TARGET [Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction]

Chapter 16 : Battle scars

Ever have those moments in life where you just sit there, aimlessly staring at the space in front of you whilst your mind is a million miles away? Do you find yourself doing it without realising it, and before you know it nearly a whole half hour has gone by? Tina suddenly became aware that she was doing just that as she still stood there, staring at the reflection of herself in the mirror, her mind elsewhere. The only thing which brought her back from deep in her thoughts was the little grumble her stomach let off, making her gasp a little in surprise. She didn't realise how hungry she was, or the fact she hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon because of what happened at the restaurant. She never did get to order her favourite meatball dish.

"Why does life always have to be so painful", she sighed as her finger gently traced the cut on her lip. It didn't hurt now as much as it used to, but the little red scar was still evident from where her father's ring had caught her when he'd slapped her. At least she didn't have to wear an ugly plaster on it now, not like anyone would see her, she thought. It made her think about her father, about what he must be doing right now. Was he in the house, in his study talking with the police? Was he in the kitchen, rustling up some breakfast to bring to her to check she was okay? Or was he out 'working', minding his own business, not giving a single care or thought about his daughter? Frankly, Tina didn't care; her head hurt too much to think too much about it.

She figured that seeing as she was up now, she might as well try and make an effort to cheer herself up, as she suspected she'd be seeing a lot more of her room in the next few days. Routing through the boxes of clothes that she'd already packed for her moving out to university, she pulled out some clean clothes and quickly stripped off her pyjamas, tossing them onto her bed. She paused once she'd slipped into her underwear as she caught sight of her back in the mirror. Just below her bra strap, travelling down to her hip was an almighty large bruise, her skin a horrible shade of black and yellow. Gently, she touched it, feeling a little tinge of pain shoot up her back. "Ouch", she winced under her breath, turning around to angle a better look at it. It must have been when she'd been thrown backwards over the table, she thought, thinking of how she'd gotten it.

After putting on a baggy tshirt and cardigan, she slipped into the loosest pair of jeans she owned and tied her hair up in a messy ponytail. She decided there was no point in her making an effort in her appearance, so closed her make-up bag. That's when she noticed the mark on her hand, just visible beneath the cuff of her burgundy jumper. Tina pulled her sleeve up so she could get a better look at it, her finger gently tracing the bruise which went around her wrist in several places. "How did I get that?", she mumbled to herself in though as twisted her wrist around, looking at the bruise, trying to think how on earth she got it. Then she realised what bruise it was, a large hand print. Of course, she realised as she placed her other hand around her wrist, trying to line up her fingers with the marks. It was where that man had held her, pulling her along last night, trying to help her. What was his name again? Jack, no, Peter? Tom, that was it! Tom. Tom what? She remembered she'd never caught his name, or even had a chance to thank him for what he did last night; Tina doubted she'd ever get the chance to. 

"Well, this sucks", she sighed, looking around her bleak bedroom, which was acting as her prison cell. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she was the one being punished in all of this, being kept in her room like some animal or fragile painting which should never see the light of day. The posters and collages around her room didn't even bring any warmth or hope to her as she sank back down onto her bed, staring at her reflection in the mirror again. Well at least I've still got my films, she thought as she spotted her DVDs stacked up in the corner along with all her other possessions ... along with her laptop. Tina frowned slightly as she realised that her phone was missing from her beside table, where it would always live on charge as she slept, but for some reason it wasn't there. She even got up to have a look under the bed and under the covers in case it had fallen down and gotten stuck, but she still couldn't find it, but she noticed that the charger was also gone too.