Dear Author,
See the guy on the left? He felt people close to him always ended up dead. Some said he’s cursed, that he brought plague to whomever was near him. He just wanted to live alone quietly and not jeopardize anyone. But there’s this group of people wanting to bring him in. They said they’re trying to keep him safe, even as they eyed him suspiciously. But he felt that they’re the ones who meant him harm. And that force, whoever— whatever— it was, was killing those people. He was the one that just wanted to protect him, to watch over him from the shadows…
That guy on the right, with scars on his body was a perpetual dark shadow. He could be someone back from the grave, from the future or another time. But he had reasons— and means— to keep his guy safe.

Photo Description:
Two black and white photographs of men. The man on the left has dark hair, cut above the chin, and wears black. The man in the picture on the right has short dark hair, scars and tattoos.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.