The Long Haul

Chapter 7

For the rest of the weekend and into the next week, Jay and Alex never brought up their fight again. Primarily because neither of them wanted to address what had happened at the end when Alex flinched. Jay wanted answers more than anything, but he wasn't going to press her for them until the moment was right. Otherwise, he knew that she'd get defensive and put up even more walls between them. Patience wasn't one of his virtues, but the long game was the only one to play at this point.

Not wanting to rock the boat at the moment, Alex played along with the new rules and made up excuses when her friends had asked why she was cutting out so early or couldn't hang out. A few had made it clear that they were anxious about her cop brother being a part of her life now, so she didn't want to cause any waves or have them read into the situation more than what it was. It was just her brother being an overprotective control freak. It wasn't like he suspected underage drinking or anything like that.

It was Wednesday before lunch - only history class to go before she could sit outside and eat with her friends. Emma was leaning up against the locker while Alex switched out her textbooks. "So you ready for this stupid test?" Emma asked with an eye roll. She wasn't a big fan of school crap.

Alex's blood instantly turned to ice as she did a slow turn to her friend. "Test?" How the hell had she forgotten about this? The answer was obvious - a major life change had preoccupied her lately.

"Yeah, it's like what? One of two that make up like almost our whole grade this semester. Ugh. It's so stupid if you ask me - like who cares how bills become laws and all that pointless shit."

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath. The youngest Halstead gulped. Oh yeah - that test. One that made up a huge percentage of her grade. She was already borderline passing the class, and heading into a test she hadn't studied for in the slightest didn't sound like her best option. She had already been on academic probation in the spring, and another semester of that would lead to expulsion. The last thing she wanted to do was be forced to leave her friends for a public school.

"You didn't study?" Emma asked, confused. It wasn't like any of them truly cared about grades or school, but they all knew that they had to put a little effort into it or they'd get kicked out.

Alex closed the locker gently as her mind quickly ran through what little options she had left. "I forgot, Em."

"Well fuck indeed."

The bell rang, signaling they had one minute left to get to class. She bit her bottom lip nervously as she landed on her final plan. "I'm going to cut out and forge a doctor's note, so I can take the test tomorrow," she quietly whispered.

Emma nodded, immediately approving her plan as the best option. "Got it. If Mr. Ellis asks where you are, I got your back."

Alex gave her an appreciative smile before she threw her crossbody bag on and made a beeline for the back exit. Thankfully, she managed to get out undetected by any adults, so it would be easy to come with a note tomorrow and beg for forgiveness that she had forgotten to sign herself out in the office prior to leaving. It wouldn't be the first time she ditched school with a forged note, so she had confidence in her plan.

_____________________________________________________

After the train ride back to the apartment, Alex bit her nails nervously as she went up the stairs. She knew her brother wouldn't be home - he was never home really. Chicago had too many crimes to solve apparently - not that she was complaining about an empty apartment. She was actually looking forward to peace and quiet to work on her forged note and intense study session. Her nerves were on high alert because she only had one afternoon to cram for the test from her half assed notes this semester. Something had to be better than nothing, right? She'd brush up on this history crap, write a fake note from her brother, and pass the test tomorrow. There, easy enough. The plan wasn't that hard.

Alex turned the key first in the doorknob and then the deadbolt.

As soon as the clinking metal resounded in the apartment, Jay and Erin immediately froze in their compromised (and naked) position laying down on the couch.

"Who is that?!" Erin whispered as her eyes dilated in panic.

Jay looked back at the door and then to his girlfriend. Well fuck. His door clearly wasn't being lockpicked, because he could easily tell the difference between that vs. a key. And there was only one person who had a key to his place - his little sister.

Before Jay had a chance to answer, the door flew open.

"Alex!" Jay called out as he jumped up from the couch, shirtless and holding a pillow in front of his lower half. Erin immediately grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over her body and her head. Her cheeks burned bright red from embarrassment, and thankfully the back of the couch shielded her from Alex's full view.

At the scarring sight in front of her, Alex squeezed her eyes shut so hard they might burst. "Oh for fuck's sake, Jay. GROSS!!" She turned on her heel to dash back out into the hallway, but Jay had quickly wrapped another blanket around his waist and caught up with her before she could walk out of the apartment.

His eyes danced around before landing on her. "What, uh, are you doing here?" he asked, clearly not having expected her on a school day.

Alex only turned around halfway, unable and unwilling to meet her brother's eyes. "I thought I lived here." Jay was way too embarrassed to reply to her sassy comment other than a small groan of annoyance, but thankfully she added more context without prompting. "Early dismissal from school," she lied smoothly, knowing she had to come up with something plausible.

Oh...that was a thing. Right. Jay made a mental note to get his hands on a school calendar sooner rather than later, because clearly he was failing at this whole guardian thing right now. "Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry."

She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that he ate up her lie like candy. "Okay, bye," she quipped before opening the door and heading down the hall toward the elevator.

Jay didn't know what to say, so he said the tried and true question that came out instinctively. "Where are you going?"

"To pour bleach in my eyes!" she yelled back without turning around, fully ready to gag if she had to see her brother in that state again.

Feeling completely like an actual fish out of water, Jay's mind was thrown off his axis, and he blurted out the first thing that he could muster up, "Be careful!" And then he immediately squeezed his eyes shut and regretted how stupid he sounded. Instead of facing even more embarrassment, he did himself a favor and closed the door, leaning his back up against it. He ran a hand down his face as Erin sat up on the couch.

"Be careful? Really??" she mocked with a huge smile.

"Shuddup." He walked back over to the couch and slumped down on it beside her. "I can't do this," he confessed with a sigh.

"Do what?"

"Take care of a teenager."

Erin rolled her eyes at his exaggeration and scooted beside him, snuggling into his side and running her fingers down his chest lovingly. "I didn't think Marines gave up so easily."

Jay did a slow burn head turn. "Army Ranger and you know it," he replied with a smirk, knowing full well that she was just messing with him.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Ranger, sir," she replied seductively as she leaned back in to kiss him, which he willingly accepted.

Just then, the neighbor opened their door loudly, causing both Erin and Jay to freeze, thinking it was their apartment door again. When they realized they were in the clear, they chuckled at their own embarrassment.

Not wanting to live life wondering when his little sister was going to walk in on him again, Jay announced, "Change of plans. Let's go find me a two bedroom apartment."

Erin laughed as she picked up her discarded clothing on the floor. "Couldn't agree with you more."

A/N: I'd love to hear if you're enjoying the story! Please drop a comment below to let me know your thoughts :)