Jeff Burton

Thank you so much for the comments. And I'm not going to spoil a damn thing, letting you find out is more fun! Thanks for being along for the ride.

I'm actually thinking of turning it into a mini series of different trips, because what happened in chapter one actually did happen almost word for word. All I did was change his name. And yes, I'm typically hard on myself.

Those are really great questions which the answers to, will be in the story. I'll do what I can to make sure all the threads are exposed and understood.

Thank you and I almost want apologize for that at the same time. The reality is all my protagonist's seem to share my basic personality traits. Both the good, and the tragic.

Blanket reply to all the comments: Guys, thank you for the comments, I'm glad some of you like the story, I'm glad some of you probably hate it. All I can hope for is when the story is complete is the understanding of it's theme, and I hope you enjoy the ride to get there. Much love to you all, Jeff

You have an eye for detail, Jacob's story is defiantly coming soon.

I will admit, your comment from the first chapter is what strengthened Tyler's resolve. If you didn't believe it, then neither would anyone Tyler tried to get to. I think you helped both me, and Tyler in a way. And I appreciate that.

My parent’s were not happy with my choice to not press charges, they never told me this but I could see it in their eyes when we had the conversation on my second day in the hospital. It didn’t matter anyway because Jacob had voluntarily turned himself in to the Sheriffs Department the day after the incident. And then there was the school board, since the incident happened on school grounds, Jacob was suspended indefinitely and likely to be expelled once the DA’s office worked it’s cours

Yeah that was based from personal experience. Back in the day I had a similar situation and when I was put in the office I was in the accounting system in 3 days. But that was the late 90's and everything back then was YOLO lol

Tyler and Jacob were the best of friends, until a misunderstanding tore them apart. After Jacob's revenge, the boy he hurt the most becomes his strongest supporter in an attempt to undo the mistake that caused the whole incident to begin with. This story is about the mistakes people make in the heat of anger, and the love that will stop at nothing to save them from it, and the overall consequences that follow. Join Tyler as he becomes Jacob's Advocate.

All I wanted to do was finish this damn essay. I just couldn’t do it. I sat in the cafeteria during my lunch period on my final attempt to get this done, and I was out of time. This was probably my tenth rewrite since I started a week ago, and I couldn’t stop the urge to tore up what I’ve written and start again, but I knew at this point it was impossible. I ignored that compulsive urge with everything in my being if I could just concentrate a little longer. “Tyler are you still wor

The dreams still stalk me when I sleep. Images of my mother passed out on the kitchen floor, high out of her mind. Images of the men in her life and how I struggled when I was tied up and gagged in my closet, to keep me quiet. Images of the people in the system that was designed to protect me, shelter me and nurture me, instead betraying me, discarding me, and hurting me. And most horrifying of all, the one in complete darkness, silence. I’m all alone until The Hand reaches

I really appreciate the reply Gary, it means a lot. And you pretty much hit the nail on the head, creating is positive and it's a great way to find that balance. It's also a great way to vent fustrations lol But I think so far you've given me the insight I was hoping to find and that means a alot. -- Jeff

This is one of those stories that makes you pause and think for a moment when you're done reading it. It is very well written, and it just warms the heart. I've read this story before posted elsewhere, and I'm happy to see it here on GA.

Thank you for reading my post and commenting. I've seen your profile, and read some of your work, what you have done is something I aspire to do.

It took me a long time to realize this. These days I'm looking at the past to remember the best parts of me to bring forward.

