A World Without Trust

Chapter Twelve

After many hours of traveling we finally reach Trinidad, Colorado. I have pleaded with Ashton to stop somewhere and find a clothing store to stock up on new clothes and he has finally come around.

“How about that one there?” I say pointing to a cut boutique looking shop as we drive through the streets.

“It would be nice to choose a store with both female and male clothes Essie.” Ashton teases.

“Okay, fine. How about there?” I say spotting a large mall in the distance.

“Looks good to me!” Ashton replies.

We pull up outside and turn the Ute off. I get out and look around the abandoned streets littered with cars.

“We might be able to do some car shopping too!” I say with a smile.

Once inside the mall we make sure we are careful not to let our guards down, just in case we are not alone. With our guns up at the ready we make our way past stores until we come to a clothes shop that has clothing for both genders. I have always dreamed of coming into a clothing store like this and picking out anything I wanted and as much as I wanted. Slinging my gun over my shoulder I go through rack after rack looking for appropriate clothing. Beautiful summer dresses and skirts make me sigh as I know they will never be appropriate in this current world we live in. I manage to find a couple of pairs of black skinny jeans and some plain grey and white t-shirts.

“That’s what you are getting?” Ashton asks me looking at my bundle of monotonous clothing.

“Yeah… Why?” I ask in confusion.

“I just thought, with you being a girl and all, that you would be getting colourful and pretty clothes. I mean, it’s not every day you get to go on a free shopping spree.”

“We don’t want to be colourful because we will be easy to spot.” I reply. Ashton puts his pile of clothing on the counter and places his hands on my shoulders. Goose bumps rise on my skin from his touch and I struggle to look him in the eyes.

“Look at me.” He says. “I want you to go and find yourself an outfit that you would have picked if we weren’t in this ‘end of the world’ situation. Go get one of those gorgeous summer dresses I saw you eyeing up before.”

“Why though?” I question him.

“Because you deserve to have at least a small part of your old life still existing in your new life.” His words hit me hard and I smile, realising that it is important not to completely let go of the past. I turn and head back to the racks of dresses excited as to what one I will choose. “While you’re at it, pick a nice pair of shoes to go with the dress!” Ashton calls after me.

“Where are you taking me?” Ashton has me blind folded and is currently leading me up some stairs. After we got all of our clothes we went and found a hotel to stay at for a night. I couldn’t stop thinking about Harry as we made our way up to the penthouse suite. Just like Harry’s, it was untouched and the water still flowed. Ashton told me to clean myself up and put on my new dress and shoes and that he would be back for me in a couple of hours. Of course this made me a little suspicious, but he reassured me that it would be worth it. So I listened to him and he left without another word. A few hours later he arrived back took a short shower in the freezing cold water, put on the nice outfit he picked out and here we are now.

“Are you wearing cologne?” I ask Ashton as we come to the top of the stairs.

“Yes, are you wearing make-up?” He asks cheekily. I can feel myself blush and giggle. In amongst my shopping spree today, I thought I would pick up some make-up just to make myself feel like I was still living a normal life. It sounds silly, but it worked as I put it on this evening.

Ashton removes his hands away from me and I can hear him opening a door. Once again I feel his hands on my back and upper arm guiding me forwards.

“Watch your step here.” Ashton warns and I cautiously step off a small rise in the ground. “Ta Da!” Ashton announces as he removes the blindfold from my eyes.

I stand there in shock looking at the beautiful scene Ashton has created. We are standing on a rooftop overlooking the amazing view of Trinidad. Brick and stone buildings litter the area with green trees swaying in the warm summer night’s breeze. Before us is a rug covered in colourful cushions and blankets. Plant pots with green hedges line the rug with masses of candles, big and small, scattered over the roof top creating a magical glow and a picnic basket sits to the side over flowing with food.

“Wow Ashton, what is all of this?” I say still shocked at the fairy tale scene in front of me.

“It’s for you, Essie. It’s a small thank-you dinner to show how grateful I am that you saved my life and gave me a reason to keep moving on.”

“I don’t know what to say… thank you!” Ashton laughs and leads me over to the rug.

“You look gorgeous by the way.” He compliments. I smile and repay the compliment. He really does though, he is wearing some black skinny jeans with black boots and a grey muscle shirt that shows his large biceps. The outfit suits him as he looks even more like a guy from a band. I end up taking off my heels so I can sit properly in my new figure hugging dress. It’s something I would have never gone for in the past, so I got it in black just so I didn’t feel too awkward wearing it.

Ashton opens the picnic basket and pulls out some crackers and hummus.

“Where did you find this hummus?” I asked excitedly.

“There was a chiller out the back of a restaurant that obviously hadn’t been opened since everything that has happened, so the air stayed chilled. Unfortunately a lot of the food had gone off, or we would be having cheeses to go with our wine!” He says giggling as he hands me a glass of red wine. I take a sip and am surprised at how good it tastes. I never used to like wine, but maybe my taste buds have adapted over time due to the lack of nice food that I have been consuming.

The night is so perfect that it almost feels unreal. We share memories about our old lives and eat amazing food that Ashton had managed to find. I haven’t laughed as much as I did tonight in a very long time. After we’re finished we lie down amongst the pillows and look up at the stars making the most of our small get away from reality while we still can.

“Thank-you for this Ashton, I haven’t been this happy in a very long time!”

“That’s okay Essie, anything to make you smile.” He replies. At the same time he moves right next to me and wraps his arms around my torso. I look at him and he has his eyes closed. I wriggle down so my head can rest on his chest and I close my eyes too,

“Goodnight Ashton.”

“Goodnight Essie.” He responds holding me tighter.