Numbered

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kylie scrubbed her body, ignoring the aches and bruises that had appeared after her altercation with Mrs Worth.

Jared had phoned a locksmith who had immediately changed the locks in all the doors the next morning and had installed deadlocks so it would be even harder to gain access to the house.

She lathered her hair with shampoo and rinsed before stepping out of the steamy shower and wrapping a towel around her body.

The cool air from an open window hit her skin when she entered the bedroom and goosebumps broke out.

She immediately changed into a strappy summer dress and padded down the stairs in her bare feet. Jared was sitting out on the porch in the cushioned loveseat, looking at prints of pictures.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked curiously, leaning against the door frame.

"Putting photos into Nick's book," he said. "Do you want to help?"

"Sure," she replied, taking a seat beside him. He looked up, his eyes lingering on the ring of bruises around her neck.

She avoided his gaze, instead sifting through the photos they had taken at the beach.

"Come to Nick's with me tomorrow," he blurted out.

"Another meeting?" she asked. "That's three in two weeks."

"I know, he wants us to start training, " Jared replied. "I don't like leaving you here on your own after what happened, and I know you hate Topaz but...think-"

"Okay," she said. "I'll come."

She was sick of putting things off and making Jared do things according to her preferences. If he wanted her to go, she would go.

He looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah," she affirmed. "I'll be okay if you're there."

He smiled, sliding a photo towards her. It was one of the both of them at the beach, their eyes squinting in the sun, Kylie's hair blown over her face, but their smiles were unmistakable. Happiness exuded from the photo.

She nodded at Jared to put it in the book. There was a picture of the beach-house, and the beach itself on one half of the page and a picture of Kylie sun-bathing, a grin on her face.

"You look gorgeous in every one of these," he remarked.

She snorted. "You're blind."

"Why else would I want to do this?" He asked. In an instant his mouth was on hers and his taste laced her mouth as he kissed her, making her question just how she had gotten so lucky. He pulled away, leaving her breathless.

She sucked in a breath. "Well..."

"Well," he teased, placing the book in her lap.

She flicked through the new pages, each one lifting the corners of her mouth into a smile.

They did look happy. They were happy. She didn't want the utter bliss she felt with him to vanish.

"Do you want some lunch?" he suggested. "We could look for some café."

She nodded. "Let me get my shoes."

The sun was beaming down on them as they walked down the sidestreets. It was a suburban area but every few blocks, there were shops or eateries littered along the tree-lined streets.

"How about here?" she asked, pointing to an old-looking café that reminded her of the greasy spoons near her home.

He held upon the door for her and the blast of air conditioning hit her in the face.

The smell of food hit her second. She breathed in the scent of sea salt, fish, soup and coffee.

"Hi, welcome to Magpie's," a man said, handing them two menus and pointing them to a table.

They sat down, perusing the menu before ordering fish and chips between them.

"Are you guys new around here?" the waiter asked, as he made the two lemonades they had ordered.

"We've just recently moved in to an old house that belonged to my family," Jared replied.

"Oh, where abouts?" the waiter questioned. "There's pretty vacant houses where I live along the beach."

"Yeah, it's a beach-house. White with blue shutters?"

"Hey, I'm two doors down from there. I noticed some removal vans, come to think of it," he said. "Here's your milkshakes."

"Thanks," Kylie said, taking a sip of the cool citrusy drink.

"I'm Will, by the way," he said, flashing a smile. He looked like a surfer, tan and blonde, with extremely white teeth. He held out a hand. "Welcome to the neighbourhood."

Kylie shook his hand, noticing the calluses on his palm. Her eyes scanned his wrist out of habit. She was surprised to see his mark still present. He was a 1.

"I moved here a few years ago. I inherited the house from my grandfather and decided to move in," Will explained. "I've been kind of lonely out there. It's good having neighbours."

Kylie remembered the friends her grandmother had in their town. There was a large sense of community amongst the lower numbers. The higher numbers, who mostly lived in the cities, didn't have time to talk to their neighbours or lived in skyscrapers, isolated from the world.

The fish and chips came wrapped in newspapers which took Kylie back to her childhood. She remembered sitting at the lake eating newspaper cones of chips on her birthday with her grandmother beside her.

Jared took a bite of the battered fish and smiled. "This is way better than any of the fancy dishes at those dinner parties."

She nodded. "Nothing beats fish and chips."

After they had finished, Will came down with two bowls of Neapolitan ice cream. "On the house guys."

They both thanked him, their sentences interrupted by the loud crack of thunder outside. Immediately after the heavens opened and rain poured down.

"Shit," Will cursed. "The outside tables."

Ice cream forgotten, Kylie and Jared ran outside to fold up the tables and chairs and Will threw the tarpaulin over them.

When they came back inside, Kylie was laughing hysterically. Her dress was practically transparent and her hair was plastered to her forehead.

Jared combed his hair back with his fingers and caught her chin between his fingers. Her breath caught in her throat and a smile tugged at her lips as he leaned in to kiss her.

Kylie laughed under his lips as Will muttered, "No tongues please", under his breath.

'I'm the luckiest girl in the world,' she thought when she pulled away and Jared's eyes met hers.

In that moment, everything seemed perfect. She wouldn't change anything.