This Was Home [h.s.]

| 32. POOL HOUSE |

     Everything was whirring past us so quickly. Muffled noises were ricocheting from one ear to the other, trying to decipher the words being said, but nothing was making sense. Things wobbled that had never wobbled before, moving as if made of liquid, and it made me want to vomit. I felt like my lungs could give out any second, and not even just because we were running so quickly.

What the fuck?

"Wuh-ts go-ing ahn?" My tongue felt heavy as I spoke, like it was a workout to form the most basic of syllables. Any moment I was sure I would choke on it, dying right there on the patches of grass we were sprinting across.

Harry was still pulling me quickly, almost too quick for my feet to keep up given the state of me. I couldn't read the emotions on his face as he was too preoccupied with shoveling us through the people we came across and not looking back. I heard shouting from some, but I was unsure what it was about. I wasn't even sure if they were scared or just trying to help others.

Considering the feeling I got in my bones from everything around, it definitely didn't feel welcoming anymore. Not that it did too much before, but the chaos was only adding to that feeling.

How was Harry able to navigate through any of this right now?

And was it the wine? The food? Either way, why would they want to drug us? Were we going to die from it?

Initially after drinking, I was filled with euphoria and bliss, like nothing in the world could stop me. I was open to anything, any information that could have spilled in my ears. I never had been much of a good listener when it came to most things, but this time felt so much different. It was like the world wanted to speak to me through various outdoor noises and things unseen by the naked eye. I was so ready for anything to be told to me.

I felt like the world's informant. I could see everything. Hear everything.

But now those whispers from the wind were drowned out by the sea of various voices with varying pitches. I no longer felt those same feelings as I had before. Now, I was listening too much it seemed.

I wanted to rip my ears off in a panic just to make it stop. It was all too much.

"Harry– p..please..." My words trailed off, hunting for a place to safely find themselves.

He made a sharp right, ignoring me as our bodies now swayed past another building. It was too dark and my vision was too shaky to be able to configure where we were, let alone what building we were now hiding behind as we came to an abrupt stop. My chest was heaving heavily as I blinked my eyes multiple times to try and focus on anything around us. It only helped minimally as the world was still spinning and I was doing my damndest to stop letting my eyes play tricks on me.

My brain was acting as my own worst enemy at a time I needed it to do the opposite.

Harry's face continued to swirl even though I knew he wasn't actually doing those nonhuman movements himself. I had to look away at the ground to fight away the wash of anxiety overcoming my body due to it. I had never experienced anything like this, and I couldn't stomach having someone I had grown so close to now appear so unrecognizable.