Page 55 of Breaking Boston

"We need to leave," she says, her voice steady despite the chaos around us. "We need to get out of here before the police arrive."

Donovan and I nod, and we quickly follow Boston out of the room and down the stairs. We don't speak as we make our way out of the house, our minds still reeling from the events that have just unfolded. Once we're outside, Boston takes a deep breath and looks at us with a haunted expression.

"We need to figure out what to do next," she says, her voice trembling slightly. "But first, we need to get as far away from here as possible."

TWENTY-FIVE

THE FRUIT ROLL-UP

DONOVAN

A WEEK LATER

Snowflakes pummel the city and ice coats the streets; the blizzard is the worst Lynn has seen in years. The power has been going off and on, and almost everything is shut down. While everyone is going to Christmas Eve mass, the three of us are held up in our apartment, lying low from all the police presence and news coverage of the murders.

It doesn't feel like Christmas, not when everything around here has been so dark and gloomy.

Boston has barely said a word to us unless she absolutely has to. Lux and I are constantly wondering if she's taken her own life while locked in the bedroom, but her sobs always answer for us.

I feel like shit for the way everything went down. When she found out we were the ones who wrote the journal she thought was from her parents, that was the final betrayal for her. We still haven't figured out how to pull her out of the slump, and fuck, we've been trying.

The guilt sits heavy in my stomach, twisting and turning with every passing moment. The blizzard outside seems to match the turmoil within our apartment. As the snow falls heavier and the wind howls louder, I can't shake the feeling of dread that hangs over us.

But we can't give up. We owe it to Boston to help her through this, to make things right somehow. And maybe, just maybe, if we can weather this storm together, there might be a glimmer of hope on the other side.

As I sit by the window, watching the relentless snowfall, I know that we can't let darkness win. We have to find a way to bring back the light for Boston.

"Should we go in there and see if she wants to come out?" Lux asks quietly, breaking the suffocating silence looming over us.

"I don't know. Maybe sh-"

The sound of the door creaking open from the hallway makes my words trail off, and we anxiously look, waiting to see if it's her coming out.

It is.

She walks into the living room, wearing only a red shirt she took from Lux and her hair in French braid pigtails with green bows tied at the ends. My jaw drops and I can't look away, neither can Lux. Red and white stockings cover her legs, stopping just below her knees. I swallow hard, smiling, taking in the beautiful fucking sight.

"Merry Christmas Eve," she says in a soft tone, her voice slightly shaking.

"Get over here, pretty girl. You can pretend I'm Santa while you sit on my lap and tell me all the things you want," Lux growls, a grin on his face as he pats his lap for her to sit.

She sits down and smiles for the first time in so fucking long. Pulling her lip between her teeth—a sign that she's eithernervous or turned-on—she bats her long, innocent lashes at me, making the urge to grab her and fuck her as strong as ever.

"Now, have you been a good girl, Boston," Lux whispers in her ear. "Or have you been a naughty girl this year?"

She giggles and shrugs innocently, making me want to reach out and pull her into my arms. But I stay put, knowing that she needs to feel safe and in control.

"I think I've been quitenaughty," she says with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Lux winks at me and I can't help but chuckle, feeling some of the heaviness of the past weeks lift off my shoulders.

"Well, now you're about to see what naughty girls get," I say, smiling at her.

The blizzard continues to rage outside, but inside, there's an undeniable warmth that has nothing to do with the crackling flames.

Unwrapping a fruit roll-up, Boston eyes me mischievously, licking her lips as she watches me eat it. She squirms on Lux's lap, his fingers tickling the inside of her thighs.

"Got anymore of those?" she asks, pointing to the sticky mess in my hand.

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