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    Parker Owens
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Predator Prey - 8. Shelter

em>There are no warnings necessary for this chapter.

Marc stood in the doorway, blocking out the light from within. The man was angry: eyes wide, shoulders broadened and straight, ready to fight. Ready to protect.

He stood there on the step, withering under the glare, willing himself not to retreat, not to look away. "Please. Can we just talk for a second?"

Marc allowed a short, sharp bark of ironic laughter to escape. "No fucking way. Get your ass off my front step and get the fuck out of here before I call the cops."

Call the cops? The words hurt. Not that he blamed Marc. He sighed. Now he looked away. "Look, it's just…"

"Marc? Is everything okay?" another voice sounded from within, softer, concerned. Unaware of the danger and conflict at the door.

"Everything's fine, Lee. It's somebody just asking for directions." Marc said loudly over his shoulder.

"Can I help?" A stunning, lithe figure appeared behind Marc's shoulder in the light. Black hair raining down on slim shoulders. Alert, inquisitive blue-grey eyes on either side of a straight, narrow nose. Backlit, he almost seemed to glow.

Marc kept his focus on the defeated looking man in front of him; didn't look at the boyfriend hovering at his left. Boyfriend? Obviously. "No, we're all good."

It could have ended there. Probably should have. But it didn’t. The haggard blond on the step tried one last time. "I'm here because I need help," he offered quietly. The boyfriend, Lee, moved forward, concerned. "Is there something the matter? What do you need?"

The cold, tired body on the step needed food, rest, a place to stay, maybe some sympathy. Not that he deserved any of that. "I just need a place to crash for tonight," he whispered.

"I don't know how you found me, or what you think you're doing, but the answer is…" Marc began.

"Wait. Wait here a minute, okay?" The boy with the beautiful face intervened, taking Marc's elbow. The pair withdrew from the open door for a moment.

The boyfriends argued in low tones at some distance from the door. Through the opening, he glanced in at a clean, comfortable living room. Pictures – actual art – on the walls, unstained carpets, real furniture. Had the place come furnished like that? He wondered. Clearly, Marc was a long way from the squalor of the party dorm.

He watched the pair argue. Marc made several emphatic gestures to punctuate a point; the blue eyed boy answered with something, calmly, almost serenely. Though he couldn't hear anything, it was clear the boy had scored in some way. Marc scowled, but the younger man – Lee? Was that his name? - followed up his victory with a fleeting kiss to Marc's cheek.

Affection. He'd never been able to show much real affection. Marc was lucky. The dirty blond who had once been his plaything clearly felt something genuine and wasn't afraid to show it. And the black haired one? The boyfriend was lucky, too, that he had someone so ferociously on guard as Marc to keep away the wolves and vipers. People like himself.

Marc walked back to where he waited by the door. The younger man followed right behind, still wearing an expression of concern and something else he couldn't read. Pity, perhaps? That he should be pitied made him shudder.

"Okay, you can come in," Marc growled reluctantly from the threshold. He leaned a little closer, eyes intense, fierce. "But you will stay away from Lee, got that? You come within ten feet of Lee, and I will personally kill you," Marc hissed.

Marc clearly meant this, he could tell.

However, Marc stood aside, admitting him to the house. The door shut behind him. Warm, for the moment. Safe, for now. Safe from Ted and redhead looking for him, wherever they were. Safe from the campus police who wanted him for any number of violations. Safe from the smirking grins of a thousand contemporaries who'd watched his suave, controlled, beautifully-put-together self being tied up and tag teamed.

The boyfriend, Lee, continued to hover in the background. Despite Marc's obvious fears, Lee was safe. There had been a time when he would have tried to lure in both Marc and the boy; he could have done it, too. But not now.

"You and Marc were friends?" the boy, Lee, asked innocently, grabbing hold of Marc's hand. He noticed the gesture.

"We…"

"No, we weren't," Marc corrected before he could answer. "We did some business together, that's all," the bitter conclusion silenced anything further.

He stood there, wondering if enduring the hostility was worth a warm bed.

"Look, if this is too much trouble…" he started.

"No, no, no, this isn't any trouble at all, just sorry you're in a jam," Lee said quickly, as if to apologize for Marc's unrelenting unfriendliness.

Marc glared at Lee.

