Read Crystal for Free Online

Then Dallas walked over to them and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek. But just as Crystal was thinking that he wouldn’t give them such a hard time now they’d proved themselves, he delivered another of his bombshells.
    ‘Okay, so you’re through but I can guarantee it’s going to be harder for you. You’re going to have to work extra hard so that the public don’t think I’ve favoured you. And you’ve all got to have whiter than white images – there can’t be any more scandal attached to the group. So that means no shagging around, no going out drinking and partying. If there are any skeletons I need to know now so I’m prepared. The press are bound to go digging around. So, Belle, is there anything I need to know?’
    Belle shook her head and said confidently, ‘No, Dallas, there’s nothing.’
    ‘Tahlia?’
    Tahlia shook her head and whispered, ‘No.’
    ‘And you, Crystal?’
    ‘I have no skeletons,’ Crystal replied.

Chapter 3
Temptation
    Three Months Later . . .
    ‘ PLEASE
, DALLAS, CAN’T we stop now? We’re all knackered!’ Crystal was so exhausted she didn’t think she could sing another note. Her throat hurt, her eyes were sore and she could feel the beginnings of a spot on her chin and Crystal
never
got spots. She looked pleadingly at Dallas. But as usual he didn’t budge. Immediately he was on talkback through the studio glass in his best sarcastic LA drawl. ‘Listen, cupcake, if you want to stand any chance of winning this competition stop whining and concentrate on getting this song right. At the moment it sounds shit.’
    ‘Come on, Crystal,’ Tahlia said encouragingly. ‘We can do this.’
    Belle rolled her eyes at Crystal and muttered, ‘Let’s get it over with.’
    Trust them to toe the line
, Crystal thought bitterly; she was always the one who stood up to Dallas and spoke up for the band. They’d made it through to the semi-final but had had to fight for their place all the way through the live shows and consistently outsing the other acts. There had been no more rumours about Belle and Dallas’s relationship, but you know what they say about mud sticking . . . and the public didn’t like it, nor did the other acts. It had felt like a very lonely three months for the girls, constantly trying to prove themselves.
    The music started up in their headphones, Crystal closed her eyes, took a deep breath and for what seemed like thehundredth time that day began singing ‘When Will I See You Again?’
    This time when they’d finished Dallas actually looked at least a tiny bit pleased. A minor miracle, Crystal thought because he rarely cracked his face. The other mentors – Charlie and Sadie – were pussycats compared to him and didn’t seem to work their groups half as hard as Dallas pushed the girls.
    ‘Do that on Saturday night and you’ll be in with a chance of a place in the finals. Right, you can get off to the hotel now, but remember the golden rules – no drinking, no partying, no shagging, straight to bed.’
    Crystal knew better than to answer back. ‘Okay, Dallas,’ she said sweetly, thinking longingly of the large glass of white wine she was planning to drink the minute she was in her hotel room. She was just walking out of the door when Dallas called her back.
    ‘Oh, I almost forgot, Crystal, we need to record a short film with your mum about you. Can you let Jenny have her number?’
    Crystal’s face fell. ‘Do you have to, Dallas? My brother’s going to be in the audience this week with his girlfriend and lots of my mates. Isn’t that enough?’
    ‘No, it’s not,’ Dallas said firmly. ‘All the other acts have got family in the audience cheering them on and it will look odd if yours aren’t there as well. I know you don’t see your dad any more but I want your mum to give an emotional message of support for you, to say how much she loves you blah blah blah and how even though she can’t be in the audience she’ll be watching you and