Page 10 of Breaking Boston

"You said you're leaving... where are you going?"

"I don't know. I'm just leaving, Hayden. There's nothing here for me," I answer softly, getting lost in the blues of his eyes.

He leans in so close that the tips of our noses are touching, and I can hear my pulse thumping in my ears.

"Kiss me, Boston," he whispers, his eyes darting to my lips. "Kiss me before you leave."

"Hayden, I don-"

He cuts me off before I can tell him no, capturing my lips in a sensual kiss. His tongue effortlessly swirls around mine, and an unintended moan slips from my lips right into his mouth. Everything about this is so wrong, but I'm captivated by each brush, each flick, each movement his tongue makes.

When he finally pulls away, I'm left breathless and confused. Hayden looks at me expectantly, waiting for a response. I can barely think straight, my head spinning from his sudden change in behavior. But my resolve is firm. I gently push him away and stand up, making my way to the door.

"You have to go, Hayden," I say firmly, my voice steady despite the chaos in my mind. "I appreciate you bringing me my diploma, but this changes nothing. I'm leaving and that's final."

"Boston, don't leave," he begs, standing up and walking to the door, my heart racing as I try to put some distance between us.

I can feel his gaze burning into me, but I refuse to look up. I'm done with Hayden and whatever game he's trying to play. People like him never change, no matter how much you want them to and how much they try to convince you they have.

Eventually, he leaves and I rush to pack, trying to put the awkward encounter to the back of my mind. I ignore the screams from outside, the evil laughter, the howling wind; it's common around this area of Lynn. Bad things happen in the night, and trust me, you don't want to know what I mean.

With my bag slung over my shoulder, filled with the little bit of things I hold dear to my heart—including my parent's journal—I take one last look around my room, the prison I've been in for years, feeling bittersweet.

The only thing that would make me stay are the little ones, but I can't do it just for them anymore. I have for three years and it's done nothing but suck me deeper into the darkness I've been trying to get out of.

I wish I could say it was nice while it lasted, but it wasn't. It wasn't by a long fucking shot.

Turning my back on the room that's held my secrets and shielded the abuse I was subjected to for all these miserable years, I climb out my window, letting the falling rain soak me with a smile on my face.

I'm fucking free...

I'm free from this hellhole, free from the pain and the fear. The torture and the humiliation. The shame and the beatings.Everything...

As I walk away from the house that's been my prison, I can feel the weight slightly lifting off my shoulders. I don't know where I'm going, but I know it's far the fuck away from here.

The cold rain washes away my tears and the memories as I walk down the deserted street, light flickering above me. I have my parent's journal, holding onto the last remnants of their love and hope. I'll find a way to make a new life for myself, away from the darkness that has consumed me for so long. I'll find a way to heal and find peace.

And then I'll come back for my revenge.

THREE

THE FEAR

LUX

I’ve been waiting for this moment for years now—for Boston to slip away from the house of horrors.She finally did it,but not before twisting the fucking knife into my heart a little more.

When Donovan and I watched that fucking scumbag kiss her—kiss the lips we own—his ass was done for.

Donovan and I sit on the fire escape on the rundown building across from Boston's, the very place we used to live just five years ago.The fucking prison.The never-ending nightmare. I still get goosebumps coming back here, even though we've been doing it for the last five years, almost every night. Fuck, I didn't want to leave her, but we only got out by chance—a chance I didn't want her a part of.

We sold our souls to the fucking devil in the city, and I didn't want that for her. She was too innocent, too special. We were already fucked up, so why did it matter what the fuck we did? We were under contract to do his bidding; we sold his damn drugs, completed his hits, followed through on his heists, all for a place to lay our homeless heads at night that wasn't under Bobby and Debbie's roof. And to this day, shit, we still do those things; it's beyond our control now.

We thought we were making a clean break—a great escape—but the city had its claws deep in us, drawing blood from our already bleeding bodies.

Now, as we sit on the fire escape, looking at the place that used to be our prison, I can't help but feel a pang of regret.

I glance over at Donovan and see the same thoughts written on his tattooed face. But there's no use dwelling on the past. We made our fucking choices, and now we have to live with them. The fucking city may own us, but at least we have each other. And maybe we can find a way to make things right with Boston. Wehaveto believe that there's still a chance for redemption, even in a place as dark as this.

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