JJ absolutely hated this time of year. Christmas, with its glittering lights and cheerful carols, only reminded him of everything he didn’t have—everything he couldn’t seem to escape. Families gathered around tables, exchanging gifts, smiling at each other with warmth and love. It was everywhere, inescapable. But to JJ, it was like a sharp reminder of his own emptiness, a cruel contrast to the broken home he had to return to every night.

It was Christmas eve,and the cold air bit at JJ’s skin as he walked down the quiet street, the wind from the ocean attacking his face. His body still stung with the beating his father had delivered earlier, his mind swirling with the harsh words that had been thrown at him.

Christmas Eve only made it worse. The world celebrated something he didn’t understand, something he couldn’t feel. The holiday was just a reminder of what he’d never have: the peace, the love, the belonging that everyone else seemed to take for granted.

The pouges where out doing there own thing. Kiara with her family, John b visiting his dad’s grave and then going to hang out with Sarah. Pope with his family.So jj went back home hoping that maybe just maybe his dad would be able to spend some time with him. But no it ended in a physical and mental fight.

He was walking down the snow-free street of the Outer Banks, a place where it never snowed, no destination—just on autopilot. His mind was numb, too tired to care about where he was going. It was Christmas Eve, but it felt like any other night—lonely, empty, the kind of night that made the whole world seem fake.

Then he saw her.

There she was, the Kook princess, as the locals called her—the rich girl who always seemed untouchable. Spoiled, perfect, with a family that seemed to have it all. JJ stood outside the big glass window of the mansion, watching her and her big-ass family inside. They were gathered around a lavishly decorated tree, laughing and enjoying each other’s company, looking like the perfect Christmas postcard