The Long Haul

Chapter 3

Alex and Jay had made their way to his black GMC Sierra truck still parked on the street in front of her family's apartment. Jay's hands rested on the steering wheel as he sat in silence, clearly lost in his own thoughts. Alex's heart pounded as she nervously rubbed her hands on her jeans as she waited to see if he was going to change his mind and send her back inside.

Much to her relief, the engine roared to life, and the vehicle pulled out onto the road. Jay was committed to his decision. He had to be—there was no other option. His mother's words echoed in all the corners of his mind, reassuring him that he was doing the right thing. It was her voice that he could no longer ignore. Not after what he saw in that apartment tonight. Jay Halstead was a man of his word after all.

Claire Halstead was in hospice care as she neared the end of her days with the cancer fully spreading across her body. She'd requested to be at home, so she could be as close to her family as she possibly could with the time she had left. Alex was twelve, and it was a struggle to get her to leave the house every morning for school, because she only wanted to be by her mother's side. It wasn't that Claire didn't want her daughter there every second, but she often found herself resting as her body continued to give in to the cancer that was drowning her. She used that time during the day to gather all the strength she could, so she could be awake when Alex walked through that door to tell her about her day.

However, today was extra special, because Pat was out running some errands, and Claire had the full attention of her twenty-two-year-old middle child, Jay. He'd recently been medically discharged from the Rangers, and she was so proud of what he had accomplished and elated to have him home these past few weeks. She was thankful to be alone with Jay for a brief while, because there had been something on her mind, and she knew that it wouldn't be long before her body surrendered to its invader.

She lightly tapped her hand on top of the sheets beside her on the bed. "Jay, come here," she called gingerly with a raspy voice from dehydration.

Jay immediately appeared at her side, trying to anticipate what she might need, so he could get it right away. "What is it, Mom?" he asked with concern.

"Don't worry," she replied with a grin. "I just want to talk." Jay's shoulders relaxed. "I need you to do something for me, though." She paused for a moment. "For when I'm gone."

Those words lingered heavily in the air for a few moments as his chest tightened with anguish. He didn't like talking about the after part of all of this. He was perfectly content stashing those thoughts deep in the vault with all his war horror stories. He affectionately clasped her hand between his own. "Let's not worry about that," he replied.

Claire shook her head, her determination never subsiding. "Jay, I need you to listen." There were pleading undertones to her words that captured Jay's immediate attention, not letting him protest further. This was clearly something his mom needed to say, and he wasn't about to cause her any more suffering by trying to prevent her from saying it—whatever it may be.

Claire took a deep breath, coughing a little afterward. Once she had regained composure, her tear-filled eyes looked directly into Jay's, trying to connect deeply with her son. "I need you to promise me...promise me that you're going to look after Alex." What little hydration she had left in her body had escaped in the form of multiple tears streaking down her cheeks. "Promise me that you'll protect her." Her bottom lip quivered as she knew that she wouldn't be here to do this herself. She wouldn't be here to watch her daughter grow into a beautiful, and no doubt stubborn, teenager. She was going to miss all the moments she had once taken for granted. Her body and modern medicine hadn't been strong enough to beat away the trespasser that consumed her.