Wayne Gray

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. and Mr. Mercer." Jeremy hung his head. "I don't know how it happened, but Lee got his hands on some drugs. He must have pressured Avery into taking them." "Which?" Bill Mercer's tone was clipped, barely controlled. "Which drugs?" "OxyContin. It's a powerful opiate. Thanks to his habit, Lee has some resistance to its effects, but Avery doesn't." Jeremy’s forehead ran with nervous sweat. “That, and the doctors say Avery had an allergic reaction to the drug.” Anna

Yes. 😞 Sad, yet not surprising. It's just hard when it comes to mental health resources here. The stigma associated with mental health and addiction services is appalling, even from those running these insurance programs. Thanks for the comment, Fae. More to come tomorrow.

You're welcome. There are more options available out there if you have money and/or live in a more urban area. But really, you need money to get good mental health care where I'm located.

You make a lot of good points. We have a "two strikes" policy. If someone violates their patient contract twice, they're dis-enrolled so we can allow someone else in who might adhere to the program. Upon his initial arrival, Lee would have been utterly unsuited to the program. People have to want to be better, and Lee didn't. I know it sounds brutal, because it is. But we don't have other options due to how badly impacted the program is. Lee did recover quickly from the physical effects of withdraw. His physical dependence wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, since he never got as much OxyContin as he wanted. Eddie made sure he was constantly on the cusp, craving it. It was one more tool to control him, and a part of Lee's panic in not being able to get back to Eddie. The guys at the campground had no idea Avery would be the supplier of the drug to their little movie night gone wrong. Why would they? Far more likely Lee had gotten them from another camper passing through, given his history. They think they've got it figured out. THAT, really is their sin. They assumed, and they shouldn't have done that at all. But they're emotional, and people lose rationality when they're like that. Thanks for the great comments. I appreciate them. 🙂

Support for mental health and drug rehab is terribly difficult to find here. You can find counseling, if you're willing to wait. But not a single office here will take someone who isn't willing to go. As well ... I'm going to infer beyond your initial question. "Why not offer Lee counseling with rehab?" Pretty simple. They don't have access to it. There is a single program in Northern California (Del Norte County) that offers a drug treatment program (suboxone) paired with counseling. It's impacted (I know, because this clinic is in the system I help manage), and new applicants for the program take months to onboard due to it being the only game in town. Additionally, Lee would have to want to go. When they took him in, he wanted nothing to do with them. And really? If Lee had pushed it, Joseph would have had to either had him thrown in jail for assaulting an officer, or simply let him walk away. So long as Lee agreed to stay at the camp, Joseph told Lee he wouldn't turn him in. It'd be different if there were more resources here. There are not. I find it interesting that this situation seems so surreal to most people. How could a place like this exist in a country like the US? The short of it is reimbursement rates. Mental health is not profitable when your population is relatively poor and on government funded coverage plans (MediCal and MediCare). This is why our not-for-profit clinic is almost the only place in the county to offer mental health, and is the only Suboxone treatment center. So for the guys at the campground to try and make up the difference, it's a bit like asking a paramedic to do open heart surgery. You do the best you can, but things are likely not going to end up going well. Thanks for the comments. They're good ones, because it lets me remind people how very far we've got to go in what is supposed to be a civilized place.

History. That's why. Everyone there thinks they know what happened, and didn't really question that. It's hard to break free of the past. Lee is a prime example of this. Thanks for reading. There's more to come on Friday.

Aww, I'm sorry! Just three more days. 😉 Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you're eagerly awaiting the next installment!

Tony is a clever one. Hell, there are a lot of clever readers here. Sometimes they come up with better, more interesting plots than I do, and I'm like "Well ... damn it!" But that's all right. I love all of it. 🙂 Thanks for reading!

Love will make us do crazy things. The need to belong and be held in high regard ... that’s powerful. And Vance is certainly not a wholesome sort. He could use some ass kicking. Thanks for the comment!

