Slowly Burning

Chapter 1

Caroline

Death.

No one prepares you for it and nobody teaches you how to accept it. she never thought death could touch me, but she was wrong. It started off as a normal day, Caroline was getting ready for her first official day of high school when her annoying eleven year old brother,Graham, flung her door open and sat on her newly made bed wrinkling the sheets. Caroline applied her last coat of mascara and turned around narrowing her eyes at him.

"What are you doing in here, you troll?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm annoying you."

"Well if that's your only purpose for being in here than I suggest you do me a favor and get the hell out of my room. I have to get ready for school and you're not helping the process move along any faster."

"You look ready to me. I mean there's not enough makeup in the world to cover up that much ugly."

"Get out Graham. I mean it."

"Fine." He huffed slamming the door as he left.

Caroline's picture frame fell off the wall and I sighed picking up the picture of her and her boyfriend Matt.

After I had swept up the remaining glass on the floor from where the frame had broken, she set the picture carefully on her dresser and put the glass in the trashcan.

Caroline inspected herself once more before heading downstairs for breakfast.

Her brother was sitting at the breakfast table with my mother when she slapped him in the back of the head making him flinch.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You broke my picture frame. You're such a little troll."

"Caroline-"Her mother warned.

"But mom he broke my picture frame. He could have destroyed the picture that was inside of it."

"That's enough Caroline. No more of that whining of yours. Now sit down and eat your breakfast and Graham stop harassing your older sister and go get ready so I can take you to your doctor's appointment."

"Joy." Her brother said sliding off his chair and disappearing into the sanctuary of his own room.

"Can't you try and be nicer to your brother Caroline. You know he's been going through a rough time lately."

"Geez mom I know graham has been going through a tough time with his diabetes and all, but can't you just once take my side?"

A car horn beeped from outside and Caroline sighed peeping through the window to see that Matt was waiting for her in his mom's BMW.

"I guess I'll see you after school Caroline." Her mother said.

"Whatever." She said going out of the door.

Caroline settled into Matt's BMW as her mother looked out the window. Her face showed a sense of longing which it usually did when she wanted to fix one of their problems, but unfortunelty for Caroline this had been going on ever since her father had left them three years ago.

She blamed her mother for making her father leave in the first place. If he would have stayed things would have been perfect or at least different for her and her mother. But now he had a brand new wife and a couple of new kids to call his own. After leaving her mother, her father had settled into his life pretty well. He had a stepdaughter named Chelsea who Caroline had always envied because he was more of a father to Chelsea than he ever was to her. He also had a stepson named Grant, and last but not least his new flesh and blood Loretta. They all lived their perfect lives in Seattle, Washington which felt like it was miles away from Miami, Florida.

The only good thing in Caroline's life was her popularity. She was head varsity cheerleader from her middle school, dating the hottest football player around, and she also had a great set of despite being a cheerleader all she had ever really wanted to do was dance.

To her it wasn't a far cry from cheerleading itself, but she found it much more of a challenge to her than cheerleading was.

She had been secretly taking classes at the contemporary art studio for Jazz and Ballet. It was the best part of her day and all she loved to do was sway to the music like her instructor had taught her to do. She loved every minute of dancing because it forced herself to lose control every once in a while.

Matt cleared his throat sending her out of her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. She slipped her hand into his and smiled.

"Rough morning-"He asked.

Caroline nodded not feeling comfortable talking about her mother or Graham. Which felt weird to her. Shouldn't people who are dating feel like sharing everything she thought to herself. It wasn't that way with Matt, but she felt comfortable and safe around him and for now that was enough. At least she thought it should be.

When they pulled into the parking lot, they stepped out of the car to find Katherine and April squealing over her first day of school outfit. They called it retro and classy, but to Caroline it was like something she would wear every single day. She thanked them as they entered the halls that would soon be crowned as hers if she had anything to say about it. She couldn't help who she was or who her boyfriend was either.

Knots formed in her stomach as the senior populars gave her dirty looks. Well so much for her fresh start. If she had a choice of a new life she wouldn't want to be as popular as she was now.

The groupies themselves were a health hazard and they drove her crazy from time to time. She literally only had a few seconds to herself each day. She grabbed her new schedule from the front office and looked at the map of her new school. It was nothing that she couldn't handle, but the knots in her stomach kept growing as she made her way to her new history class passing by people who said hello and followed her like lost puppies.

When she sat down in her seat, she rummaged through her bag and got out a brand new notebook to take notes on her teacher's lecture. The knots in her stomach had now subsided and she could now concentrate on her classes.

Thirty minutes after the bell rang, a uniformed cop showed up in the classroom and scanned it with his eyes stopping Tyler mid flirt which she had been grateful for since he had been crushing on her since first grade and he was so not her type.

"Is there a Caroline Forbes in this classroom?"

She jumped at the sound of her name. What could he possibly have wanted from her?

Caroline stuffed her books in her bag and followed the cop to the principals office. Bile rose in her throat as she followed the cop and she couldn't tell why. Her grandma Jane stood in the office with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Where was her mom if she was really in trouble?

"Grandma, What are you doing here?"

"Have a seat dear. These gentlemen need to have a serious word with you. I would do it but I just can't contain myself right now."

Caroline nodded and sat down in a nearby chair looking at the cop and his partner.

"Am I in trouble or something?" she asked

"Caroline. We're sorry to inform you of this, but there's been an accident."

" What? What accident? What happened?"

"There's no easy way to tell you this Caroline, but there was a shooting at a gas station this morning."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Your mother and brother were in there when two of the local gang members were in there. There was a shooting and they were caught in the cross hares."

"Oh my God! Are they okay? Are they at the hospital? I need to get out of here. I have to go see if they're okay."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this Caroline, but they didn't make it."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Your mother and brother are dead."

Her vision blurred. She just barely saw the cop stumble towards her as her world turned black.

Two weeks later, Caroline stood in the church with her grandmother and surprisingly, her father and his new family while the guest piled in for her mother and brother's memorial service.

She tried to contain her tears as people made their speeches about her family and offered their condolences to her. She didn't want to hear them. No amount of condolences would bring her mother and brother back.

After the service, She went to the wake where she got some shocking and unexpected news.

Caroline wouldn't be able to stay in Miami after all. Her father had full custody of her now and he couldn't afford to uproot anyone's life except hers, but she didn't mind. Her life was already ripping at the seams and without a family she had nothing left there. She nodded at what her father told her without compliant and went to her room to pack her belongings.

Her father helped for the most part and within a week, Caroline had been settled into his house in Seattle where she would be sharing a room with her stepsister Chelsea. Her new life would be hard to cope with, but she had to let this fresh new start happen. After all what was the worst thing that could happen to her here?