Numbered

Chapter Eighteen

Kylie slept better than she had done in weeks and woke with a smile on her face. She heard Jared brushing his teeth in the background and slid out of bed to join him. She bumped her hip against his and brushed her teeth beside him quietly. When she put her toothbrush in the tumbler, his hands pressed her sides and she shrank away from him.

"Anything but tickling," she laughed as he crept towards her and proceeded to torture her with tickles.

She was breathless; he had her pressed against the wall and their eyes locked. She sighed as she felt his warm mouth on hers.

She wondered briefly how many other girls he had kissed, how many girlfriends he'd had. A pang of jealousy shot through her and she pushed it away, reminding herself that of course, he was going to have a lot of takers. She wasn't one of them because they were different. They loved eachother, as mushy and clichéd as that sounded in her mind.

They were interrupted by a loud alarm, which signalled it was time for breakfast. Kylie fixed her hair and changed out of her pyjamas, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

When they came down for breakfast,  everyone turned to stare at them. Their gazes were worried and concerned and Kylie felt her skin prickle.

Someone turned up the volume on the old TV set in the lounge. The news was on. Kylie's heart stopped as she saw her and Jared's faces on the screen. The news reporter's voice blared out of the TV.

"Police are launching a search to find Jared Worth and a death warrant has been issued on the missing criminal, Kylie Fairs, a Zero. If you see this individual, it is advised not to approach her but call the police."

It felt like the walls were closing in on her. Everyone was looking at her, their expressions sympathetic. She felt nauseous.

Kylie slipped out of Jared's grasp and ran to the bathroom. She dry wretched down the toilet, holding her rolling stomach. The blood pumped in her ears and tears spilled from her eyes.

She felt a pair of cool hands brush her neck and her hair was pulled back from her face. Jared's soothing voice finally got through to her.

"They're not going to find you, as long as I've got something to do with it," Jared promised.

"It's the government," Kylie murmured. "They want me dead."

"They want all of us dead," he assured, rubbing circles in her back. "But that's not going to happen."

She sucked in a breath and turned to face him. "I'm not ready to die. Not now I have you."

His fingers caressed her face and she calmed down, her heartbeat slowing.

"I know," he said. "You're not going to die, okay?"

"Okay," she sighed. "Alright."

She ran her fingers through her hair and splashed water on her face. She put on a brave face and walked back out to the kitchen to fix her breakfast.

The channel had been switched over to a fashion show with two Five presenters caked with make-up.

The cereal tasted like cardboard in her mouth. Normal conversation had resumed in the lounge. She saw Nico sneaking glances at her.

Her eyes locked with his and he smiled reassuringly.

"Right guys," Nick clapped his hands together. "We're going up another level. Burning flags, breaking government windows, talking to villagers."

Nick talked to Kylie separately. "It's too dangerous for you to be guarding in a pair. We're gonna arm you and send you with the team going around the villagers."