Free Three More Wishes by Sean Michael Page B

later on."
    He hung up and turned to Cameron. "It’s all set."
    "Oh. Wow. That easy?"
    "Yeah, that easy."
    He curled back up against Cameron. "Tonight at eight."
    "You'll have to tell me what time it is."
    It stunned him, how Cameron had none of the coping skills that his sister had -- talking watches, audio books, even a cane. "Did you leave your aids at home?"
    "Aids?"
    "Talking clock, cane, you know, things that help you out."
    "I don't have any."
    Xander blinked. "What? None? But that's... how do you... really?" He didn't understand that.
    "How do I what?" Cameron looked honestly confused.
    "Do things on your own. I mean, you've been losing your sight for a while, right?"
    "Eighteen months. I was okay until about three months ago; I did okay. Then I didn't and, well, it was the beginning of the end."
    "What are you going to do when you get home?" Cameron would need help until he learned to do things for himself.
    "I'm not going home. I don't have anywhere to go."
    "I don't get it, Cameron."
    Cameron pulled away from him. "You have to understand. I was a cowboy. I was worth something for a while there. But it's like my ex says, two men can't live together when one is broke. Folks talk. And he was still a whole person, so I sold out and bought a ticket and a weekend here. He helped me get enough pills to end it, but I'm thinking that's messy and the guys here have been great, so maybe I'll just walk out into the ocean."
    "You... that..." Xander was, frankly, stunned. He shook his head. He hadn't understood, right? Right?
    "It's okay. I've made peace with it, and you... You're like magic, Xander. Pure magic."
    He shook his head again. "No. No, I won't let you do it." He wasn't letting go of Cameron.
    "I have to. I'm not worth anything anymore."
    "That's not true!" The words exploded from him in a shout.
    Cameron's eyes went wide, the man retreating, falling off the edge of the bed with a thump.
    "Cameron!" He vaulted over the bed, pulling Cameron off the floor, pulling him close. "It's not true, it's not true. You're magic, Cameron."
    "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to tell you, but... I trust you."
    "I'm glad you told me. I'm glad you have nothing to go back to, because that means you're free to come home with me. To live a full, wonderful life with me." He wanted to kill Cameron's ex. Kill him a lot.
    "I don't have anything to offer you. Not a dime. No skills. I can't even shave myself."
    "You are magic, Cameron. Absolute magic. You have lots to offer me, and you can learn how to shave yourself, trust me." He pressed their foreheads together. "Don't tell me being blind makes you a useless waste of space. My sister is blind, and she has a good life. She has value. And so do you."
    "I can't even support myself, Xander."
    "Not as a cowboy, no. But I'm betting there's lots of stuff you can do, or learn to do."
    Cameron's face was a study in loss. "What? What can I do? I can't see. I can't work. I don't..." His voice dropped. "I don't even know how to start figuring out what to do."
    "I'll help you. You don't have to do it all alone. I can't believe your ex dumped you like this. That was really cowardly of him." It was so hard not to shout and yell and let Cameron know how angry he was that Cameron felt like he had to give up.
    "He was right. I'm no good to him, and he'd lose everything, backing me."
    Xander couldn't believe Cameron was just rolling over and taking that. "Well, you're good to me, and I'm going to back you." Xander wasn't letting Cameron end his life. Not when they had so much between them.
    "I don't even know how to answer that."
    "You don't have to answer it. I'm taking you home with me." It was as simple as that. Cameron was not walking into the ocean never to return.
    Cameron blinked. "What?"
    "You said you had nowhere to go; now you do." He wasn't taking no for an answer, either.
    "I... You can't mean that."
    "If you can mean it that you're going to end it after this week, I can mean it that I'm bringing your