“There are no more tickets available.”
“I know you're exhausted, but find a way. Ah, then take them to the backstage too.”
“You want to drive me crazy!”
Gabriel could already imagine his friend pale as paper. He was aware that he was asking for things that would require so much tact. But, he was paid for it.
“Oh, Arthur has one more thing... I need you to get a makeup kit for me. The best quality that exists.”
“Gabriel, what...”
The singer hung up the phone before he made his friend have a syncope.
Finally, he had an idea of how to solve, or at least, ease Melissa's problem.
As soon as he reached his suite and threw himself on the bed, he tried to think of what else he could do to his angel of broken wings. He had an irrational need to care for her. As far as he could tell, Angela was the only reason Melissa had not yet succumbed to the intense pain in her soul. When she lost her, she would have nothing left. The thought made the singer shudder. He needed to do something... He needed to protect the girl by whom, that afternoon, he realized he was in love.
CHAPTER ELEVEN - WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL
“Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you”[15]
M elissa felt ridiculous. She was standing before an immense mirror in the bathroom of her hotel room, she wanted the floor to open and swallow her. She only thought in this way to get rid of the embarrassment and other conflicting feelings that she felt after the revelations occurred a few hours before.
It was ridiculous, but when she woke up in the bedroom and remember Gabriel's reaction to her revelation, the girl fervently wished she could do something to reciprocate the way the singer had reacted to the farce that Melissa Bittencourt was.
As she walked sleepily through the room and picked up the clothes scattered on the floor, she had the unfortunate idea she imagined could please Voss.
Stripping off one of the dresses she'd won, Lissa rummaged through her suitcase again until she found a wide leather wristband and examined them. With a sigh, she hurried into the bathroom, took a shower, got dressed, and without much thought of what she would do, she began the methodical work of putting on makeup, making her eyes darker than usual. As she eased the eyeliner, she stared at her reflection in the mirror for the first time.
Her hair was still damp as she didn’t bother to dry it, waiting for the wet wires to soothe the heat she felt, which made them even darker and contrasting with clearer skin even more shocking. She looked like a ghost. And it was how she felt.
As she let her gaze drift through her body, she felt the urge to cry again. She had chosen the black dress. It was short, no sleeves, straight at the bust, and loose below the waist. Beautiful, it was true, but staring into herself, Lissa felt horrible.
Perhaps by intimately knowing each of the self-inflicted scars, she could see them in the mirror.
Taking a deep breath, she swallowed the cry. She was not the damsel-in-danger style and hated crying and being weak. And since she had done too much of the two that day, she decided to took care of putting the wristbands. The thick strips helped to hide most of the scars well, but the girl still had the impression that anyone who looked at her would know what she was trying to hide.
“What the fuck!” She threw the used towel that was over the sink toward her reflection and left the bathroom.
Why were she doing this? Gabriel Voss meant nothing to her and yet, she was completely coming out of her comfort zone to make him a little contented.
It was absurd.
“Ridiculous!” She continued to rant to herself as she sat on the bed and put on her tattered converse.
She was about to start a series of curses and get out of her dammit dress, when someone knocked on the bedroom door.
She waited for a few seconds, with her heart pounding, waiting for the moment Gabriel would enter the room, with his abused way of being, without waiting for his entrance allowed.
“Melissa?” She recognized Arthur's voice.
Shit! Things could always get worse.
With no time to scold herself even more, she grabbed the light jacket she wore when they reached Texas and dressed in a hurry. Right now, she was sure no one else would ever discover her dirty secret.
Forcing herself to wear the usual indifference mask, she walked to the doorway when she heard her name being yelled again, followed by angry pounding on the door.
“What's it?” She replied in a bad mood as she faced the manager. “Who died?”
Arthur wasn’t in the mood for the girl's morbid playfulness, but he couldn’t help noticing her standing in front of him. The heavy makeup that was her trademark was present, even more shocking than usual, but the short and light dress left her looking like a little girl. Okay, a gothic and problematic girl, but still a little girl.
With the inspection, she twisted her fingers and, with a quick movement, closed the zipper of her coat, revealing the bone print in front. When Arthur raised an eyebrow, and giggled, she felt ridiculous again.
“Did you come here to watch me?” She attacked.
"I want to talk to you," he replied, ignoring the angry look he received, and entered the room.
Melissa snorted. Why everyone was so rude?
“So, tell me…” She closed the door and watched the manager evaluate the mess her room was.
Twisting his face at the scattered clothes, he turned to face her.
“I don’t know what is your problem...” He went straight to the point. “But I've come to ask you to stop causing trouble.”
Lissa crossed her arms in front of her chest, defensively. Creating problems was her specialty, but none of the things she had done since embarking on this tour had been deliberated.
“What I did now?” She pretended do not to mind the accusing gaze she received.
“This show is important... Damn, it all is. But this is just the warm up for the real tour. Then we'll head straight to New York and then we'll have one gig after another without stopping. I don’t know if you don’t know or if you just don’t care, but it's a lot to solve to make sure nothing's wrong is going to happen... I don’t need you complicating things further, fixing confusion every step of the way we give.”
