Love Is Hard - Karma X Reader

Chapter 19.2

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(Karma's POV - continued)

I staggered over to a nearby bench, my body rocking forward as another sharp throb split across my temples.

My breath came in short, uneven gasps as I slumped against the bench, my head resting on my fist. My elbow dug into my knee, painfully, but it wasn't enough. My heart was pounding- too fast, too erratic. The pain in my skull was relentless, pulsing like a war drum inside my

I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn't help.

Because the moment I did, I saw her.

A silhouette, hazy yet painfully familiar, flickered behind my eyes.

A little girl with a tiny **fountain ponytail**, her small hand gripping mine as she ran beside me, giggling. Her tiny voice bubbling with excitement.

* "Karma is the best!" *

The memory hit like a truck as a sharp pulse shot through my skull. My fingers twitched against my temple, gripping at strands of hair as if I could physically hold onto the image before it faded.

Another flash- her crying. Big, round eyes filled with tears as I crouched in front of her, dirt smeared on my cheek, knuckles scraped raw from a fight. My chest ached, but not from the bruises.

I had fought for her. Defended her.

She had been important to me.

I sucked in a shaky breath, my head throbbing worse as I squeezed my eyes shut, I swallowed hard, my throat feeling tight. I pressed my palm against my forehead, like that would do something-like that would make this goddamn headache go away.

Except-I didn't want it to.

Because for the first time in years, I was remembering. And I wasn't ready to lose it again. I wanted to remember more.

But this feeling-this fucking helplessness.

It was too familiar.

Like a black hole in my chest, sucking in everything and leaving nothing behind.

The last time I felt like this was when we lost Korosensei.

...No.

That was a lie.

This?

I had felt this before.

And just as that realization hit, another memory crashed over me, harder, heavier-like a tidal wave slamming into my skull nearly knocking me sideways with the force of it

Same silhouette、 a little older.

Her voice, no longer as childish.

Me helping her with mats, watching her scrunch her nose when she didn't get something.

Her clutching my shirt, sobbing into the fabric because some asshole teacher scolded her for getting a question wrong.

Her, faking sick just so she could get an excuse to make me be extra nice to her for the day.

Her, grinning up at me with determination.

* "I'll go to the same high school as you, Karma!" *

But...

She never did.

She just- vanished. Not just disappeared.

Not just from my life.