Searchlight (Crystal 1)

Chapter 25

Crystal was having her hair and makeup done when Paul entered her dressing room. She grinned at him. “Hi, Paul,” she sang, wondering why he was wearing such a long face. She noticed a bruise on his left temple.

He looked at her wrist, which Maya was brushing with foundation to cover the cuts from the cuffs she’d spent the night in. Crystal rubbed her head. The head crusher had left her with a head-splitting headache.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Max came a few hours ago, and now I feel happy. You?”

Paul’s eyes filled with pity. Crystal wondered why. She was happy, she was fine. “Are you guys nervous about tonight?”

Paul shrugged one shoulder. “I’m not, because all I’m doing is harmonies. Donovan is singing the bulk of the song.”

“I heard you rehearsing. You sounded good. It’s another love song, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. And we’re having stage rain.” Paul rolled his eyes. “Naughty dancing while wet, with our clothes sticking to us. Our management is always finding ways to objectify us.”

“I feel so sorry for you,” Crystal said with a wide grin.

Paul grinned back, but it looked forced. “The elastic in Kyran’s waistband has been tampered with so it’s likely he’ll have another wardrobe malfunction. The ladies love it when that happens.”

“Ah, so his wardrobe malfunctions are artfully engineered by his management?” Crystal pouted. “You shouldn’t have told me that. It takes the fun out of it for me.”

“Are you sure? When those pants drop tonight he’ll be wearing the tightest boxers you’ve ever seen. You might even get a flash of butt crack when he bends over to pull his pants up.”

“Eww!”

“Yeah, I think it’s ‘eww’, too, but apparently, there are girls out there who like Kyran’s butt.” Paul’s gaze lingered on the bruises around Crystal’s head. “Um, have you got a headache?”

“A blinding one.”

“Is she allowed to have an aspirin for her headache?” Paul asked Maya. “I doubt she’ll be able to perform well if she has a headache.”

“Max is going to give her something for that before she goes on stage,” Maya replied.

“I’d like an aspirin,” Crystal said. The headache seemed to be worsening.

Paul immediately produced a packet of aspirin from his pocket and a small bottle of water.

Crystal accepted them gratefully. She took the aspirin, and then Maya continued with her makeup.

Paul winked at her before leaving the room. Crystal looked at the clock on the wall. She had three hours until her performance. She was up first tonight. She was going to open the show with a bang.

Maya cursed under her breath. “I can’t cover these cuts. I could ask Alejandro to give you something with long sleeves, but he’ll freak out if I make him change your outfit this late.” Maya studied Crystal’s wrists. “Maybe you can just wear some big bangles.” She nodded. “Why didn’t I think of that first? Bangles.”

Crystal started singing her scales, running through the notes softly as Maya brushed shimmery makeup all over her body. Her outfit tonight would leave a lot of skin bare, and that skin had to shimmer.

She had to stop singing when Maya started on her face. Her face makeup took almost two hours, during which Crystal felt herself getting progressively angry and defiant.