HEART OF MINE

Prologue

{ Prologue }

I gasped as my best friend Tim threw a punch on Seth who was just defending Ron. Then the brawl began. JC tried to stop them but he got caught in the fight. The four boys kept hitting each other as if I wasn't even there.

"Seth, Tim stop!" I shrieked but they didn't even hear me. "JC, you're supposed to stop them." Realizing my worthless efforts, I cried. Tears fell from my eyes so I covered my face with my palms as our past flashed before my eyes.

Seth, Tim and I did a blood pact the night before my adoption and the three of us vowed to be friends forever. Nine years ago.

Tim got a hold on Seth and they both fell on the floor. They continued punching each other while rolling around.

Seth and Tim brought gifts when we had my tenth birthday party in the tree house. Six years ago.

Ron crashed over the party table because JC kicked him. The teachers came but they couldn't stop the four well built teenagers.

Seth and I stayed over Tim's house and watched movies with a bunch of chips and sodas. Four years ago.

Seth kneed Tim's ribs and managed to get over him releasing a couple of punches. Tim didn't care and threw his own fists on Seth's face.

Tim and I played a prank on Seth's room in Halloween. Seth was furious and we chased each other playfully until we were all tired. Two years ago.

Why won't they stop? Why can't the teachers stop them? Please, everyone stop.... Please.

JC, Ron, Seth and Tim climbed my window to get to an all girls slumber party in my room. Mom got mad but let them join and my boys hanged out with my girl friends till dusk. Two weeks ago.

"STOP!" I screamed on top of my lungs. Pain struck my bleeding heart.

Seth, Tim, Ron and JC froze. The attention of everyone in the school gym is focused at the four teenage boys who are beating each other up for a single girl.

Tim is still on top of Seth holding a tight grip on Seth's collar with his other hand balled in a fist right in front of Seth's face. Meanwhile, Seth lay beneath Tim also ready to punch him. Ron and JC had stopped fighting as well. They stood there staring at me with sorry faces.

All four of them are bruised and blooded from the rumble. Fat tears streamed down my cheeks. Then I turned my heels and ran away...

Confusion, loss and sorrow blurred my mind as I dashed out the gymnasium.

Now our many years of friendship are officially over.

It felt as if I lost a big part of my heart...

How in the world did this happened?

Can everything go back to the way it was before?

Damn It! I really hate puberty!!!

{ INTRODUCTION}

My biological mother used to tell me that Corazon means LOVE in Spanish. I can't remember much about my real parents anymore so I hold on to this kind of details dearly.

Even just a little, I want to honor their memory because they protected me with all their lives.

You see, I'm one of the last three survivors of a hell like wild fire that killed hundreds of people in a small town in Westchester.My old home was burned to dust and I lost everything when I was merely an eight year's old little girl.

I thought I would be miserable until I was adopted by a married couple who just lost their unborn child. Grace Anne Hail and Jeremy Hail are one of the best parents in the world. They treated me with love and care as if I'm their daughter by blood. In their guidance, I grew up as a happy child.

My only wish is that I'm able to fulfill my duty as a daughter even if I'm not perfect. I know deep inside, my new parents wanted me to be a bit more feminine than I actually am.

I'm a Tomboy you see. Its not that I hate being a girl, its just I hate being treated like one. I'd choose a basketball over a shining shimmering princess crown and a Jersey shirt over a pretty pink frilled dress. I'm not into boy bands and I'm not into shopping. Never in my life did I have a boyfriend nor a crush.

This is the fact that bothers my new parents because I had a hard time being friends with other girls.

The reason of it is my two best friends, Seth and Timothy. Since I spend most of my times with these boys, I became isolated from the female cultures and practices.

Just like me, Seth and Tim lost everything in that wild fire. They lost their parents, friends and home to that tragedy. We met each other back in preschool and were taken to the same orphanage after being rescued.

People say that it was a miracle that the three of us were found unharmed. I don't remember how I survived but Seth and Tim knew it very well.

Timothy's mother locked him in their freezer when their house came burning down. He never saw her again after that.

While Seth's father who was a fireman, pushed his son into a foolproof emergency room in their basement. His dad tried to save his mother who was in her friend's house that night but he never came back.

Unlike them, all I did was sleep the entire time that night of the fire, I remember being tucked in bed by my dad and kissed good night by my mom. The moment I woke up, I was in the hospital and my family are all dead.

The fireman who rescued me said that he found me buried beneath two very wet futons while I sleep. It was never a mystery why I survived, I just can't figure out why I was alone.

Our parents were heroes and we are proud of them. That's why the three of us decided to live our lives to the fullest for the sake of the people who died that day. Together, Seth, Timothy and I upheld each other through all the ups and down of our everyday lives.

Because I wasn't alone, I was able to have a normal life...

Now, I have two of the greatest friends, the caring parents and a satisfying environment one could ever have. How I wished so badly that nothing will ever change again,

Unfortunately it did and it all started that day...