Melissa watched the inflamed speech with wide-eyed, even a little frightened.
“Then, do your part and let Gabriel make his own.” He almost broke off, and Lissa, even intimidated, could find it amusing the way he was red, almost snorting.
“What is funny?” Arthur said, exasperated, when he saw the girl in front of him start to laugh.
“Nanny…” She teased. “If you continue like this, you're going to have a heart attack. And though funerals are my favorite program, I believe you're not so eager to die.”
“Melissa, I'm serious...”
She scoffed at the manager's irritation with a hand gesture.
“All right, Arthur... What do you want me to do? Honestly, I don’t understand the reason for the scolding. Since we got here, all I've done is lock myself in that room...” She stopped abruptly. Had Gabriel told his friend what had happened?
She discards the possibility, because if her farce had been discovered by the assistant, she would have been thrown out and would not be receiving a simple scolding.
“I know...” She continued as if she wasn’t intimately concerned. “You're mad about your babysitting work, are not you? I would also stay if I were you ... Honestly, it must be very annoying to have to wag your tail at everything Gabriel wants...”
Angrily, Arthur forced himself to take a deep breath.
“You're unbearable! How I wish Gabriel had chosen another fan...”
She shrugged, not caring about she heard.
“Okay...” Arthur decided on another tactic. “This contest may have been the best thing Gabriel ever did as a singer, or it could end his career if we do something stupid. So, by your idol, can you behave and do what I say?”<
br />
She wanted to laugh again. The phrase that would sensitize any fan, didn’t have the same effect on her... But after the episode of the afternoon and, strangely, she had become to like of the singer, she felt uncomfortable with the possibility to be the culprit for ending Voss's career. And though she didn’t know how it could do so much damage, she nodded.
“I don’t want to create problems for him...” She answered sincerely.
It was the answer that Arthur expected.
“Nice! So, let's get the hang of it... Just do your part in the tour. I need you to attend the events, to socialize with the other fans, to be in the front row of the show... Just be the fan that I know you are. It's not that hard, is it?”
Melissa twisted her nose. It was difficult, yes. She hated socializing and she had no desire to sing and jump in the middle of a show. But since she had embarked on this puncture, she had no choice.
“Of course!” She forced a small smile. “I can’t wait for the show...”
Arthur considered a little more. Staring at her shy smile, he wondered if she was really sick as Gabriel had said and wasn’t inventing anything as he'd imagined.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, more calmly.
“What?” Lissa didn’t understand where the question came from.
“Gabriel told me you weren’t feeling well because of the temperature, so you wouldn’t attend the events...” He explained.
“Oh, yes...” She breathed in relief. “It's true, the heat is making me sick and a little soft... But I think Gabriel exaggerated a little, you know, he was impressed to see me fell ill. Of course, I will attend the events. I wouldn’t miss it for nothing.”
It was even typical of Gabriel Voss to pity anyone and try to make things better for him, so Arthur gladly accepted the explanation he had heard.
"Right... So maybe you'd better rest for the night. Tomorrow, the day will be full”. He walked to the door. "Well, before I go, I need to tell you that you’ll have a bodyguard. I'm still seeing the security team, who will be with you, so be nice and stay right here until I find someone for the job.”
“A bodyguard? For me? This is ridiculous!”
“Truth”. Arthur agreed. "But it's the boss's orders, then…"
Rolling her eyes, the girl decided not to argue.
"I'm having dinner with the boss…" She said dismissively. "Then, I will not be good and stay here as you asked."
“You and Gabriel will dinner together?"
“What's the problem?” Melissa snapped back, her voice cranky. "We have dinner together every day in Alaska.”
“No problem”. The assistant raised his hands in peace. "Just do not keep him up late or drink too much. He'll need to have his voice rested tomorrow.”
“You want a full report of everything we eat, drink and talk, too, nanny?”
He ignored her and, without speaking, left the room. She stared at the closed door for a moment before say, softly.
“Fuck you!”
She should have waited for Gabriel, after all, he had said he was going to get her, but she was too restless to be confined to the room, so she followed in Arthur's footsteps and left the room behind.
Less than five minutes later she was standing outside Gabriel Voss's bedroom, her hand raised ready to knock when the door was abruptly opened and she found herself once again face to face with the singer's best friend.
"It's not dinner time yet..." he hissed, looking even angrier than before. Apparently, he had argued with Voss.
She shrugged.
“Mel?” Gabriel called from the doorframe. She looked away at the singer and was ashamed for the way he smiled at her.
“Hi ... Sorry if I interrupted anything.”
“It’s Okay…” Voss answered with his usual good humor. "Arthur just came to give me something. Right, Arth?
The manager huffed and wordlessly left the two alone.
"Come in..." Gabriel invited.
She accepted the invitation, but when she saw herself inside the singer's room, she didn’t know what to do or say. Unlike her own room, Gabriel's was muffled, without the reassuring noise of the air conditioning.