Have you ever read anything that just totally tore you apart? I mean something that just took apart your psyche down to the foundation, then rebuilt it from the ground up leaving you naked and confused at how you view yourself, how you view the world, because it touched those old wounds years have buried and shook up the core of your being? I recently came back to GayAuthors because back in the day, me and another author who by the way is now listed as a 'Classic Author' by the name shadowgod, used to hang out on IRC and talk about life, read each others writing and so forth. I went and reread everything he had written still seeing all those edits on certain paragraphs that I did because he said I had a flair for making things sound right when he couldn't. I've always been critical of my own writing, and Steve always tried to rattle my head because he saw more worth in my writing then I ever could. Life then, as it always does got in the way and we lost contact and I never wrote again from that point forth. I was too busy wrapped up in family affairs, too busy trying to unravel some of the trauma I suffered in my 20's and I just didn't write. I'm a data pack rat. I've got everything I ever tried to write on backups and I came across these backups in a moment of loneliness and despair because I had lost a piece of my self in the late 2000's that I needed to get back. And I realize that the person I was living as for the last 10 years wasn't actually me. It was just a version of me that was always cautious, didn't take chances and more importantly just didn't live. I recently lost a 3 year relationship with someone I really did love because I wasn't me. I couldn't communicate I couldn't aspire to be something better, I just didn't have any real joy. And when he left I wasn't surprised and was partially relieved, and thinking back on that I am ashamed from what I turned into. The last month I've been reading old stories I hadn't touched in years. I found the stories that gave me strength as a teenager in the late 90's, I found stories that gave me courage in the 2000's during my 20's and my darkness days. Now to the point of the question at the beginning of this post. There was one story I had been following for a really long time until life got in the way and I totally forgot it existed until I was going through my written works that I had wrote and sent something to DeweyWriter who at the time was writing "The Power Within" which is part of the "For the Love of Pete" series, what I wrote was titled, "The Power Within - When Angels Weep." When I found this thing I had written I had no idea what it was from, what it was about, and why I had written it. I had to totally go into investigative mode until I found it several hours later. DeweyWriters website went down somewhere in 2016, thank god the wayback machine exists otherwise most of it would have been totally lost. The nifty archives has most of the completed work but was still missing some chapters. But I went back and reread all of it, as best I could, even with missing content the wayback machine didn't save. This is the story that functionally ripped passed all my walls, all my shields. I think part of the reason why was because it was set in the late 90's all the characters are my age, or where my age. I cannot tell you what the last week has been for me. I simply don't understand it myself. One thing I did do was make me realize I have wasted a lot of time, practically my youth on stuff simply did not matter and for that I am most shamed for. I feel reconnected with that 16 year old me who was coming to terms with being gay and what it actually meant the year my dad died, and all the mistakes I made those few years after. I feel reconnected with the 18 year old me who was so lost and tried to end it all. I feel reconnected with the 25 year old me who wished he was dead, to end the feeling of being trapped because he couldn't shake his abuser, and the abusive relationship that stole everything that made him, who he was and reducing him to an empty complaint shell of what he used to be. One story blew me apart so I could hopefully rebuild and regain what was lost. I am trying to write again, to feel again and to love again. Writing was my outlet to express the things I could not say or talk about. And I warn you now my stuff may be a little darker then what most enjoy. I've got a lot of demons that stalk me in the shadows that need to be dealt with and all of it will be posted here, in the hope that something I write has the same effect on someone that 'For the Love of Pete' had on me, and maybe I can reach at least one person before it's too late to help. One thing I am glad to see is this community and this website. Just being able to be here and share some of this stuff does help make me feel better. Don't be afraid to write, don't be afraid to feel, and more importantly don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it the most. That's the best advise I can give, and wish it hadn't taken me this long to realize it. -- Jeff

Thank you guys so much. I totally understand now. I'll make sure stuff is published correctly should I make any changes to it in the future.

Based on a true story. Jeff accepts another rideshare request, that strays way from his normal experience.

Benjamin is aging out of the foster care system, with no family and no home he strikes to move out on his own. he strikes an unlikely friendship with Josh. Can Benjamin learn to trust, learn to love, and can Josh break through the trauma and distrust and work together towards salvaging their road to redemption

To Steve: This wasn't one you got to see back then, but its special just the same. Thank you. I realized early on that my life wasn’t like everyone else. I didn’t come from a home in the suburbs, with that perfect family you see on TV. The mom that made dinner every night and made sure you ate your vegetables. The dad that always double checked your report card and played ball with you in the yard on Sundays. Family vacations, decorated holidays, and trips to the mall.

My apologies if this is in the FAQ somewhere and I didn't see it, I've got a couple of items posted for review in the stories section and I just wanted to know who to contact. It's been a couple of days and I just want to make sure I didn't do something wrong. One story and chapter was approved a few days ago but I made a change to the copyright notice and it got thrown back in the moderation queue. Is there a specific person I need to contact? Thanks in advance, Jeff.

Welcome to GA, I'm in the same boat and no you aren't the only one lol

It’s only a side hustle I told myself. Something to do at night instead of drink or smoke since that’s what single people seem to do when they’re utterly alone in life. Since I’m rather boring instead of being all woe is me and look for the solution to my troubles at the end of an empty bottle I decided to sign me and my late model Chevrolet Impala up for work doing ride-share. I’m in my late 30’s headed for my next decade of disappointment at warp speed wondering when it will slow down a

Hello, I'm not new, but surprised my account is actually still here. I'm just at a point in my life where I feel so lost and don't know where I should be. I recently found a cache of half written novellas and finished short stories on an old hard drive from 20 years ago, and thought since I don't know where I need to be maybe I can at least start here while I try to figure it out. Writing used to be my therapy and I wish i had never given it up and that I just hadn't been so afraid to post what I've written. Thank you for still being here.