah only way Jamie could break free is if it went nuclear.

I don’t know how long I stood on the porch when I arrived at home. Just staring at the doorknob. It was cold, brushed metal, same as always, but somehow it looked sharper tonight. Like it might cut me if I reached for it wrong. I wasn’t even in the house yet, but I could feel that pressure extruding through the walls, trying to grab me by the throat. It was in the porch light humming above me, in the too-clean welcome mat, in the familiar creak of the wood beneath my shoes. Every detail was

This is totally going to happen.

I'm setting Jordan up to be his own story were that topic will be definitely explored in detail, because I'm half and half on it myself.

Yeah I don't know if people have them or not. But not only do I have VHS tapes but I actually managed to find the exact make and model VCR that my dad got me when I was a kid, and it has the original remote which I DIDNT have as a kid lmao.

So funny story. I had chapter 9 written before I finished chapter 8. I'm not sure how that happened but it did. @Summerabbacat As for Jamie, he's changing very rapidly. I really didn't want Jamie to waste a couple of chapters basically being me and not opening up. I wanted him to see that these people aren't trying for him to be anything but him, and from what I've personally experienced when you are met in the right kind of environment with the right kind of people that shell breaks pretty damn quick, especially when you start being comfortable with showing your true self. As for Jordan he always had a feeling Jamie was something special from the get go. Some people have that ability to be able to look into other peoples souls and see what they truly are and Jordan is one of those people and he's probably going to get his own story at some point, because I really want to explore his theme. Trust me if Luca hadn't been in the picture this would have been a team Jamie & Jordan (team JJ 😂) but Luca saw him first. And yeah Mom could do better. She should do better. But we will have to wait and see on that one. @Ticklishboy30 The next chapter is already locked and loaded as I said I was finished with it before finishing chapter 8. Crap like that happens sometimes lol. So brace yourself. As everyone who has read my stuff before already knows my characters aren't allowed to be happy for very long before shit hits the fan. Last note this is the first story I've written that actually has a planned story line and conclusion. I just have to finish writing it. I think this one will spit out faster than the others and will see a full arc. Once this one is done I'll try to salvage the other two. Or I'll let them sit in long term hold and work on Jordan's story who the hell knows lmao.

I bet Aiden wouldn't be feeling the way he does if Will had died. Oops sorry, too soon. 😂 I get where Will is coming from, I've been there. Hopefully he'll be able to heal not only his body but his mind as well. Of course the bodies haven't started showing up yet so someone better install an air mattress under that fire escape. (WHY AM I LIKE THIS???) Josh great job as always, the more I read the more I love it lol.

Sometimes, a reaction comes before the cause makes itself known. That’s where I found myself Sunday morning, hovering somewhere between sleep and consciousness. I was smiling. Not just a little, full and uncontrollable, like something had bloomed from the inside out. There was an arm draped over me, the hand attached to it moving in slow, absent circles across my chest. A nose nudged into my hair, followed by the softest brush of lips at the back of my head. Luca was clearly

Quick update. I did finish Chapter 8. It'll be posted tomorrow morning so I can resume the schedule I had before. I'm not totally happy with it, but it pushed some plot points forward. Sorry it took so long.

Christ you and those cliffhangers @Josh Aterovis. I absolutely loved this chapter, a little bit of hope mixed in with pure gay panic lmao. I hope Will doesn't stain the sidewalk though.

Just a note, (I’ll have a more detailed reply to a couple of things when I’m at home lol.) Chapter 8 will either be posted tomorrow morning or Tuesday morning. This chapter was such a tough act to follow it’s taken me a minute to get right and be happy with the flow and tone.

Yes. We do.

To be honest that's a fair question. I mean even I to this day find myself stuck and miserable and part of me wonders if it's happening just because its familiar.

That's pretty much it. lol

It's only going to get worse lol. See my comment from chapter 3.

I think by the end of the story you're all going to wish someone hired a hitman on Robert. In a Dixie Chicks "Good bye Earl" kind of way.

Bill, you're probably one of the authors I should have emailed back then but the late 90's was very messed up for me. Comicality was the only one I dared to mail and I never kept anything in the account just in case someone was looking over my shoulder. I read a 'Tragic Love' back during the original run, it's a story I still reread on the regular when I need to slip into the self that I used to be. I've read your other works throughout the years, and this is just as special as everything else. Just makes you realize though how fleeting time really is, and how little of it we actually have available.

This is beautiful Myr. I have a letter as well but it's stuck on a laptop I can't get to boot so when I pull the hard drive out of it to backup data I'm gonna make sure I get that and I'll post it after the fact. I miss him terribly. He was that one constant from that scared Seventeen year old in the late 90's who didn't want to be gay that sent him email about New Kid and Gone From Daylight to the now Forty-Three year old I am now. We emailed off and on through the years, never regularly but he never forgot who I was and always took the time to send me 5 page emails like we were best buddies. I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't emailed in 2023, totally lost and at the end of my rope, and he said just write dude. So I did, and here I am.

Thank you Parker, coming from you it does mean a lot. I've been thinking for the better part of the day as to what I was listening to when I wrote this chapter and honestly I can't nail down one song that contributed the most. I've switched my playlist around to match what the characters would most likely be listening to, even if it was a decade ago since I've left a lot of details on time periods, actual locations, character descriptions mostly vague on purpose, (I want people to have the ability to let their minds fill in these details themselves so maybe it becomes a little more personal to each person?), but I think the music in general had a huge impact on all of it. It's probably one of the greatest gifts music gives me even though I can't play or compose, but it let's me feel in a way I can convey on paper. If you tried reading this chapter while listening to something like 'Crystalized' by The xx, 'Glowing in the Dark' by Older Sky, or 'Mourning Sound' by Grizzly Bears. The emotional pull may be stronger. Those are three songs I know I heard when writing it lol. The first one melody hits me hard when I'm writing Jamie the guitar stuff in it is just great. I can pull some stuff from the lyrics but it's the music itself that speaks to me first. Sigh, I love music, I love writing. I love the emotional journey of both.