A Broken Spirit

Chapter Four

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"Don't you want to go?" he asked me sadly.

"You know I don't like shopping." I answered.

"I know, just humour me okay" he replied chuckling slightly.

It didn't take long to reach the shopping centre, I just followed Ashton, he seemed to know exactly where he was going.

"Ash, where are we going?" I complained.

"I am going to treat you to a dress." he stated happily.

I grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Firstly, you are not paying, I pay my own way, and secondly, I can't wear a dress." I stated stubbornly.

"Why not?" he asked.

I just stared at him, waiting for him to make the connection in his head. He stared blankly back at me. We both burst out gigging in unison.

"No seriously, Ash, I can't wear a dress, as people will see the bruises."

He stared at me for a while, clenching and unclenching his fists. I felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, Ash, I know you hate talking about what he did. " I said softly, stepping towards him.

" It's fine, we'll be able to find something suitable." he said smiling slightly.

I could see the smile was false, and I knew that I had upset him with what I said. I made a mental note not to mention anything about it again. On pure impulse, I closed the gap between the two of us and hugged him tightly. He sighed as we held each other.

"What's wrong?" I asked him nervously.

"Nothing, I'm fine." he stated and walked away, leaving me to follow him.

After what felt like hours of dress shopping, I finally found one that I liked. Ashton convinced me to try it on. I looked at my reflection in the changing room mirror. The dress was beautiful and it complimented my figure perfectly. A tear started to run down my cheek as I stared at my legs, the bruises looked really ugly. I guess I would have to wear tights.

"Does it fit?" Ashton called from the seating area.

I sniffed quietly and said:"Yep, it's really nice."

"Show me then." he asked.

"No, Ash." I protested.

"Aww please." he said in a sad voice

I glanced in the mirror one last time, opened the door and stepped out. I watched him closely.

"Wow, you look amazing. " he muttered.

As I was standing there a middle aged woman pushed past me.

"Sorry." she said and turned to face me.

She gasped when she noticed my bruises, and turned to Ashton:

"You make me sick!" she spat before looking daggers at him. With that she left. I looked at Ashton and could see that he had his head in his hands.

"Ash, are you alright?" I asked softly.

He looked up then and I could see him staring at my bruises, I saw the hurt in his face inflicted by that woman. Suddenly he turned and walked away. As he turned, I could have sworn I saw a tear forming in his eyes.