Finish Line |h.s|

Prologue

March 25, 2015.

Red.

Hot, hot, red.

Burning.

Screaming.

Stinging.

Hot, hot, red.

That's all my mind could comprehend as flames soared into the sky, ashes rising to kiss the clouds.

Suddenly I was five years old, my mom was clutching the seat of my bicycle. My dad was yelling for her to let go, to let me fly, but she wouldn't. She was scared, I was too, but I was ready. The adrenaline of being on my own was washing the fear from my veins. Liam was already miles ahead of me and I wanted to catch up to him. He turned his head quickly, catching a glimpse of me trailing slowly behind him and shouted, "come on, Karisma!" Just let me go.

A slight blur, the memory vanished in a flash of purple. The same shade of my prom dress. I was tugging at the straps, praying the silky fabric stayed put over my chest. The dress was beautiful, my dad and Liam helped me pick it out. Mom smacked my hand away, "stop fussing over it. It looks fine." She eyed my chest, her eyes glimmering with disapproval, her lips in a tight line. She hated the dress, she thought it was too skanky. Her words, not mine. Liam said it brought out the green in my eyes and dad said I looked like royalty.

"She looks great mom, let her be." Liam whispered, so lowly I almost didn't catch it.

Purple melted into blue and I was walking down the aisle at my high school graduation, smoothing down a wrinkle in my royal blue gown. My body was riddled with nerves, fear and sorrow. I didn't have the best high school experience, but endings always caused a deep ache in my chest. I looked up from my feet, scanning the crowd to see my mother signaling for me to smile, Liam waving his arms frantically, a look of pride adorning his features.

Every special moment that was tucked away in my subconscious abruptly began playing in front of my eyes like ending credits. Before I could even fully process what was replaying in front of me, it was gone.

"Karisma!" Someone was shouting my name in the distance, my ears tried to focus in, to find the source but my mind and body were chasing memories. "Karisma, we need to go." My body was jolted from memory lane, a pair of what felt like iron rods gripped my waist and suddenly everything was red.

Hot, hot, red.

My skin felt like it was on fire.

It was on fire.

Something was hitting me. Someone was hitting me. I was shoved to the ground, the rough gravel stabbing sharp cuts into the exposed part of my stomach. Hot, hot red stained my skin, the hot red of my hands diminishing into bruised, raw pink. Smoke swirled in front of me as I examined my hands.

Did I have superpowers?

I've always wanted superpowers. If I could pick any power, I would want to be a shapeshifter.

"Karisma," a body stepped over me. My eyes trailed over the length of the tall figure, Niall's bright ocean eyes came closer and closer, until iron rods were tugging me off the floor again.

Looking away from his eyes, the world came into focus.

Hot, hot, red.

Screaming.

Stinging.

Fire.

Something was on fire. No, everything was on fire.

I frantically looked around, fear and confusion making a cocktail in my core, I found myself face to face with the horrific scene in front of me. There were flames engulfing two bikes, a single tire escaping the scene in hopes of some solace. The bright blue Kawaski that weighed more than two hundred pounds was crushed to the size of a soda can. The yellow bike, almost blending into the flames, stayed perfectly in shape.

It was like I didn't have control over my body, my brain wasn't sending signals to my limbs, they were acting on their own accord. I shoved Niall as hard as I could, a momentary zing in my hands before the adrenaline numbed the pain.

Maybe the choices I made weren't the smartest, but in that moment all I wanted to do was save him.

"Karisma! You have to stop!" More hands pulled at me, lifting my running feet from the ground. My skin grew colder, my voice cutting in and out as I was swept away from the chaos.

The stands were deserted, tire marks all over the tracks signaling that everyone had fled the scene in fear of the cops. Everyone left. Everyone took their money and left him for dead. So much for family.

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hi. I hope you enjoyed this little prologue. also the date, I'm sorry! you'll meet harry soon :) thanks for reading. xx