Wayne Gray

Thanks for the comment, Tom. Thanks to those scars these folks know better than anybody the value of "refuge". I'm excited to finally be getting to the real purpose of the camp. It has been a bit of a long road to get here, but we're getting closer to seeing Greg's dream actualized, and "real".

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and the art by Alyssa. It was great fun to write, but more to post it and read the reactions of people to the tale. 🙂

Thanks for the information, Thorn! I knew some of this, but not all. Cool stuff to know. 🙂

Thanks, Fae. I'm glad you liked that addition with Clay. I added it in this rewrite, and there will be a few more little things here and there as I go along. I have a scene I thought of on the drive home today that made me tear up a little. That one will be fun. 🙂

Thanks, Chris. There is some really serious crap in this chapter... but just like in life, those moments are broken up by lighter ones. I'm glad people liked that little struggle between our camp hosts. 🙂

Cook, eat. Then relax with a glass of wine and read. 😄

Thanks for the comment, droughtquake. That conversation between the guys was a monumental one for Jeremy. He's a smart guy, but when a man is set on hating himself, then he will find a way to do it. Mason loving him through what Jeremy considered an unforgivable sin made him at least begin to reconsider his long-held belief of his guilt. Though, that's still going to be a process.

Thank you, Mancunian. Sorry about making you cry (not really, because apparently I have a devil inside me). I'm glad the characters feel so real. I like the emotional stuff. Life isn't clean, and things happen that people don't deserve, and that they need help to struggle through. Really, Camp Refuge is for those people who need a safe harbor. They need help. We're finally getting to see the campground serve the purpose it was intended to serve. That will become even more true soon, so hang on to that hat.

Thank you, Parker. Jeremy has been through some real crap. But, given time, love and understanding his wounds can heal. Clay hurts too, though it's not as obvious as Jeremy's pain. Though, he's in good hands with Greg.

Hehehe. Thanks for weighing in on the debate. If you want to be blown away, try this crazy dry rub wing recipe. Yowzer. You gotta scroll a bit for it, but the recipe is there. Thanks for commenting and reading, Dave!

Maybe you're right. The camp needs a captain. It needs someone who is steady, driven, dependable, and who everyone else can lean on in times of crisis. Greg is a good leader without ever really trying to lead. He just does what needs doing, and becomes what those around him need. And yes... he does seem to have a very healthy libido. 🙂

June 05 (Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.) Jeremy woke to a rebellion in his stomach. He managed to get his face over a trash can beside the bed and emptied what was left in his belly. He stayed there and breathed through his mouth, his eyes closed. "Hey. You're okay," Mason whispered behind him. Jeremy felt the teen's warm hand on his back as Mason rubbed it. "I've got you." "Mason?" He couldn't quite bring himself to lie on his back again at the moment and stayed where he was. "What's going on?

I should wait until Sunday? Well, all right, @Danilo Syrtis!

Hehehe. It's coming. I'm not sure exactly when, as it's still being edited, but it'll be soon.

You know... I'm really happy that people care so much about Jeremy. That makes me feel good. 🙂

That pretty much nails it. Everyone in the story is flawed. It is hard to write flawed characters (for me at least). I have to resist the urge to make them perfect, and make them do the right things every time. That's just terribly uninteresting, and doesn't reflect the real world at all. I think the character in the story who is probably the least interesting is Greg. He's good, and he tries, and he nearly always ends up on the right side of things. Frankly, he's unreal because he's idealized. If I did a complete rewrite, I'd change him. His basic nature would remain, but there would be little cracks in him, like there are in all of us. It's okay to hate what Clay did. It was a mistake, and Clay knows it. But a lack of forgiveness for mistakes means there's no motivation for trying to be better. If there's no path to the light, well, then people will stay in the dark forever. Perhaps it means my work lacks nuance, but that's not a world I want to write.

Well, now there’s no winning. If Jeremy forgives, it’s because he’s self-loathing and Clay is undeserving of it. If he doesn’t, Jeremy won’t stay at a place where he feels such a terrible person remains. I’m fairly certain you’re going to be disappointed.

It’s totally fine to despise Clay for his actions. Like I said, fear makes people do ugly things. As for forgiveness, well, I suppose the one who really should decide on that is Jeremy.

Thanks, Jeffrey. Clay and Mason were both ready to go to war, both feeling that they were in the right. The next chapter will show how the struggle between them ended up. Though, there's a lot more to go after that particular problem is resolved.

Thanks, Mancunian. There's more to come, and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for the encouragement. 🙂

Thanks for the comment, Dave. Yeah, he tried to reframe the conversation, and it worked. Clay couldn't come up with a reason why he'd be okay with Mason becoming a cop, but and still forbid him from dating Jeremy. If safety was all he was worried about, well... then he should have real issues with Mason joining the police. Orson's a prime example of just how dangerous it can be!

Thanks for the comment, Fae. That's the moment Clay realizes that he really screwed up. That Jeremy had seized on Clay's rejection of him as proof of his worthlessness, of his wrongness. He had no way to know Jeremy would go that way, but still. That was the moment Clay really felt the responsibility of what he had done.

Thanks for the comment, droughtquake. Those who are supposed to care for and love us can do so much damage if they want to, and even unintentionally. Clay hurt Jeremy... but it wasn't him who created the wound in his soul. Those can only really be caused by those we love.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to leave a comment, tabaqui. He's trying. Luckily the people he loves are willing to forgive him.

You do have to wonder, don't you? What happened to make a guy like Jeremy display such insecurity? Stick around and we'll find out. Thanks for commenting and reading, Chris.