Ignoring the sweat that was pouring down her face and the way her heart was beating fast, she looked away from the singer and awkwardly removed the coat she wore.
Gabriel could not hide his surprise, which only made the girl even more self-conscious.
"So..." She started, wondering again why she was doing it. "I wanted to thank you for the dresses..." With her fingers trembling and cold, she pointed to what she wore. “They are beautiful. Thank you!”
Gabriel smiled. A beautiful big smile that left Lissa breathless.
“You look beautiful!”
For him, she was really beautiful. Of course, if he had the power to choose, he would opt for a lighter makeup and would love to see her wearing one of the lighter dresses, with a more cheerful color, but even wearing black and her heavy makeup, she looked beautiful. Her beauty came especially from the effort she was making to stand before him, with arms outstretched.
"You look so fucking beautiful..." He moved closer to her and Lissa was amused at the way he praised her.
The always polite Gabriel Voss had just said the “f” word. Now he looked like the rockers she knew. But any fun died when he took her face and kissed her.
Damn it! The feeling was too good. It made her forget that she was in the middle of a stranger's room, kissing him, with him making her forget everything. It was wonderful!
“Fucking good!” He repeated his cursing as he stepped away for a second to suck in the air and then pressed his lips to hers again.
This time it was more delicate, using his fingertips to caress the girl's face as his tongue moved through her mouth, slowly, fondly... It was too intimate for Melissa to endure, even though she was worshiping.
“What the fuck, Gabriel!” She pushed him away. "You can’t grab me like that, whenever you like.”
He ignored the girl's outburst, though he felt sick to see her dismiss him so easily. But he knew that this was Melissa's standard of acting. She attacked to defend herself, even when it was to defend herself from a kiss that she clearly reciprocated with passion. If he didn’t have his self-esteem up, the singer was quite capable of being shy and embarrassed. Since that wasn’t the case, he kissed her again.
When he pulled away again, he ignored the angry look and grabbed one of her hands, lifted an arm, and studied the wrists covered. He smiled at what he saw, most of the marks were covered, and the few that still appeared wouldn’t astonish anyone, were almost imperceptible. He only found them because he knew what he was looking for.
“Stop it!” Melissa jerked her arm away angrily.
“Looks like you've been thinking about some solution, too” he said, putting his hands in the pocket of his jeans. He was not hurt by her reaction to his indelicate analysis. He knew she was ashamed.
Lissa moved away from the singer.
"Angela put some handy things in my suitcase," she replied. "But... It doesn’t hide everything.
"In fact, it hides much more than I imagined..." He smiled back at her when she looked at him clearly without believing him.
Apparently, she did have a self-esteem problem. He'd think about it later.
To reassure her, he went to the bed where the bag with the makeup he had asked Arthur was in.
"And what hasn’t been hidden, you can hide with it here..." Voss offered the bag to the girl and he felt very good to himself when he saw her smile shyly as she rummaged through the contents.
“Holly shit! Hollywood makeup..."She looked closely at a base tube. "This one even covers the tattoo."
“I think so," He replied with a small smile. “They used once on me for a photoshoot. No ink sign on the photos.”
“Do you have a tattoo?" She asked interested.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. Yes, he did. And all his fans loved it. If they were to continue with this, he would
have to help the girl in the farce.
“Yes. And you should know ... I bet there's something about that in your scary dossier.”
Melissa turned her attention to the cosmetics.
"I should really read that crap... But I think I'd rather go discover by myself."
Voss smiled willingly. Yeah... he would prefer it too. It was going to be fun being just Gabriel with her. Nothing to bother about not meeting the expectations of an outsized fan.
"You could show me," she continued, after putting her makeup back on.
"One of these days..." He answered and, unable to control himself, kissed the girl again without her waiting.
She pushed him away once more and faced him with an unsmiling face, breathing heavily.
"It's your fault for looking so wonderful in front of me!" He justified himself before she reproached him.
Melissa wanted to wear her armor of indifference to feel less vulnerable to the singer's effect on her, but at that moment, it was impossible to contain the emotion that flowed through every pore of her body. It was like holding a high-voltage wire. Even breathing was difficult.
"So... Arthur looks angry." She preferred to ignore the mood between them and commented on the obvious trying to ease the tension, but her voice was just a whisper.
“Fuck Arthur!” The singer exclaimed, staring at her intensely, dying to kiss her lips again. He had so much desire that he didn’t even recognize himself. “How could I think of my unbearable manager with the most beautiful girl in the world in front of me?”
Melissa lowered her eyes and bit her bottom lip hard. Was it normal for her heart to beat so fast like that? She never cared too much for gallantry, but with every compliment the singer made to her, she felt as if she were floating.
For Gabriel Voss, the self-control was going into space. As soon as he saw her in the gift he had tenderly bought her, he felt unable to do not kiss her. He tried to control herself as much as he could because he was afraid of scaring Melissa, but he was increasingly seeing himself in love with that troubled girl who robbed him of her wits. Damn it! Who knew he was going to fall in love one day.
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