He understood that Marc clearly wished he'd never appeared, never found his doorstep. From the expression on his face, Marc probably thought it would have been better for his visitor to have been killed in an accident. Preferably painfully. But Lee had no clue about anything. Well, Marc couldn't really be blamed for his feelings.

"Come on," Marc said in a hard voice, "you can have the guest room." Marc led the way down a hall, and opened a door to a small, pleasant carpeted room. "There's a bathroom over there, across the hall. You have any stuff?"

He shook his head. "Not really. Just this," he said, holding up his backpack. It held everything he owned, besides the car.

"Okay. Go to bed. Stay there," Marc instructed. "You'll be gone in the morning."

The door closed firmly.

He turned and looked around the room. Light colored walls, a twin bed with a cheerful yellow bedspread. Books lined a bookcase. That was one thing he remembered about Marc; the boy had loved books, when he was sober enough to read them. He sat on the bed and sighed.

What the hell was he doing here?

He should have known better. Marc hadn't forgotten; hadn't let anything go. Not that he should have. But now he was so low, Marc and Lee were offering him a room out of fucking compassion. He had an acrid taste in his mouth.

Instinctively, he found himself fishing out his laptop from the backpack.

The laptop started right up, but he couldn’t find a working internet connection. Of course, the house network had a password, but no way was he going to ask Marc for it. Lee might be persuaded, but he didn’t think that was a good idea. Just as well. No amount of scratching that itch would make it go away. That video was out there forever, being posted and reposted everyplace a computer could connect to the net. There was nothing he could do about it, no matter how many times he tried to get it taken down.

He closed the machine up, and pulled the blinds. He stripped off his hoodie, and stole across the hall to use the washroom before bed. As he dried his hands and face, he took the opportunity to look at himself in the mirror. The sight wasn't pretty. His lean, tanned frame seemed solid enough, but the face staring back at him from under the unwashed blond curls was haggard. Sighing, he turned away. He wondered if his eyes would ever feel like smiling again.

Back in the guestroom, he turned out the light. As he got into bed, he could not help thinking about how good it felt to slip between real sheets in a real bed again. Who knew how long it would be until he got that chance another day? He stared into the darkness. An unfamiliar ache formed in his chest.

Sadness, perhaps, for the termination of his adolescence, for losing whatever family he'd had. Sorrow for wasted years.

Yearning. Envy, maybe. Marc clearly cared for Lee, and he was willing to fight to protect him. Lee had a compassionate streak, couldn't see the danger. Lucky Marc, to find love; someone who would love him as deserved. Loved Marc as he had been unable to. Couldn't do. Wouldn't do.

Grief, for a heart he'd allowed to turn to stone.

For the first time in years, tears formed.

em>Thanks to Craftingmom for her kind and generous editing. Thanks also to Mikiesboy and Carlos for reading early versions of this story. And my best thanks to all of you who leave a response or comment.
Copyright © 2017 Parker Owens; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Lee's a star. And so's Marc for that matter. Very few of us would be willing to help a stranger out, particularly one who tried to ruin us. It might be fiction, but your characters gladden the heart. In a world full of darkness, there are bright points of light. Well done, Parker!

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On 11/18/2016 05:05 AM, Carlos Hazday said:

Lee's a star. And so's Marc for that matter. Very few of us would be willing to help a stranger out, particularly one who tried to ruin us. It might be fiction, but your characters gladden the heart. In a world full of darkness, there are bright points of light. Well done, Parker!

Yes, for once in this tale, something -- someone -- bright and good stands out. Marc is clearly unwilling, but Lee must have been more convincing; he is indeed a star. The Predator has a bed, at least for the night. And the kindness shown him surely affects him as much as any number of (deserved) insults Marc could have hurled. Since when to predators weep? Thanks a million for your response and review!

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Stunning. I'm often ruled by my emotions, and this little scene payed them like a harp. Our predator saw what he wasn't... in a Lee you painted with a luminous brush, and in a Marc he never took the time to really know... a fierce protector of innocence. You brought our villain yet lower, while showing him kindness, and giving him a warm place to rest. I shared his tears as his heart began a genuine thaw. :worship: Cheers, my friend... Gary....

