Hidden (H.S)

Ch 20: Strip

 Ashley's P.O.V

I strolled down the streets where all the shops were. Harry informed me earlier on today that he was taking me on a date tonight. We were finally going to have a proper date, since being in London, we wouldn't be able to go out because he would have been mobbed by reporters, asking where I was, or what he knew, and if I was spotted, I would have been arrested, so now that we are finally in a town where hardly any one knows us, it's good to be out of the spotlight. 

"Ashley?" I heard a husky voice from behind.  I swirled around to see who was curling me, Tom.

"Hey" I bluntly replied.

"Are you ok? I mean, from last night"  

"Um, yeah, sorry about that" I lied about being sorry.

The main reason why I acted the way I did at dinner was because I just wanted to get away. I couldn't stand the constant evil glares from Tom, and I wasn't able to handle the fact that my mum was basically planning her life with this guy, when my dad was basically cheated on, my mum confessed to that, but also, I just didn't want him as a step-father, I got a vibe that he was no good, I don't know why, I just don't trust him. 

"Well hopefully we can out the past behind us" I giggled. His facial expression didn't change. It remained dull and lifeless. He was wearing the best poker face I had ever seen. 

"Some things are hard to let go of Ashley" He narrowed his eyes and sent out another death stare.

My eyes moved from side to side, trying not to catch his eyes, but no matter how hard I tried to get away from his eye contact, he kept getting my attention by the evil stares. 

"Ok, well, I have to go" I stuttered, "I need to buy something for my date"

"Don't run out on it" He shot

"I don't plan on it, his actually interesting" I popped my hip and quickly turned my back to him and walked as fast as I could.

I walked into the same shop that Danielle and I had shopped in. I really liked it, there were clothes for all sorts of events, and the clothes were a decent price too. Harry gave me some money to buy anything I wanted, but I didn't want to take advantage of that, so I tried not to buy anything to expensive, even though I knew he wouldn't mind. 

I chose a black singlet top and a red skirt that carried a pattern through it and paired it with a pair of plain black heals. Since Harry didn't tell me where we were going, I thought to just get something formal casual, so I would match anywhere we went. 

"That's a nice skirt" The same husky voice spoke behind me, giving me a fright.

"Are you stalking me?" I shot to him as I turned to face Tom.

"No" His facial expression still dull.

"Erm....ok" I backed away slowly, moving closer towards the cashier, while being followed by Tom.

"Seriously" I yelled, "Go away"  

The touch of skin was pressed again my wrist. Tom's hand was wrapped firmly around my wrist, and each time I tried to make him let go, his grip would get tighter.

"TOM LET GO" I screamed. The pain was unbearable, he was strong and by the smirk on his face, he knew it too. 

"Is there a problem here?"  The lady at the desk asked concerned, with her focus on my wrist. Tom immediately let go, and my wrist was burning red.

The lady looked to Tom, who was standing beside me, breathing heavily

"Just pay me back another day" She shoved the clothing into a bag and handed them over to me. I ran out of the shop as fast I could, looking back every so often, the coast was clear.