Wayne Gray

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. 🙂

Oh, I get it. Harlan wasn't helpful at all. And he sort of let Greg have it - twisting the knife that had only recently been plunged into his heart. But even he is not immune to emotion. Had he been a perfect image of detachment, he'd have simply said "All right then" and walked away. But more than Greg have built something of an attachment to Lee. It may be hard to imagine, but Harlan is pulling for him, and he had been thankful for the strong bond developing between Greg and Lee. To see it wrecked ... that hurt him, perhaps more than he'd like to admit. Thanks again. Great comments. 🙂

You're more than welcome, and thank you. Yeah. That weekly schedule might have been a bit cruel. Sorry about that. Only two more to go. You can do it!

Nailed it! I replied deeper to drsawzall above.

Thanks, Tony. 🙂 Yes, two more chapters. Though, they are quite monumental, and they push the story forward in huge ways. So my hope is though this addition to Camp Refuge is a bit short, that it still feels complete when finished. I'd say more, but I'd also give things away. And no. I worked hard on this little story, and I want the impact to be as great as possible when the end comes. I believe you're right about Lee and Avery. I believe that they found strength in one another and in the gentle, respectful way they were treated by the campers. There's something about being given agency in our lives. That's what Camp Refuge has done for both of these young men. There's more on the way, and I feel the best is yet to come. Stick with me.

@spyke has it right. Harlan doesn't reach out if he doesn't have to. And ... he'd depended on Greg to do the right thing when he got back to camp. That's partly why Harlan was so shocked when Greg returned, and he didn't do the thing Harlan had predicted (go chasing after Lee). Harlan doesn't miscalculate often, but he did this time. Could he have then jumped in his car and gone looking for Lee? Yes, he could have. But again, it's not like Harlan to get directly involved in such a way. He works best from the edges, influencing others, pushing them to do what he considers to be the right thing. He learned his craft from the most manipulative, clever, and wide-reaching crime syndicate in the world (the Giovani). It's hard to break fifteen plus years of problem solving, so that's still how he naturally goes about them. Thanks for the comment. And don't worry ... we'll see more of Harlan and you can judge him accordingly.