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So is our predator as low as he can go? Asking for help from a victim of his and getting it. Only because of Lee, the compassionate one. Marc wouldn't have let him in without Lee. The predator may be getting 'it'. Learning there are other ways to live your life. That maybe it's okay to be human, to need others. I hope so.

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I certainly would not have done what Marc and Lee did. But if a Lee had somehow managed to convince me, I'd be giving very specific directions to the nearest homeless shelter, including the required time to show up.

 

In the SF Bay Area, and probably other large metropolitan area, 211 is a free call to get information on Social Services in your area, including non-governmental services. Here, it's paid for by the United Way.

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On 11/18/2016 06:17 AM, droughtquake said:

I certainly would not have done what Marc and Lee did. But if a Lee had somehow managed to convince me, I'd be giving very specific directions to the nearest homeless shelter, including the required time to show up.

 

In the SF Bay Area, and probably other large metropolitan area, 211 is a free call to get information on Social Services in your area, including non-governmental services. Here, it's paid for by the United Way.

You have far more experience and wisdom than either Marc or Lee; the former has been around the block once or twice, and the latter has some of the innocence of youth. Marc seems ready to protect Lee, whatever happens. And really, what can the predator do to them now? Thanks for your response and for reading this chapter!

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On 11/18/2016 06:10 AM, Mikiesboy said:

So is our predator as low as he can go? Asking for help from a victim of his and getting it. Only because of Lee, the compassionate one. Marc wouldn't have let him in without Lee. The predator may be getting 'it'. Learning there are other ways to live your life. That maybe it's okay to be human, to need others. I hope so.

Our predator certainly feels quite low. Lee, in his innocent compassion, twists the knife of pity in the predator's wound. Perhaps the predator is beginning to understand something, as you say - perhaps he has an inkling of how to be human, after all. Thanks so much for reading this chapter, and for your review!

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On 11/18/2016 05:53 AM, Headstall said:

Stunning. I'm often ruled by my emotions, and this little scene payed them like a harp. Our predator saw what he wasn't... in a Lee you painted with a luminous brush, and in a Marc he never took the time to really know... a fierce protector of innocence. You brought our villain yet lower, while showing him kindness, and giving him a warm place to rest. I shared his tears as his heart began a genuine thaw. :worship: Cheers, my friend... Gary....

Our predator is beginning to grasp the depth of his loss - the loss of his humanity. Lee is a person who I wish I could have known. But he is a person I can aspire to be. It is amazing how kindness can hurt far more than insults or outright rejection. It exposed the predator's heart to his own conscience. Many thanks for your review and support!

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So many conflicting emotions from reading this chapter. Totally amazed at the capacity to care and have empathy for others that Lee demonstrated. So shines a good deed...
And I think our predator has just about hit rock bottom. Sometimes we have to hit that depth in order to find a way back up. I feel sorry for anyone who hits bottom, even though his fall was self-inflicted. But I have to believe that there is still good in him somewhere. I think his frosty heart may soon thaw.

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The predator crying? You have led to that result steadily and so convincingly. The very moment he realises what it means to be helpless, dependent on others (when he finds that he cannot do anything about his presence on the web) - so moving. And there seem to be some limits to what he will do or won't. Obviously he still knows what shame is. He still has a conscience of some sort.
Very moving indeed, Parker. Thank you.

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On 11/18/2016 08:26 AM, Okiegrad said:

So many conflicting emotions from reading this chapter. Totally amazed at the capacity to care and have empathy for others that Lee demonstrated. So shines a good deed...

And I think our predator has just about hit rock bottom. Sometimes we have to hit that depth in order to find a way back up. I feel sorry for anyone who hits bottom, even though his fall was self-inflicted. But I have to believe that there is still good in him somewhere. I think his frosty heart may soon thaw.

Our predator has sustained some deep wounds. The pity of his former victim must be so hard to sustain. It is not a physical hurt that will melt his heart, though, but something deeper. But the conflict we feel must be far more magnified for Marc. Many thanks for your perceptive review and for continuing to read!

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On 11/18/2016 09:01 AM, mayday said:

The predator crying? You have led to that result steadily and so convincingly. The very moment he realises what it means to be helpless, dependent on others (when he finds that he cannot do anything about his presence on the web) - so moving. And there seem to be some limits to what he will do or won't. Obviously he still knows what shame is. He still has a conscience of some sort.

