Excerpt: Leaving You

“She’s really scared.” He shrugged, and I could tell that he still hadn’t fully got over the shock of her revelation. He hadn’t been expecting this. Tom lived, more or less, in a happy little bubble of routine; he did his school work, he passed his exams, his parents let him do what he wanted, every Saturday he did his homework with me, every Internet Night, he spoke to Caelia on webcam, and sometimes her friends and I would join them for a big chat, and every Caelia Night, he went out with her, and had a good time completely ignoring the film on the big screen in front of them, just enjoying holding her hand, and being there, in that moment, with her. That was the way his world worked, and the disruption was going to take a while to get used to… but he would get used to it. Everything would work itself out – it always did.

“I bet she is.” I nodded, “it obviously means a lot to her – you know, having the independence and freedom. Not being reliant on her parents for everything. It’s kind of a big step in her life.”
“You… you really think so?” he asked, suppressing a smirk.
“Yes.” I told him, “I do. I think that she’s making a really big decision, and that you should be there for her.”
“Is it… is it that obvious?” he asked, sighing slightly, and rubbing his forehead, trying to look thoughtful.
“Yes.”
“Really?” he asked again, sounding pained.
“Yes.”
“Do you… do you think that she noticed?” he asked, running his hands through his hair, and staring at the ceiling.
“Very probably.”
“Oh, God…”