Mirrored Exile (HS)

seven

chapter seven - breathe (in the air)

Lucy Caddel

We sat on the bed in silence as I flicked through things on both of the laptops. Harry watched me work on them from where he was sitting.

"Something isn't right." I break the silence.

"What do you mean?" He leans over and looks at the screens.

"The laptop Samantha gave me. The files I saved on my own laptop, it's not letting me move them over to the one she gave me. It's saying it doesn't have the ability to do that." I slide the laptop closer to Harry for him to see.

I sit up on the bed and cross my legs, he does the same right next to me. Our knees brushing each other sent a shock through me.

"So what's it saying now?" He asked.

"It's telling me that the files aren't compatible which is weird because everyone other file to exist can work on this laptop except this one. It's like it's been separately blocked and cut from access. I even tried breaking over the firewall but there's another source that's locking it out." I explained.

"Just use your normal laptop then, the FBI one might be rigged." He shrugged.

"But don't you think it's weird? Maybe someone intended for this to happen."

"I doubt Samantha would've done it, maybe someone planted it on you. Samantha isn't in charge of the tech department." Harry yawns and lays down on the pillow next to me.

His hands wrap around his neck and are held up to lift his head a little. He's wearing a plain white shirt, black pants and white socks. He must've flicked his boots off at the front door. The white shirt is very partly see through. Just enough to see the tattoos that are on his chest and collar bones. A butterfly and two swallows. A silver chain with a cross is tangled and slid down the side of his neck as he looks at the roof.

"I like your tattoos." I lean over and look at them.

"Oh, thanks." He sits up. "Do you have any?"

"Only one." I say lifting the bottom of my shirt to the small, cursive writing just above my hip bone.

"Lee cig nee?" He tries to pronounce while narrowing his eyes to read it.

I laugh. "It's pronounced like le sin ye but spelt as Le Cygne." I sounded it out for him, trying to make it easier. "It's French."

"Le Cygne." He says slowly.

"Yeah, that's... closer." I tried not to laugh.

"What does Le C-." He clears his throat. "What does the word mean?"

"It means 'The Swan'. I got it after my Uncle passed away." I say quietly as the mood of the room instantly changed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make it awkward."

"Don't be sorry, I was just admiring it. It's pretty." He smiles.

I felt my cheeks darken in colour. "Thanks."

"What about your necklace?" He asks.

I lift it and trace my fingers in it. "It was given to me for my 16th birthday. It's an outline of a full moon."