What's Said in Silence

Vessel-XXXVII

I gave myself a once over in the mirror before grabbing the container of paint and applying it to any faded areas. I dipped my finger in and rubbed the wall of the container, there really wasn't much of it left. I was over due for more as it was.

The opening band was on their last song of the night. Once they were done, Sam and the other stage hands would prep the stage for us. I had to admit, the band playing was actually really good. It was easy to tell how much effort they put into their music and I could respect hard work over talent any day of the week. 

I looked over to Sera, who was leaning against the far wall, flipping through a magazine. It wasn't something I'd seen her do often-if at all- but I couldn't imagine how bored she must be at the current moment. We'd been here for hours, mostly milling around and warming up, and she had spent most of it watching. The curiosity in her eyes when Sam had been putting together the drum set, or when the tech guys were calibrating the lights, had been absolutely adorable.   

I made my over to her in long strides. She looked up at me as I got closer and a faint smile came across her face. She'd been doing that a lot more since that first night. Honestly, as much as I liked her elusive nature, I had grown fond of how she was letting me peek into the depths of her mind. 

"Mind giving me a touch up?" I asked with a sly grin. She tried to fight her own smile but it was spreading across her face against her will. We both knew this was just me coming up with an excuse for her to touch me, but she complied anyway. She took the container and dipped her finger into it, lifting it to the column of my neck and smoothing it in.  She looked up at me with those ever-mesmerizing eyes as she took her time 'applying' my paint.

I leaned in a little closer to her where only she could hear me and whispered, "If I didn't know any better, little fox, I'd say you were undressing me with those eyes." Pink rushed to her cheeks as she shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'maybe I am'. "We'll do some undressing later." I chuckled, enjoying the catch in her breath a little too much.

"Vessel!" Sam called from the other side of the backstage area. I turned my attention towards him as he jogged over. I took a slight step back from Sera, almost immediately regretting the action. Hopefully, she won't think anything of it. 

"What is it?" I asked him as he reached us, annoyance more present in my tone than I had intended. He rested his hands on his hips as he breathed heavily. 

"Adam left." He said between breaths. 

"What do you mean Adam left?" I asked. It was out of character for Adam to just up and disappear like that. 

"He wasn't feelin' well and hitched a ride back to the hotel. Honestly, he did look like he was experiencing death this morning." Damn, I had noticed him fighting a cough but I hadn't thought it would progress to a full-blown illness.  

"Well, call Jason. He-"

"Is in the Bahamas at the moment and wouldn't be able to make it in time, even if he were willing to give up his vacation." He interrupted me, but he had a point. "I could try to take some pictures but I'd have to take them on my phone. He left his camera but I have zero idea how to use it. Quite frankly, I'd rather not accidentally fuck up his settings. You already know he won't let something like that go." This was true, Adam definitely knew how to hold a grudge over the small things, yet he tended to let the big stuff go pretty quickly. 

I picked at my fingers and chewed my bottom lip, trying to come up with a solution and coming up blank. We didn't have enough time to find a local photographer and every stagehand had their own job to worry about. I hated to pile more onto Sams shoulders, he did a lot of running around at these shows as it was, but I didn't have much of an option.