It has always been you

What's in the clock?

*The next morning*

*Jay's P.O.V*

I awoke to find Erin curled up into my side with her hand on my chest, still fast asleep. I glanced over at the clock noticing that it was only 7am. Just as I was about to turn my attention back to my gorgeous partner sleeping right next to me, I noticed what appeared to be a camera lens discretely hidden in the corner of the clock. Was someone watching us? Was our cover blown? Were we in danger?

I shifted slightly to get a better look at Erin before gently shaking her awake.

"Laura honey, it's time to wake up" I whispered in her ear, earning a grumble in response. "You need to wake up. I think there may be a hidden camera in the clock on my bedside table" I whispered, this time successfully getting her attention.

"What do you mean there's a camera in the clock?" she whispered, the panic in her voice rising.

"Have a look in the top left-hand corner" I instructed her. She got up to have a look and turned to me with the clock in her hands, panic written all over her delicate features.

"Are you sure you set the alarm properly Matt?" she asked, looking directly into my eyes.

"No, I'm not sure" I replied, understanding that she didn't want to alert whoever had placed the camera to know that we had found it.

"Did I turn the sound on?" I asked, hoping she would understand that I was trying to ask if she thought it had a microphone.

"Yeah it appears to be on" she said, looking even more panicked than before.

"I wonder why it didn't go off then" I added, keeping up the charade. Erin shrugged in response before heading into the bathroom to get changed.

I got up and threw some clothes on, heading downstairs to make us both a cup of coffee whilst Erin finished getting dressed in the bathroom.

As I poured the coffee into her mug Erin descended to stairs, her eyes lighting up when she saw the mug of hot coffee in my hands.

"Thanks babe" she said cheerfully, catching me off-guard with the use of the word 'babe'. I smiled at her in response.

We each placed our mugs in the dishwasher once we were done and then grabbed our phones and ear pieces before putting our shoes on and heading out the door. Instantly, I had a nagging feeling that we were being watched but pushed it aside and focussed on keeping up with Erin. She may be small, but she was fast!

As I caught up and managed to keep pace with her, I discreetly turned my ear piece on and Erin did the same a few minutes later.

"Hey Kim, can you hear me?" Erin spoke as she continued running at a steady pace.

There were a few seconds of silence before Burgess responded, "Yep, loud and clear. Is there something wrong?"

Erin and I took turns explaining the events of the morning and I also added that I felt like we were being watched as we continued running. Kim told us she would look into it before ending the conversation.

My legs started to feel heavy as we neared the park and my breathing became laboured as I struggled to control my breathing. Noticing that I had started to lag a little bit behind, Erin slowed and dropped back to my side.

*Erin's P.O.V*

Jay had slowed down and was starting to look quite pale so I slowed down to check on him.

"Are you ok?" I asked, concern etched onto my face.

Jay collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to slow his breathing. A young woman and her dog rushed over to help, handing Jay a bottle of water, which he gratefully drank.

"Thank you" I said, turning to the woman and smiling gratefully at her. It took several minutes for the colour to return to his face.

"You are really unfit you know" I joked, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over us. Jay rolled his eyes in response, his chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath he took.

"Are you guys the ones who are staying at James' place?" the young woman asked.

"Yeah, his aunt is sick so he is looking after her" Jay replied, his breathing having finally returned to normal.

"Oh, he is so kind!" she shrieked, taking us both by surprise. "Sorry, I have had like a major crush on him for ages," she admitted, "but please don't tell him that" she added, looking slightly worried until we ensured her that her secret was safe. "My name is Jess by the way and this is my dog King" she chirped happily, pointing to the rather large German Shepherd sniffing the ground at her feet.

"It's lovely to meet you. I'm Laura and this idiot on the ground is my boyfriend Matt" I replied, turning to poke my tongue out at Jay.

"Hey! I'm not an idiot" Jay said, feigning hurt. I rolled my eyes at him dramatically.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night babe" I retorted, earning a chuckle from Jess.

"You two are so cute" she laughed, "I have to go I'm afraid. I'll see you around" she said, turning and walking away with King following obediently behind her.

I helped Jay to his feet and we walked back to the house, bickering about Jay's fitness level the whole way.