The summer we turned thirteen (Published)

Chapter fifteen: Growing apart

Harlee

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The bike race didn't go as planned at all.

James and I ended up arguing about directions and getting lost.

We had been parked at the top of a massive hill, sitting on our bikes, yelling at one another when James' bike started rolling down the hill, very quickly.

I followed him down the hill to try and stop him from freaking out.

Then I rode ahead of him and lifted my feet off the pedals of my bike.

James yelled at me, questioning my sanity, typical James.

My response was to agree I wasn't sane then to prove it even further.

I let out a happy yell then removed my hands from the handlebars completely, putting both my hands and feet in the air.

I wanted to show him we weren't in any danger at all.

And that some things that seem terrifying aren't actually all that scary.

James was in fear for my safety, but I didn't feel afraid at all.

It felt liberating.

After just a little convincing from me, James was trying it too.

Once he removed his feet from the pedals, he seemed to realize it wasn't all that dangerous. Because shortly after, he took his hands off the handlebars too. We both cheered and rode down the hill, waving our limbs in the air. I closed my eyes for a second and tried to capture the moment in my memory forever.

Because for a moment, the two of us were back to normal.

Me, testing the limits, James, fearing the unknown but eventually

embracing it with me.

It was just like old times.

Too bad it didn't last.

When we came to the bottom of the hill, James actually wanted to go again. But then something happened, something I truly didn't understand, to change his mind.

We were parked at the bottom of the hill, and I was putting my hair up in a ponytail. The wind had done a number on it, and I didn't want to show up at the parlor with crazy hair, so I was trying to fix it.

James being his usual polite self, tried to help me.

"Here, you missed a few," he said, pushing the strands of hair I'd purposefully left hanging out of my face.

All I did was smile and remind him that I didn't like all of my hair pinned back. Then he kept staring at me with this strange look I couldn't quite decipher.

"James?" I called out to him, wondering what he was thinking about.

He stepped away like I was poisonous or something.

He lowered his head and said he wanted to go meet the others instead of riding the hill a second time. His behavior was confusing me more than ever, but I complied.

He didn't talk to me at all on the way to the Dairy Jester.

I couldn't figure out if he was mad at me or if something else was upsetting him, but I didn't want to pester him. James wasn't the kind to open up about his problems. If you wanted to know, you'd have to badger him.

Usually, I could talk him into telling me almost anything.

But I had a feeling this time, it wouldn't be so easy.