Very moving indeed, Parker. Thank you.

He can feel shame. He can begin to feel the hurt he inflicted on others. He can see the waste he has made of the passing years and regret. And for Marc to be merciful hurts more than if he had slammed the door in his face. I am glad you were moved; thank you for commenting and for reading this story. Perhaps there was some real light for a change...

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Tears, huh? Still not feeling sorry for him, even if his stone heart is starting to crumble. You've portrayed his downfall quite nicely. Now I'm wondering if there's further to fall or if he will start to pick up the pieces and do something good with his wretched life. He's at a crossroads...let's see which way he goes. Nice job, Parker. :)

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Gah- Parker! I don't know if I can feel sorry for this guy. I don't hate him though. I'm tempted to say that his tears came a bit too late. But, is it too late if he is starting to really get it? Maybe the best thing to happen to him is Lee, and that Marc is listening to Lee. Maybe that kindness is the thing that will put him back together? Right his wrongs? Put him on a different course than what he's been on. Tears probably mean he's feeling a little remorse. Sorry for himself and what he's done maybe. But people cry all the time. I want to be hopeful for him even though I can't be sorry for him..
You're telling a fantastic story..

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On 11/18/2016 12:12 PM, Valkyrie said:

Tears, huh? Still not feeling sorry for him, even if his stone heart is starting to crumble. You've portrayed his downfall quite nicely. Now I'm wondering if there's further to fall or if he will start to pick up the pieces and do something good with his wretched life. He's at a crossroads...let's see which way he goes. Nice job, Parker. :)

The predator wept. There are a thousand ways to fall, differing only in the timbre and twist of the pain at impact. Surely there are pieces to pick up. But are any of them worth salvaging? In any case, you are right in that our predator is feeling wretched, and perhaps there is a cardiac warm spell beginning. But you are wise to wait and see. Marc made it clear he wants him gone...many thanks for your continued reading and patience....

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On 11/18/2016 01:21 PM, Defiance19 said:

Gah- Parker! I don't know if I can feel sorry for this guy. I don't hate him though. I'm tempted to say that his tears came a bit too late. But, is it too late if he is starting to really get it? Maybe the best thing to happen to him is Lee, and that Marc is listening to Lee. Maybe that kindness is the thing that will put him back together? Right his wrongs? Put him on a different course than what he's been on. Tears probably mean he's feeling a little remorse. Sorry for himself and what he's done maybe. But people cry all the time. I want to be hopeful for him even though I can't be sorry for him..

You're telling a fantastic story..

Unquestionably, Lee is the best thing to happen to our predator now, and to Marc earlier. Amazing the effect one person can have. It is one thing to show the predator kindness, another to feel sorry for him. I think you balance that very well. You don't hate him, but his situation is clearly deserved. Marc and Lee have shown kindness, and in some ways that seems to hurt more than insults. But you are right...Lee is a bright spot in a dark tale...

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Obviously, Marc had never told Lee about the predator. If he had, I don't think Lee would have let him in. Even as nice and sweet and compassionate as Lee is, if he found out what the predator actually DID to Marc, he would have kicked him to the curb also. The predator is very lucky Lee doesn't know about him. Yet.

 

Now, will he be gone in the morning? He's feeling sorry for himself, sad for wasting years on doing what? Is he sorry for all he's done? Is he sorry for all the damage he's left in his wake? Or is he just sorry that the horrible video is online?

 

I'm looking forward to what happens next (as always!). :)

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After a few years in ministry and many years in adolescent counseling, I know that redemption is ALWAYS possible... improbable?... perhaps... impossible? NEVER.

 

I have personally witnessed remarkable, unthinkable, improbable change and redemption of those who didn't deserve it, maybe weren't seeking it and nobody thought was possible.

 

BUT... It happens. We MUST always keep a bit of hope our back pockets because, sometimes we are surprised.

 

Neal

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On 11/18/2016 02:58 PM, Lisa said:

Obviously, Marc had never told Lee about the predator. If he had, I don't think Lee would have let him in. Even as nice and sweet and compassionate as Lee is, if he found out what the predator actually DID to Marc, he would have kicked him to the curb also. The predator is very lucky Lee doesn't know about him. Yet.

