Read Online Sing to Me by Michelle Pennington - Free Book Online Page A

she teased me as she reached for the curling iron.
    I nodded my head . “I never would have had a chance to get to know Colby if you hadn’t.”
    “Well, I have to admit that I really intended for you to learn the value of money, but I’m glad it worked out in other ways too.”
    An hour and a half later, I stood in front of the full length mirror in my mom’s bedroom, amazed at how I looked. My dress was an aqua blue silk gown with little chiffon cap sleeves and a filmy chiffon skirt overlay that floated and swirled as I moved. It was a very romantic dress, but a slit in the skirt and a beaded crystal belt gave it a little bit of an edge. I absolutely loved it, especially since it brought out the color of my eyes and set off my fair skin. I would probably be one of the only girls at prom who wasn’t bronzed to death, but I liked it that way.
    And who knew my mom was such a genius with hair? Since my hair would never hold curl all night long , she’d pinned the curls into a gorgeous knot at the nape of my neck with a few curls loose to frame my face. I’d been practicing what to do with my make up for weeks, and I was very happy with the results, soft pink and pearly silver that complimented my pale blond hair. I’d only been able to afford some crystal drop earrings for my jewelry, but at least they looked nice.
    I was turning to the side for the tenth time, straightening and tweaking things when the doorbell rang. I didn’t feel the fluttering excitement that most girls did, however – just a lead weight in my stomach. The wrong guy was coming to pick me up.
    As I went downstairs, however, I was surprised to hear a woman’s voice instead of Brian’s at the door. When I saw Marcy on the other side of the doorway, talking to my mom, I stopped in surprise.
    She looked past my mom’s shoulder and saw me. “Oh, Rylie – you look beautiful. No wonder Colby’s breaking his heart over you.”
      As if I hadn’t felt awkward enough, this made me blush to the roots of my hair. “Um, thank you. I think? ” I didn’t know where to look, so my eyes settled on a wrapped gift she was holding in front of her. She looked down at it too.
    “Colby asked me to bring you this, and , well, I wanted to apologize for the other night. There’s no excuse for how I acted, but I want you to know I’m sorry. Sometimes I react without thinking things through. I know you are a responsible and sweet girl, and we were lucky to have you stay with Abby. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
    “Of course,” I responded automatically, though I wasn’t too sure that I would be able to forget it very easily. It had been pretty traumatic for me.
    “Well,” she said, “I’ll give this to you and get out of your way. Colby would have liked to give it to you, but he’s been up at the school for hours gettin g ready for tonight. Plus, he didn’t know if he’d be welcome .”
    Not knowing what to say to this, I took the gift she handed me and remained silent, though I attempted a smile.
    After an awkward moment she said, “Ok, um, I hope to see you again soon, Rylie . And I’ll see you at work, Emily?”
    My mom nodded and said goodbye as Marcy turned and left.
    The front door clicked shut and I heard my mom take a few steps towards me, but I continued to look down at the little silver box in my hands. I couldn’t believe that Colby had sent me something.
    “Aren’t you going to open it?”
    I glanced at my mom and almost laughed at the look on her face. She obviously thought I was being really weird. And I was, so I opened it. Inside, I found a beautiful little crescent moon pendent. It was sliver filigree with a few tiny crystals tucked in the scrolls of the silver. It hung on a delicate silver chain that I immediately put around my neck. I went to the mirror and stared at it against my skin, glinting in the light with an icy beauty.
    “Did you see the note?” my mom asked.
    Anxiously I took it from her and read the words: I can’t