Half Hearted

Chapter Fourty Five

| Teresa |

"Then what should I tell him?" I panicked, struggling to pull up my jeans. "What - that you wanted to stay alone at the hotel?"

Claire had told me, after hearing that Ash was going to tour us around, that she didn't want to come along. That, and she ridiculed me because the only thing I could come up with while I was on the phone with him was 'touring'.

"Or you could tell him that I caught the flu or something," she shrugged. She had already changed out of her jeans and into her pyjamas.

"Dude, he saw you last night and you were fine," I stated, taking one last look at the mirror to ensure that my hair looked fine.

"Tell him I caught it overnight." I gave her a look of disbelief. "What? It can happen, you know."

Sighing, I slung the coat over my body and grabbed my purse. "You owe me because of this."

"No," she corrected, switching the channels. "You owe me."

I shook my head as I closed the door behind me, trying to prepare myself for the day alone with Ash. Who knew? Maybe we wouldn't be alone. 

Maybe he'd bring Johnny Depp's daughter along with us.

 | Ash |

While he was on the road he couldn't help but think about the time he'd set things up. At twelve? He scolded himself. Now you'll have to take her out to lunch.

He'd approached the last cross road before the hotel, and he saw her standing out front, waiting. Stupid, she doesn't even wait inside and stay warm.

Pulling the car in right in front of her, he lowered the window on the other side of the car and called out her name. She responded by ducking down and, after noticing that it was in fact Ash was in the driver's seat, got in shotgun.

"Where to first?" She asked, somewhat seeming breathless.

Ash shrugged, pulling out into the road. "I thought I'd just park somewhere and we'd take busses."

"Conscious of the gas money, are you?" She awkwardly teased.

"I'm a model, not a millionaire."

The silence that followed was tense, and with every fleeting second Ash wanted to keep pressing on the horn because everyone in front of him was going too slow. When he got to a roundabout, Teresa spoke up and asked what they were driving around, but all he could muster was the word, 'road.'

She gave him a look before continuing to stare out the window again.

When Ash got to a 'park and ride' they got out of the car and headed inside a small building. In it, he bought two cards and handed one to her.

"Oyster card?" She asked, reading the print. "What, like a metro-card but London's version?"

Ash nodded, remembering the metro cards when he went to New York.

After getting into the bus, the two of them sat at the back seats, cautious not to be too near each other. It were as if they were each in their own invisible boxes, keeping them from being a foot's distance from each other.

"So where are we going?" Teresa broke the silence five minutes into the bus ride.

"Big Ben," Ash shrugged. It was where every tourist went to first. Well, that and the London Eye, but that ride was so inexplicably intimate he didn't want to suggest getting on with her.

She nodded, going along with the plans.

When the bus stopped, they walked until they arrived at the world famous clock. Teresa took as many pictures as she could, before a wave of tourists exited a guided tour and pushed and shoved their way. Ash was amused at how she was the one saying sorry even though they were the ones pushing her over.

As the day wore on, so did the two of them. They managed three tourist spots in a span of two hours, all the while not eating anything.

Teresa was starving, and Ash felt a slight bit of hunger, but neither felt comfortable at the idea of eating lunch together - alone. Lunch just seemed more intimate than breakfast was.

So they kept stalling, trying to find another sight to see. But as the hours flew by, neither of them could stand the stomach pains. They chose to have a quick lunch/dinner at the closest Nando's.

Ash was the one who paid for their food, as he knew she was the one who took care of his expenses when he stayed in Canada.

Taking a seat in the window booth, the both of them silently enjoyed their chicken, suppressing the wails of their stomachs.

"Claire told me you got in a fist fight last night," Teresa spoke, suddenly feeling chatty in the moment.

Ash shook his head, wiping his mouth with the provided napkin. "One punch, no fight."

"Why'd you do it?" She asked.

"Self defense," he answered blankly. "He swung at me first, but I dodged it."

"What'd you do that made him so mad?"

Ash remembered how David had talked about her, as if he had been promised a night out. Shaking his head, he responded, "don't remember."

Teresa simply nodded her head with pursed lips. She tried staying silent while chewing on her last piece, but she couldn't help the curiosity. "Tell me the truth, Ash. Claire already told me what that guy said last night, but you have to tell me the truth. Why was he threatening you?"

He gave a weak sigh, picking at the empty ceramic plate with his fork. "It's complicated."

"Everything is complicated, but there's still an explanation."

"Fine." He looked stern. "You really want to know?"

Teresa maintained her curiosity, nodding.

"Then hurry up. Let's go."

"Go? Go where?"

"My complication."