 

Now, will he be gone in the morning? He's feeling sorry for himself, sad for wasting years on doing what? Is he sorry for all he's done? Is he sorry for all the damage he's left in his wake? Or is he just sorry that the horrible video is online?

 

I'm looking forward to what happens next (as always!). :)

You ask about whether the predator is sorry, and it appears that he is, indeed, unhappy with himself and what he has done in his life. He hates that the video is online, too. Lee is an amazingly good man. Another reader called him a star, and that was how I hoped to portray him. He is certainly the light of this chapter. Many thanks!

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On 11/18/2016 03:27 PM, Nahrung said:

After a few years in ministry and many years in adolescent counseling, I know that redemption is ALWAYS possible... improbable?... perhaps... impossible? NEVER.

 

I have personally witnessed remarkable, unthinkable, improbable change and redemption of those who didn't deserve it, maybe weren't seeking it and nobody thought was possible.

 

BUT... It happens. We MUST always keep a bit of hope our back pockets because, sometimes we are surprised.

 

Neal

Our predator appears to have felt something in his heart for the first time in a while. If that stirring of heart and conscience can rekindle even a small flame of hope, then perhaps our predator-turned-prey might be able to look for a better way to lead his life. Thanks for the support, and for continuing to read this story!

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Turning point. Sometimes, even the worst among us can be forced by circumstance into self-evaluation. Sometimes, people act the way they do, not because they have never looked at themselves, but because, when they looked, they didn't see. It looks like our badboy finally has found a mirror strong enough for a true reflection to emerge. Sometimes the look we get at ourselves needs the contrast of a background to make sense.
I agree that no one, potentially, is beyond redemption. But empathy and sympathy are not things to be grown out of poor soil by lazy farmers. The seeds are usually there all along, and it is nature that grows them, not us. But - sometimes, too, those qualities are there, and simply have to be nursed out into the open.
Nothing to do but wait and see.

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On 01/30/2017 09:49 AM, Geron Kees said:

Turning point. Sometimes, even the worst among us can be forced by circumstance into self-evaluation. Sometimes, people act the way they do, not because they have never looked at themselves, but because, when they looked, they didn't see. It looks like our badboy finally has found a mirror strong enough for a true reflection to emerge. Sometimes the look we get at ourselves needs the contrast of a background to make sense.

I agree that no one, potentially, is beyond redemption. But empathy and sympathy are not things to be grown out of poor soil by lazy farmers. The seeds are usually there all along, and it is nature that grows them, not us. But - sometimes, too, those qualities are there, and simply have to be nursed out into the open.

Nothing to do but wait and see.

I am enormously impressed by your analogies...empathy and sympathy not grown in poor soil by lazy farmers...not having a strong enough mirror in which to see...many thanks for these ways of looking at the Predator's inner mind now, and at Lee and Marc. It appears that in Lee, the ground is fertile indeed. I am very grateful you have read the story to this point, and have let yourself be carried beyond the boundaries of campus. Thanks for your response.

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Such a complex story. My opinions and emotions are all over the place. It's hard for me to give you a proper critique because because of this ever looping band of emotions. I want him to find redemption. I need his victims to find justic redemption, And I need Ted and the room mate to have justice brought down on them regardless of the situation. Two wrongs don't make a right. Committing a crime to avenge a crime is still a crime.  Powerful story. Thank you 

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What I don't get about that is that we know what happened to the predator, but does Marc? How does he know he's not putting himself and Lee in danger?

About letting him in, either Marc is a saint or he realized he wouldn't be able to turn him out without explaining to Lee why he did it.

I also don't get why Lee is so ready to argue with Marc about it. I mean, he doesn't know the guy, and Marc clearly does. So why would he think he knows enough not to go with Marc's response?

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On 4/17/2017 at 7:07 PM, Tazzle001 said:

Two wrongs don't make a right. Committing a crime to avenge a crime is still a crime.

This!

I'm sorry, it's just been in my mind a lot lately. Recently here in Brazil a guy caught a 17-year-old trying to steal a bike, so he and a friend kidnapped him and tattooed “I'm a thief and a loser” on his forehead. I read comments about that and it makes me sick, with the amount of people praising the guy for “delivering justice”.

The police have arrested both the guy and his friend and charged them with torture, and a lot of people aren't happy about that. And, imagine that, the friend has a previous conviction for robbery.

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