Dark Christmas: Chapter 36

I lower my phone, Claire’s text lighting up the screen: The baby’s here! It’s followed by a picture of her in the hospital bed, holding the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen. He looks so perfect, so peaceful. My heart squeezes, half because I’m so happy for her and half because I’m shaken beyond belief.

Red and blue police lights flash around me, blending with the insanity of everything that just went down. I’m standing outside the parking garage, surrounded by cops. They’re busy taking statements and combing through the scene.

Melor’s beside me, calm as ever, but I can feel the tension rolling off him. He leans in close, “You remember the story?”

I nod, repeating it in my head like a TikTok script. “We parked, got out of the car, then we were ambushed. We didn’t see anything. We weren’t involved. Just innocent bystanders.”

It feels horrible, lying like this. I hate it. But what choice do I have? I push down the rising nausea, glancing at the stretcher where they’re loading Sasha’s body bag into the van. I can’t believe he’s actually gone.

I glance at Melor. His face is totally unreadable, his emotions locked down tight.

I grip my phone harder, the picture of Claire holding her baby blurring as my eyes fill with tears.

‘I feel bad lying about Sasha, acting like he was some random guy when he literally saved our lives,’ I say, staring at the ground. It’s eating me up inside, knowing the truth and not being able to tell anyone. Sasha was more than just a guy caught in the crossfire.

Melor nods, his jaw clenched. ‘I get it. But it’s the only way out of this.’ He says it so calmly, like he’s already accepted what we have to do. ‘I checked the garage—no cameras. We wiped the guns clean. There’s nothing to tie us to the shooting.’ He pauses, his eyes darkening. ‘Sasha would want it this way. He wouldn’t want us to pay for what happened.’

I nod, biting my lip. He’s probably right. But it still feels so wrong. Sasha was his friend, and it feels like we’re just erasing him. The pit in my stomach gets deeper, and I quickly grab my phone, texting Claire back.

I’ll be up ASAP.

As soon as I hit send, my chest tightens. How am I supposed to walk into that hospital room, see Claire holding her brand-new baby boy and act like this didn’t just happen?

I glance over at Melor. He’s keeping it together, but I can tell he’s carrying the weight of it all. ‘What the hell am I supposed to tell Claire?’ I whisper, feeling the tears building up again.

Melor squeezes my hand. ‘We’ll figure that out later,’ he says. ‘No need to worry a new mother with what just happened. The important thing is that we’re safe now. Denis is dead, and the threat’s over.’

His words begin to settle in but my mind’s still buzzing. My eyes drift to the hospital’s Christmas decorations—twinkling lights, garland, ornaments, and tinsel everywhere. It feels surreal being surrounded by so much cheer after staring death in the face.

Without thinking, I blurt, “Your place isn’t Christmassy at all, you know.”

He looks at me, confusion clouding his face, probably wondering why the hell I’m thinking about Christmas decor right now.

“We need to fix that,” I continue. “Get a tree, hang some lights, maybe a wreath on the door. We don’t have much time—it’s only a week or so until Christmas.”

He raises an eyebrow, smirking. “So does that mean you want to stay with me?”

I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks. I meet his gaze and smile. “Yeah, I do. I’m ready for whatever’s next with you. Hell, it can’t be any worse than this.”

His expression softens as he pulls me closer, planting a kiss on my forehead. It’s crazy, after everything that just happened—guns, blood, and lies—I still feel so safe with him.

The detectives approach, and Melor and I give them the story I’ve rehearsed in my head a hundred times. We describe what happened, both of us cool as cucumbers. He’s clearly wearing off on me. I can tell from their faces that they’re not buying it completely, but after a few more questions, they finally leave. As soon as they’re out of earshot, I turn to Melor.

“You think we’re good?”

He nods once. “We’re clear.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and text Claire, telling her I’m ready to see the baby. She immediately replies, telling me to get my butt up there now. I smile, the anxiety slowly draining from my body as we head inside the hospital.

When we step into the room, everything else fades away. Claire’s lying in bed, glowing like she’s never been more alive. David’s standing next to her, beaming down at the tiny bundle in her arms. The world outside, the chaos downstairs, ceases to exist.

“Meet William,” David says, his voice full of pride as he introduces their baby boy. I lean over, peeking at his little face, so peaceful and perfect.

Claire looks up at me, her face glowing with pure joy. In that moment, I can’t help but marvel at how beautiful life can be, how it just keeps going.