Well, right now Greg and everyone else thinks Lee got the drugs, then pressured Avery into taking them. And that’s not what happened at all. Avery got them. He convinced Lee to take them. Lee even gave him an out. There was an “are you sure” moment. The person Lee is now is very different from when he first arrived. But he’s being judged for something he didn’t actually do. There’s more coming. Thanks for the comment, and I’ll see you Friday.

Sometimes "the real" is pretty messed up. It can be ugly, and painful, and just ... dark. But there's a lot of beauty possible too. I do promise that I am going to tell a story, as real as I can, and yet it's one filled with people who, though they are fallible, they try to do the right things. Because they truly do try. Stick with me. And thanks for reading.

Those author-types. They're wordy! Hahaha. Thanks for the comment and for reading!

You'll find out if you keep reading. 🙂 And you'll come to understand Lee a bit more too. Thanks for reading and for the comment!

Camping, and so so SO much more. 🙂

I suppose time will tell how safe everyone stays, eh? 🙂

FYI - the data shows they're not necessary. Like ... a staggering preponderance of data. I realize it's a scary thing, but after doing the research, I'd be doing exactly what they are and feel reassured that I'd be safe doing it.

Thanks, molly. you're absolutely right about the hard part. And I'm happy you feel it was well done. 🙂 More to come on Friday. See you then.

Sometimes life is brutal. I've watched things like this happen; a combination of an incomplete story, a bad decision made from a place of love, and hasty reactions from people doing their best culminate in drastic and sudden change. Life, recovery, trust ... these are all precious because they're tenuous. And I wanted to show it. Thanks for reading, Kitt. More to come.

It is a wreck! And things are certainly a mess. FYI - if you knew what a horrible stretch of road that is leading back to town if you're on foot, and walking in the dark and rain, you'd be even more worried. It'd be terribly easy to fall, or be hit by a passing car. But since I called it out here, now you know you don't have to worry about that. There are plenty of other things to worry about. This is a capable and loving group of guys, though. At some point, we have to have faith. Thanks for the trust. See you next week.

That was pretty much the moment where my beta readers and editor started commenting things like "Ohhhhh no. no no no." At some point we writers tip our hands. It's not about outsmarting readers, it's about telling a story. And this one is worth telling, I think. Stick with me. And thanks for reading.

For me too! Man, the next chapter is intense too, but it also resolves a few things. How that resolution comes will be revealed on Friday. Thanks for reading and commenting. I'm happy you find the story engaging.

I believe you're right - lots of good things are possible, but that all will take effort and work. All you mentioned is valid. I wanted to add something specifically around Greg. Greg needs help getting past how much this has hurt him. Right now we see him running on adrenaline, getting through the crisis at hand because that's what is needed from him. And Greg is "the steady one". He is not allowed to break. He is never allowed to freeze up, to be indecisive, he can't take a moment to think. Not when so many depend on him. That's how he feels. So when this happens, he shoves aside his needs and plows forward into some kind of resolution - no matter how much it hurts. Avery and Lee aren't the only ones who need counseling and/or some sort of therapy. People find therapy in different places, and it's not always called that. But they all need something. Thanks for the comments and for reading.

See, that's what I asked my editor and beta readers too. "Could you see this happening? Does it feel real?" And all said yes. They said it impacted so heavily because it felt possible. That's the goal. I don't want it to feel forced, or unrealistic. And ... I do think I got very close to the real. Thank you for commenting and reading, Jeffrey.

Thanks for the comment, Chris. It didn't take long for it to all go to hell, and it feels pretty crappy. One mistake. One. We'll see what happens here. There are still a lot of possibilities - some including Harlan, some without. But none without more effort and communication. There's more on the way next week.

".. the hard work of the truth" I like it all, but I really like that bit. The truth is hard. But it's also worth the effort. Thanks, tim. Nice pieces.