Numbered

Chapter Eleven

Kylie was in no mood to talk to anyone after being woken up five times during the night by the Mr and Mrs Worth. Four cups of tea, a midnight snack, a dusting of the room later, she had barely slept a wink all night. As soon as her head hit the pillow, her alarm went off, signalling to her that the day had begun whether or not she was ready.

There were dark circles under her eyes and she thought she could see a few spots surfacing on her chin from the stress of it all. She would never choose this life. She’d rather be one of those people who dealt with the city’s waste. At least that kind of work didn’t require you to work twenty-four hours around the clock. She could barely keep her eyes open as she vacuumed the apartment from top to bottom. She had to sit down on the stairs to the attic when she started running out of steam. One of these days she was going to faint, she knew it.

“Kylie?”

Jared glanced up at her. He looked worried, but she couldn’t deal with him right now.

“I’m fine. Leave me be.”

“You know how I hate seeing you exhaust yourself doing all of this housework. Let me take over.”

“It’s my job,” she replied. “I can finish it.”

“Look at you. You look like you’re about to pass out,” he said, his eyes worriedly giving her a once-over.

She shot him a glare. “I’m in a bad mood right now and I don’t want to take it on you. So please, just go.”

He lifted his hands in surrender and mouthed ‘sorry’ before walking away. She immediately regretted acting so dismissive with him. He was her employer’s son for god’s sake. She was a maid. She didn’t have the right to speak to him like that.

She could feel a headache coming on as she climbed down the stairs.

The day passed so slowly Kylie thought the clock had been rigged. Jared popped in and out, asking her if she wanted anything but she shook her head. He probably hated her, the way she was treating him.

“Kylie?” Jared’s voice called from the living room. She hesitantly walked to him and crossed her arms behind her back.

“Don’t you ever think we could try?”

She sat down beside him on the futon, her eyebrows drawing together. “Try what?”

She could see how difficult this was for him to get out. He swallowed. “We could keep it secret. Nobody but us would know. We wouldn’t have to pretend around each-other that-“

“I can’t,” Kylie whispered. She felt so bad letting him down but she had no choice. This was society’s rules. If she broke them, she’d be sent to prison for a long time, or worse.

“I know you think we’d be found out, but we wouldn’t if we tried,” he pleaded, his  blue eyes boring into hers. “We could make it work.”

“We’ve talked about this,” Kylie replied. “I can’t take that risk.”

“Is us not enough?” His words hurt her, that he could even think like that.

He was being so unreasonable but she could hardly blame him. He cared about her, she could see that. It scared her, the look in his eyes sometimes.

“I don’t understand you at all sometimes. I can’t have you. I can’t have anyone. You know the law, Jared. You know what the government-“ Her eyes began filling with tears. She hated showing emotion, especially in front of him. It made her feel weak.

“Damn the government,” he said, roughly. He stood up. “I don’t care about them. I care about you.”

“If you cared about me, you wouldn’t bring this up,” she murmured.

She walked out, not stopping her steps until she was out of the apartment building and down towards the beach.

She didn’t see the people around her, sneering at her or pointing. She didn’t see the look in their eyes.

She didn’t see the car as it appeared out from a corner. She didn’t see it until she heard the roar of the engine and its metal exterior collided with her body.

***

Pain. Her lungs were burning up, her head was pounding and she could smell the distinctive metallic scent of blood.

She heard a car door slam, someone curse loudly, footsteps. A hand curled around her wrist and she opened her eyes to see a wealthy looking man, clad in a grey suit with dark sunglasses and a red cashmere scarf.

He sighed, dropped her arm once he saw the marking on her wrist, and a few seconds later, she heard the sound of car tyres on gravel.

The car roared into the distance, leaving her half-broken on the empty street.

Minutes later, when she realised no one was coming for her, she dragged herself off the road and sat on the pavement. Her uniform was torn and dirty, her knees cut and scraped. She knew she’d taken the worst of the impact on her ribs. She could barely breathe. Every breath she did take hurt and stung.

There was a cut on her forehead, presumably where it had hit off the windscreen. She wiped off the blood that had trickled down her face, and held her head in her hands. She finally managed to stand, her limbs aching, her head dizzy. She needed to get back to the apartment and clean up before the Worth’s came home. She would be alright. She could always lie, say that she’d fallen down the stairs or walked into a lamppost. The only visible injury was on her head.

When she eventually made it back to the apartment, she was feeling drowsy from the loss of blood. She didn’t make it to the chair on time as she stumbled into the kitchen. Her head was spinning. She lost her balance as her world went black.

Much later, she felt hands holding her up. She felt as if she was floating. Her eyes fluttered open to see Jared’s face multiplied in front of her. When she finally focused, she could see his panicked eyes. When he noticed she was awake, his breath hitched.

“Oh, Kylie, thank God,” he murmured, his voice cracking. He kissed her forehead, just below the gash. “I found you unconscious in the kitchen and we’re going to the hospital now. You’re okay, you’re okay.”

He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. His face was devoid of colour, his forehead creased with frown lines.

Suddenly it all came rushing back to her. The hit-and-run. Her dragging herself back to the house. Passing out.

“I’m sorry,” she croaked, her voice sounding like she’d smoked a thousand cigarettes. It hurt so much to talk.

“Don’t apologise. Just tell me what happened,” he said. “Did you get into a fight?”

She laughed, quickly regretting it with the pain that came after. “I wish. I’d like to see the person that could beat me this bad.”

She thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his lips, but it was quickly replaced by a frown. “Tell me.”

She sighed, swallowed, took a few deep breaths. “Car. Hit me. The driver got out but he drove off after…”

“After what?” he pressed.

She held up her wrist, and heard Jared curse. He shook his head.

“If I find this low-life, I’ll beat him up so bad he’ll wish he’d never been born.”

Kylie hissed as his arms tightened around her.

“God, I’m sorry,” he said. “Sorry, Kylie. Where does it hurt?”

“Ribs,” she managed. “Hurts.”

“We’re here now. You’re going to be fine. Don’t worry,” he said. She heard his voice slipping away as she was transferred onto a stretcher and wheeled inside the hospital. His hand tightened on hers as someone placed a mask over her face. She breathed in and closed her eyes, drifting into sleep.

She felt at peace.

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PLOT TWIST! You might hate me but I had to do this. It'll work out in the end, you'll see. The next chapter's going to be the best yet.

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