Glass Wall

Chapter 35

Harry pulls my hand farther into the trees.

"Harry where are we going?" I ask looking back towards the school. I can't see it anymore because of how far we've already traveled.

"Don't tell me you want to go back to that horrible place?" He asks with an amused tone.

I glance back at the school and start to panic. A knot forms in the pit of my stomach and my blood courses through my veins. I start to feel very nervous.

"Harry my bag." I state. He stops in his tracks and curses under his breath.

"I'll race you." He challenges me.

"Well I don't know..." I say tentatively before walking up to his side. I feel a sudden kick of courage and I trail my fingers down his arms. I lean forward brushing my mouth against his ear.

"I never lose a race." I whisper. I said I never lose but that's not entirely true. I haven't lost yet but that doesn't mean I can't lose in the future. I'm just trying to come off as confident as possible. I want to challenge him.

I break out into a run before he can reply. I quickly look back. He runs after me with a sly grin on his face. His arms pump as his legs power his way towards me. Looking back at him is only slowing me down for a number of reasons. I slow down a little to let him catch up to me. I glance at him sideways and catch his eye. He looks confident because he caught up but I know better. I laugh to myself before picking up my pace. I glance at him again to see a pained look on his face. I figure his expression means that he didn't think I could go any faster. I look in front of me just as I near a tree and immediately swerve around it. I look ahead of Harry's path and notice a few trees he has to run around. I push myself as fast as I can to reach my bag.

Harry is pushing hard but I have a feeling he's holding back. He runs a few steps behind me as the bag starts coming into view. I cut in front of his path to slow him down. He takes a few quick steps to continue running to my right. I step in front of him again and I hear him grunt in frustration.

When we reach the bag both of us grab it at the same time. His arm is much longer than mine so he can reach from further back. We both go crashing to the ground because of our speed and the force of both of us pulling.

I roll over to face him. He laughs with his back on the ground and his face tilted towards the sky. I smile at the sight.

He looks younger, happier, free. I look around me to search the area. We're still concealed from view by the trees so I decide to lie down on my back beside him.

"That one looks like a crocodile." I say pointing at the cloud. Harry turns his head towards me with a serious expression. I don't look directly at him but I can see him from my peripheral vision. The hair behind his ear slightly falls on to his cheek making me feel the urge to reach over and push it back. His arms rest on his chest as he breathes slowly.

"That one looks like a dog!" I say pointing at another one close by. I ignore his stares. For some reason they don't bother me. Harry inches closer to me leaving the bag behind.

"That one looks... like a gun?" I ask turning my head to try and get a better look. Harry doesn't answer. He just lies there staring at me as I point out the clouds.

"What are we doing here Jules?" He suddenly asks.

I turn my head to look at him. When I don't answer he closes his eyes slowly.

What?

I don't understand. There's so many possibilities to what he could've been talking about. I decide to ignore his comment.