Page 91 of Out on a Limb

“I’ll be fine. I’ve been fine these past four years.”

“But Browerton is only a three-hour drive from home. I hate to think I’m leaving you behind.”

“Think of it as giving me a reason to get out of the cold during the winter.” His mom smoothed out the wrinkles in his robe. “You’re leaving nobody behind.”

She stared up at him. He was now taller, but she would always be bigger. The one in charge.

“Now, I know you have scripts to read. Want me to make a Starbucks run for you before everyone gets here?”

“Like my assistant?” He kissed her on the cheek and gave her some money for coffee, which he knew she wouldn’t use.

Cameron took off the robe and sat on his mattress with iPad in hand. Henry was buzzing around the apartment getting everything ready.

“Hey Henry, do you need help with anything?” He called from his room.

Henry walked inside and gawked at the emptiness. “Whoa.”

“Do you need help with anything?”

“Nope.”

“Is everything okay?”

Henry tightened his lips. He knocked on the wall. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Not you, too.” Cameron laughed to himself. “I can’t take any more tears today. It’s not a real graduation.”

“Cameron, would it kill you to be just a little sentimental?” Henry yelled.

“Only if you stop acting like the human embodiment of Green Day’s ‘Time of your Life’.”

“Is this even a little hard for you?” Henry asked. “Do you give like the tiniest shit about leaving? Or were we all just speedbumps you drove over on your way to Hollywood?”

“We’re all going to graduate eventually, Henry. This’ll be you next year. It’s a part of life.”

“This came out of nowhere. Two weeks ago, we were eating pizza and drinking beer and talking about going to Revolution this summer. It’s the end of our world as we know it, but you feel fine.”

“You really enjoy that ’80s dance floor at Revolution, don’t you?” Cameron smiled at this joke, but not Henry. He wasn’t used to such a serious Henry. That wasn’t their thing. Cameron stood up from the bed, which was hard to do when all you have is a mattress. “You want this to be like the end ofSteel Magnolias, me a crying mess? That’s a movie and a play, so it works for both of us.”

“You’re acting like none of this means anything to you! In a few days, your college career will be over. This is the last time we’ll all be able to meet up at McFly’s because we feel like it. This is the last time where our whole social network will be on the same campus. This is the last time you can burst into my room to ask me a random question about V-neck versus crew neck. Now we’ll have to make time to talk to each other and book flights to hang out. And you’re being so fucking cavalier about everything. Don’t you realize that people will miss you? You’re not the only who has to say good-bye.”

Everything Henry said was like someone kicking open a door and letting the sunlight in. Cameron needed to adjust to the brightness. He wasn’t used to this, having non-family members care so much about him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll never compare you to a Green Day song again.”

“Don’t make a joke out of this. Please.” Henry sighed. “Don’t push me away.”

“I’m not.”

“Because you do that. You have this moat of humor. And casual sex.”

“How do you know me so well?”

“Because you’re my best friend, asshole.”

“I’m going to miss you,” Cameron said, and he meant it. He wasn’t saying it to be nice this time. He had the lump in his throat as proof. It was a good moment, but it also hurt like hell.

“I love you.”