Between two world's

Sweet Sixteen

I was nervous and excited as I made my way up the driveway of my Best friends house, Zoe had been adamant that she was throwing me a party, it took three months of her begging and persuading our parents to allow it they ended up agreeing of course so here I was on the eve of my Sixteenth birthday feeling nervous about entering a house that I've known my whole life like it was my own, I suppose it helped that we were neighbors so our parents were at my home having a dinner party while we celebrated my Birthday next door with a handful of people from school. The house was scarily quite as I approached the front door not at all what I was expecting, I twisted the ends of my bright red hair nervously before reaching for the handle, before I had chance to clasp my hand around it the door flew open, Zoe grabbed me by the arm and dragged me over the threshold wearing her signature Cheshire cat grin, she pulled me to her bedroom slamming the door behind us, "your late" she forced me to sit in front of her vanity mirror, "sorry" I looked down at my hands that I was twisting in my lap, just over an hour later we were both stood looking at our reflections in the full length mirror of her parents room, I couldn't help but feel small and insecure next to Zoe, she was tall at 5ft 9" she had legs for day's her curve's had matured at an early age and she had the looks of a runway model with her long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, figure hugging red dress and perfectly manicured nails, while I stood at a mere 5ft 3" with my lack of curves figure, freckles running along my cheeks and collar bone and bright red hair that was almost too red to be natural, I stood next to her in a deep blue dress that fell to my knees, my best features are my bright green eye's. She nudged me encouragingly "you look stunning Clara, I bet Ben won't be able to keep his eye's off of you", I snorted "actually I think you will be getting his undivided attention tonight in that dress" she gave me twirl in response just as the door bell rang signaling the arrival of our first guest.

The party was going well in a way, I stood in the corner silently watching as all the guy's in our year relentlessly flirted with Zoe, she kept throwing glances my way making sure I hadn't retreated to her room like I do at all the other parties she hosts as midnight started to creep up on us she instructed everyone to head outside to sing me happy birthday so that our parents could also stand on the balcony of my room next door to join in. I stood in the middle of a semi circle of my peers starring down at my feet as Zoe carried a cake towards me, an alarm sounds from her phone as she lights the single candle in the center of the cake, the flame mesmerizes me and I can't help but think how beautiful it was and how beautiful it would be if more flames joined it, just as everyone stopped singing happy birthday, the flame spread down the candle over the cake to the board underneath and up Zoe's arms, I stood frozen as she dropped the cake and fell to the floor screaming. It was a cake, how could a cake set fire? Ben was trying to pat the flames out using his jacket and someone nudged into me knocking me back to my senses, without thinking I just grabbed ahold of her shoulders and dragged her backwards until we both fell into the pool, the flames extinguished immediately and I struggled to pull her to the surface again, something splashed into the pool next us and two sets of arms pulled us up to the surface , my Dad brushed the hair back from my face I sputtered up water and Zoe's Dad rushed her to the car, my parents were frantically checking me over and to my astonishment  I didn't have a mark on me, even though I dragged her to pool while she was covered in flames, I held her with flames licking at my skin but not a single mark appeared on me. They declared it a miracle a blessing from god for saving Zoe, I saw it as an omen.

The weeks passed slowly, Zoe still hadn't returned home having suffered third degree burns to eighty six percent of her body, she had already undergone two skin grafts and had more set in her future, she wouldn't talk to me and i understood, it was my fault bad things always happen when I'm around. And after that night things got worse, I don't know how or why but strange and frightful things kept happening, three weeks after the accident in gym class Ben and his friends were making fun of me calling me a witch and for just one moment I thought how awesome it would be if he broke his wrist or arm and couldn't play football anymore the thought was fleeting and then the next moment he was tripping up over a fallen classmate and screamed in agony clutching his arm to his chest. The worst thou happened two month's later at home, my parents were arguing unaware that I was awake and could hear them, I covered my ears with my hands and willed them to stop I screamed and pushed my hands out either side of me and then I heard to loud bangs and things crashing to the floor, I ran downstairs to find pieces of glass strewn across the floor, my mother was crying kneeling next to my Dad as he lay unconscious blood staining the floor beneath his head and the first time in my whole life she looked at me with disappointment and fear in her eye's, I panicked I didn't know what to do so I ran to my room and stuffed some clothes' into my school bag making sure to grab the money I'd saved over the years out of my jar on the night stand and I ran, I ran out the house and I kept on Running.