Page 9 of Crash
The personal shopper chose that moment to walk in with another armload of dresses and exclaimed, “Oh yes! That would work perfectly with your skin tone.”
I shrunk slightly at her sudden appearance. I reached out and snatched the dress from Ren, escaping into the dressing room. Sliding the curtain across, I leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths. I could do this. I had to do this. It was just a chick doing her job. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I wondered if I needed a bloody chant to psych myself up.
It was really nice of Ren to invite me along on her shopping trip, and so far, I’d been nothing but a drag. Having a rich brother and a fashionista friend had its advantages, but I had to get out of myself and stop being a total energy vampire. Whipping off my top and jeans, I unzipped the dress and wiggled into it.Bigger steps.
The dress clung tightly to my body, showing off pretty much everything—my ass, my tiny waist, my boobs—and the neckline was scooped low, just showing the tiniest hint of cleavage. The hemline came to mid-thigh with a slight flare so when I turned, it twirled slightly. It was classy, yet a little easy going.If that was any way to describe a dress.
Gazing at myself in the mirror, I imagined myself wearing it at the party, trying to remember what it was like to be fearless, confident and able to hold a conversation. Pulse’s debut opening was important to Ash and his career.After all he’d endured for me,I had to try. I began to formulate answers for the questions people would no doubt ask me.Are you proud of your brother? What do you think of his new venture? Do you support his move to turn his back on a professional career?And then there was the big one.Violet Fuller, where have you been?
Pushing the thoughts away for later, I swept aside the curtain and stepped out to find Ren had changed into another dress. It was black with silver spikes across the shoulders and a low-cut back.Simple yet fierce.It was totally her style. Pair that with her fifty-dollar stripper heels and she was probably good to go.
“I’d buy that one,” I said as she glanced up at me.
“Good,” she declared. “It’s only eighty bucks.”
“You and your thrifty living,” I retorted with an eye roll. “I thought you were a rich Underground Champion of the world?”
She tapped her temple. “Once a scrooge, always a scrooge.” She looked me over. “That dress is good on you, FYI. The chick was right about the color.”
I turned around, checking out my reflection. Out here, it looked much better. With some nice matching heels and that black leather jacket I had at home, it would look decent enough. I could wear that gold necklace Ash got me for my birthday last year.A plum sapphire on a delicate chain.
“Did you know Lincoln’s back in Melbourne?” she asked, twirling in front of the mirror.
I froze. “N-no.”
“Ash said something about his shoulder. I haven’t had a chance to call Josie and ask.”
“His shoulder?” He must’ve injured himself… At the thought of Lincoln Hayes wandering around Melbourne, my entire body began to snap, crackle and pop. I’d crushed hard on him as a teenager. I mean,he was training at Beat alongside my brother, so I’d seen a lot of him and his identical twin, Dean. He’d been sweet, quiet, hard working…and totally steaming hot. I’d spent hours fantasizing about the guy, but he’d never looked twice. For a sixteen-year-old girl, that was the kiss of death.
Truthfully, I’d never really gotten him out of my head. I began to wonder if things might’ve happened between us if I hadn’t been attacked. I thought about it a lot, but as I stood there in front of the mirror staring at the stupid purple dress, I wondered if now was the time.
I shook my head. Fat fucking chance. He never looked in the first place, why would he look at a scared little mouse now? He was probably used to model-esque women throwingthemselvesat him. You know, the outgoing kind that screamed during sex and didn’t cry at the thought of leaving the house to go get the newspaper.
“Violet?”
I glanced at Ren in the mirror and realized she’d been trying to get my attention. “Huh?”
She smiled, but didn’t state the obvious. Instead, she said, “You should get that one.”
Staring at my reflection, I nodded. The personal shopper, whatever her name was, was right on the money. The purple did suit me.
**
I ran my palms down my waist and across my hips, nervously smoothing down the deep purple dress I’d picked out at the shops. The lady had said it was grape, but I stuck with purple.
“Ready, squirt?” Ash asked, standing on the footpath before me.
He looked totally dapper in his black slacks, slate gray shirt with silver tie and black suit jacket. I’d never seen him so dressed up before. Ren stood next to him looking like a catwalkmodel,her toned fighter’s body making me feel utterly inadequate. Next to her, I was weedy, pale and unfit. Maybe I should actually start using the gym at home. I bet that would make Ash foam at the mouth with pride.
We stood around the corner from Pulse, where the party was just getting going. As the owner and the man of the minute, Ash had to arrive late to his own party to walk the ‘blue’ carpet, get his photo taken and talk to the press. The carpet was his idea. It matched the colors of the gym and one of his biggest sponsors. They’d loaded the gym with their equipment—at a massive discount—on the proviso their logo would be splashed all over tonight’s event. A lot of people had cash riding on this place, not just my brother.
I nodded, shivering as a group of people passed us by. They waved, and Ash nodded politely, his gaze still on mine.
“It’s your big night,” I said. “Don’t spend it worrying about me.”
“It’s a big step,” he replied.
“Yeah, but I need to start handling shit on my own.”
