“Jocelyn,” Captain Waverly called. “Your mother’s asking for you. Corey’s awake and wants to see the both of you.”
My stomach rumbled, and I smoothed a hand down my belly. “Okay,” I said with a nod and started to turn to look at Don but then thought better of it. “Thank you, Captain Waverly.
I headed out of the door to see my brother.
Chapter 2
Don
Six Months Later
My eyes were gluedto the television screen as I used my fingers to press the buttons of the controller in my hands. I cheered when the guy I’d taken fired at fell to the ground in a blood heap. My dad had only recently let me get the Call of Duty game that came out a year before.
I was so into the game, that I barely heard my dad coming into my bedroom.
“Don, don’t forget you’re the man of the house when I’m at work,” he said, patting me on the shoulder.
I rolled my eyes and glanced up at him. “Sure, Dad.”
“Don’t stay up on that thing too long, all right? Remember to check in on your mother before you go to bed.”
I curled my toes into the rug beneath my feet and squeezed the controller still in my hand, but I didn’t turn to look at my father.
“I know.”
The sound of my father’s footsteps as he retreated from my bedroom did little to ease my tension. Even once the front door shut and I went back to playing my game, the unease in my gut continued.
I was alone with my mother, but the fact that she was fast asleep provided a little bit of comfort.
I got lost in the battle that waged on my screen, silently cheering when I defeated one contender after another.
Not until my stomach growled, about an hour after my father left, did I finally get up from my bed. I headed down to the kitchen and grabbed a few of the ham and cheese sliders our neighbor, Ms. Wilkens, had delivered. She’d been providing food for us once a week for almost two years now. Ever since mom’s diagnosis.
I microwaved my late-night snack and walked down the hall toward my parents’ bedroom.
As I entered, I placed my plate on the edge of the dresser and brushed my greasy hands along the front of my jeans. The light from the hallway gave enough illumination for me to see my mother lying on her side of the bed, and the steady rise and fall of her chest. I exhaled, relieved that she was still asleep.
I brushed my hand across her forehead and then bent low to press a kiss to her forehead. Though my touch was light, it awakened her.
“Who’s that?” Her voice shook with fear. Soon her eyes opened and darted from one side of the room to the other. She shifted her head from side to side, looking around.
“Shh, it’s okay, Mom. It’s me.”
Though it was too dark to make out the hazel in her eyes, I had fifteen years of memories to remind me of their appearance. Besides, I hated the new, haunted look in them. Especially the glossed over, dazed appearance in her gaze when she awakened confused like this.
She was a shell of the person she used to be.
“Eddie?” she asked in that shaky voice.
“No, Mom, it’s me. Don.” I kept my voice low to avoid frightening her further, but silently, I prayed she’d remember me.
“Cameron?”
My heart thrummed inside my chest. I came to kneel at the side of my mother’s bed and took her hand into both of mine. “No. Cameron’s away at boot camp, remember?”
She tried to pull her hand free. “Wh-who are you?”
I swallowed. “It’s me, Don.”
