(This story is posted on the Literotica website. Do not repost anywhere else without the author's consent. For fans of my stories, they know what kinds of things to expect. This story deals with similar themes as the stories by wannabeboytoy, seducedHylas, and Dark Betrayal, namely cheating, betrayal, and heartbreak. If stuff like that isn't your cup of tea, then you probably shouldn't bother reading it. I do not condone any of these actions in real life. This is just a story. Enjoy.)
(Additional note for this series: EACH CHAPTER IN THIS SERIES CAN BE READ ON ITS OWN. Each chapter is self-contained, but if you do read the whole thing, some of the specific details will become clearer and more fleshed-out. Enjoy)
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(Prologue)
(December 22nd)
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Fourth Street had always been a bright spot in the city of Deerberg. Even though it wasn't a large tract of land, the road being a small side street, ending in a cul-de-sac, on the edge of the larger neighborhood, there was just something about it that made it special. Consisting of about 8 well-sized houses, it was a street that always beamed with civic pride. The people there took pride in their homes and pride in their city. And Fourth Street really came alive at Christmas.
At its peak, each house on Fourth Street was adorned to the max with Christmas lights and other assorted Christmas decorations. They would even put up an arch over the street to make it really seem like a winter wonderland. People would come down from across the state to check out this simple street, just because of the reputation of their incredible Christmas spirit.
When the snow would come down, you would see the kids playing in the snow, running around, putting up snowmen, having snowball fights, or running around the corner to the nearby sledding hill.
It was everything you could ask for in a neighborhood.
But then times got tough. People came and left, and even though that spirit of community was always there, it lessened as time went on. Some of the old families still lived there. The Carrolls, the Calvorsons, Old Ms. Winston, they'd all been there for a while. But some of the other families left, new blood came in, and slowly, that certain special something that made Fourth Street great started to fade. The neighborhood still tried its best, for sure, but people in general just didn't have that spirit of togetherness anymore.
And not only that, the world became a harsher place. People got more jaded to anything positive and hopeful, and some of society's worst features became normalized. They became more self-centered and greedy and private, things that were the opposite of what this community used to stand for. And the people who were still good were slowly getting worn down by weight of the world and coming out worse for it. Escaping the sin and the corruption of the world became harder and harder.
And as that happened, the lights of Fourth Street shined a little less bright.
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Kevin Burkhouse was one of the people currently living on Fourth Street. A family man, he worked long hours to give his wife and two little kids the life they needed. But times like this, where he was working 16-hour days as the holiday rush really hit hard... it began to wear on him. Not that he resented putting in this kind of work for his family, it was just... it got tough sometimes. By the end of the night, he'd be coming home completely exhausted, arriving in time to spend maybe an hour with his equally worn out wife, only able to see his kids as they slept. Then, the next day, it'd be the same thing all over again. It was hard, missing these moments with his family.
Driving home late, around ten or so, he was ready to pass out. He'd been working extra-long shifts, and he was completely fried. But at the same time, he was wide awake, his body running on a runner's high as he pushed past the point of exhaustion. He was full-body tired, but still keyed up. He was eager to get home to his wife, but at the same time, he knew he had one more day of this, and he wasn't pumped to do it all again. He was eager for Christmas Eve, as he would finally have some time to decompress and let himself have the slightest bit of fun.
He drove through across the snowy roads, soon approaching the four-way-stop that was his turn. To his left was the road he lived on, Fourth Street. Across from that was Miller Creek Rd. Even though the two roads were aligned, they were considered different streets for some reason. And straight across from where he was, a small little street that ended in a dead end at a hill. The kids used to sled down that hill, but it had fallen into disrepair lately, the trees and the brush overgrowing it.
Kevin settled at the stop sign, pausing to take a deep breath. Shaking his head to clear any cobwebs, he moved to make the turn, eager to head towards the end of his street where his house was. But before he completed the turn...
CRASH!
Kevin's minivan spun as another car collided into the side of it. He spun through to the other side of the road, sidling up against the curb, facing the end of the dead end street. His head spinning and his blood pumping, he tried to figure out what just happened. He looked back to see another car in the middle of the intersection, a small little car with the front dented in. The driver went through the stop sign as Kevin was going through, hitting the side of his van around the tire well. Luckily, the collision had been at low speed, so he wasn't hurt. But still, he was shaken. Gathering himself, he got out of his car and walked around it.
"No, no, no!" he said, upset. He didn't need this. This was the last thing he needed right now. He'd been working so hard lately, and he had been looking forward to some peace and quiet these holidays. Now, he had this to deal with. The money wasn't any issue, it was just... this was the family van, and it wasn't so easy to transport the kids around in the other car. The other car was in the shop, which was the reason why he used the van today. This was just lovely.
He looked towards the car in the middle of the street, facing away from him. The car was still able to move, and with him watching, it turned around and approached his car, parking in front of his. Coming to a stop, the driver jumped out of the car.
"Oh my god! Oh my God!" a female voice said, clearly panicked. Kevin watched as a young woman ran towards him. Kevin got a look at her for the first time. She appeared to be maybe 19 or 20, about ten years younger than him. She was a stunningly pretty young Asian woman, with big brown eyes, straight dark hair down past her shoulders, and smooth, soft lips. Her beauty tempered his anger somewhat.
Somewhat.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking up at him with sympathetic eyes as she chewed on her lower lip.
"Well... you hit my car!" he announced, frustrated.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice small and cute against his anger. "I tried to stop but I slid on some ice. This is totally my fault," she admitted.
"Yeah, I know," Kevin replied, still pissed off.