Wayne Gray

We ARE in a temperate rain forest up here. And winter is our rainy season. 80-90% of the time it'll be misty/rainy. You find ways to deal with it, and just continue living life despite the weather. But, yes. Maybe that sun will shine indeed. Thanks for reading and for the comment. 🙂

I keep flirting with those damn cliffs, and I can't seem to help it in this story. :-s That apron. It became an anchor of sorts for Lee. It is proof of Greg's love and regard for him, and Lee clings to it with everything he is. A $19.99 piece of embroidered cloth, but something invested with emotion, hope, and dreams. You may buy the item, but you can't purchase what comes after. That's earned and it is given. There's no other way. Thanks, Tom. See you next week.

Thanks for the comment. Maybe you guess correctly, or maybe I'm going to do something completely wild and crazy. That'd be so unlike me! *chortles* Okay, seriously now. Whatever I do, I want it to feel satisfying. At least until we can pick up the tale later. At least until we can check in, and see how everyone is getting on. That's the goal. Stories that don't end don't satisfy me. Stories that don't end well don't either, so I'll try hard to avoid that.

Thanks, Parker. That may be a tall order, concerning Lee and Avery. Lee is currently convinced that Avery is better off away from him. And Avery ... well, he has been oddly muted about his punishment and accepting of it. He's feeling a lot of guilt for Lee getting hurt. But love solves many things if we just let it grow.

There are a lot of good, insightful comments here. You're right about Lee being in crisis. Up till now, he'd been unable to have that luxury. It was pure survival mode for so long. Even at the hospital, even with Avery and with Greg, he'd put off processing. He had refused to decide, to look ahead to what came next. Now that he is, he's ... well ... he's freaking out. And Greg feels it. He feels how desperate Lee is, and how terribly he needs to be supported. Yes, he still blames himself for what happened to Avery. He still remembers Greg's words cutting him wide open, "You have done enough." Lee is so afraid he will screw up again. And if he sends Avery away, then the only person he can hurt is himself. Lee is wounded. He truly doesn't understand that he has value, or that anyone could love him. But you're right that he trusts Greg. Greg came for him when no one else did. Greg didn't give up, and he came soaring back into Lee's life just when Lee had given up. Given time, Lee will listen to the quiet lessons from Greg. One of those is that apron. It was a gift of so much more than a material thing, and Lee knows it. Ah, so sure about Avery. I will say this only about him: we'll see him again. And with that, I'll leave it there. 🙂

Thanks for the great comments. That apron ... yes. You got it. Maybe it's "high-school Lit 101" but I wanted it to be exactly that - a symbol. And yes! Sexy, fun times with our younger couples never hurt anybody. You're right about that party - it's the first Lee has ever had. It's the first time he has ever been celebrated. And then Lee giving Avery up, desperate to, finally, do something good for someone. Now, if this actually is good or not ... that's debatable. But Lee thinks it is. There's more coming next week. We'll get there.

"HEA?" "Fix?" *blinks innocently* Perhaps you are unfamiliar with my *ahem* reputation. Haha. I'm kidding. And I guess we'll just have to see, eh? Yeah. It's gonna be a looooong week. lol

Thanks, Tony. I really do think Lee has progressed a great deal. He's so far from perfect, but wow. Look at how far he has come. He went from stealing donations out of a jar with the hope that he could find a way to win back his pimp, to giving up the first person he is beginning to love. Now that the script you mentioned above has changed, Lee's true self is appearing. And ... I really like what I see. 🙂

Hahaha. Mason is a cheeky shit! But Jeremy really didn't try so hard to get away. And yes. Youth was great fun. But ... now I make up for quantity with quality. lol Hrm. You need what I call a "stealth chick flick". Like ... one of these. http://www.scene-stealers.com/top-10s/top-10-chick-flicks-for-guys/ And Lee is definitely in that teenage boy mode with Greg. What is sweet to me, and unsaid ... is Clay is watching him fuss over Lee, and seeing the paternal way Greg behaves. Caring, protective, worried, firm and yielding all at once. 🙂 And no. No sun! This is a temperate rain forest, after all! Harlan. I'll just leave it at that. Thanks for the comments. I can hardly wait for next week. lol

It took so long for Avery to "get it". Lee catalyzed that for him. He made it possible for Avery to see it, and in a way all three owe Lee a debt for that. I knew Greg's forbidding Avery from the camp would be a sticking point for many. Ultimately, Greg knows Avery is going to be okay, and he's hopeful that Lee will too. This is something Lee needed from him, so Greg is giving that to him. After wounding Lee so horribly, Greg feels like he has to. But ... circumstances can and do change. Will they? I guess we'll see. Thanks for the comments!

Hahaha. Thanks for the nickname. And thanks for the comment too. Let's see what everyone else thinks of this one, eh?

Good comment. And maybe you're right. But ... Greg doesn't necessarily agree with Lee, that Avery is better off without him. All he knows is Lee needs this from him, and after what happened before, Greg wants to give Lee whatever he can. Greg isn't perfect, but he's doing his best. Thanks for the great comment and for reading.

Thanks, spyke. That was a moment where Lee thought beyond himself. A purely selfless moment, denying himself something he wants to "benefit" another person. I can't speak to if he is right - only that he thinks he is. And that he's doing it out of love.

Thanks, tim. 🙂 After the heaviness of the prior chapters, this one lightened up a bit. Not entirely, but a bit.

Chapter 8: Over 14 November (Saturday Evening) Greg sat in the Emergency Room. It had been hours since they'd taken Lee. Clay rubbed his back from the spot beside him. "Hey. We're not doing him any good by losing sleep." He shook Greg gently. "Come on. Let's go home, get a little rest, then we'll come back." "I have to stay." Greg nodded. "You go. This one is mine, and I have to stay." Clay began to argue, but Greg silenced him with a smile. "Really. I want you to go. I'll be

Hah! Well, that works. 🙂 I think you'll like A Silent Song and Broken. Both are stories I'm proud of, so I do hope you enjoy em.

Grazie! Sono felice che ti sia piaciuta la storia, anche senza il bambino. Sono contento che tu abbia preso questo per un giro. Il prossimo della serie, Camp Refuge, non è un mistero / suspense, invece è meglio descritto come una storia d'amore. Spero che piaccia anche a te.

Good for you. I'm so glad when I hear of people getting the vaccination. I've gotten both of mine, thanks to working in healthcare, but nothing is really going to change until quite a few of us have it.

Now, do you really want me to answer that? 😛

It has been a long time since Corbin has felt safe. With Paul he does. But ... is that justified? Time will tell, eh?

I really wanna do one of those tubs some day. And Chad is definitely a good friend. 🙂

Maybe so! And yep. Corbin has a high tech little phone. He seems a bit unprepared for a hitman or a spy though. Wouldn't you think? I wonder what could possibly be going on? Thanks for reading. 🙂

Hahaha. Paul isn't quite 6'5". He's 6'3", 210 lbs, and strong as hell. And yes. I'm sure you'd make do. 😛

Ah, the only suspense I've ever written! I hope you enjoy it. And there is actually a stream nearby. That features in the story, around chapter five or so. So not to worry! You've asked some good questions. Keep reading. I promise, they're all answered in time. Thanks for taking Guarded for a spin!

Thanks for reading and for the nice comments, Ford. Yes, this story is drawing close to the end. But that doesn’t mean all the tales in and around the campground have been told. We’ll very likely see these people again. 🙂