The Guardian: Paranormal Fantasy New Adult Young Adult Angel Romance (A Fight for Light Novel Book 1) by Nikki Landis Read Free Book Online Page A

talking and laughing as if they had no idea what was going on. I knew better. I sat there with my arms folded across my chest, frowning. If I had to be here, I was going to show my disapproval.
    “Rhia, you have to choose a school. It’s getting late,” Mariah ordered.
    I sighed. “Mariah, I am just going to enroll in Mason Community College.”
    “Rhia, that’s not a good four year college, you know. How are you going to start a career?” Mariah’s voice was impatient again.
    “Look, I don’t even know what I want to do yet. It doesn’t make sense to get into a huge amount of debt to take the same classes there that I would be taking at a community college. It’s all the same stuff the first two years anyway,” I told her matter-of-factly.
    “Huh, I guess you have thought this through, haven’t you?” Mariah sounded surprised.
    “Yes,” I told her smugly, “and I can’t go far from Gran. It would break her heart.”
    “I told you she would do something like that.” Emily said to Mariah.
    I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to be unhappy about being here. I frowned at them, just so they remembered too.
    “Come on, Rhia. It’s your birthday. Can’t you be happy?” Emily pleaded.
    I sighed. “I’m not unhappy. I just don’t like being forced to do anything.”
    Kind of funny really. I wasn’t all that rebellious in nature.
    “You’re going to get us in trouble,” Mariah told me, “Gran made us promise that you would have fun.” She was always good for a guilt trip when needed.
    “Fine,” I said giving in. It felt like I was doing that a lot lately.
    “You should be happy. We invited Kellen.” Mariah smiled, obviously satisfied with herself.
    “You did? Why?” I asked.
    “Duh, because you guys totally like each other. It’s so obvious.” Mariah was staring at me, daring me to deny it.
    “Ok, I do like him but I have no idea what he thinks of me,” I admitted.
    “Jarrod told me he has asked about you a couple of times.” Emily admitted. “He even told Jarrod he thought you were pretty.”
    My jaw dropped open. “Really? Hey, why didn’t you tell me that before?” I asked her.
    “Well, Jarrod only told me last night. Anyway, you know now, before the party,” she told me, smiling.
    I looked down at my clothes. I was not ready for a party. I needed to change. “I need to go shopping. I have nothing to wear. He already saw me in this in school today,” I told them in a panic.
    “You’re right. We need to grab his attention tonight. Let’s go,” Mariah said as she pulled me along.
    It was a good thing we were already at the mall. We were on a mission. The three of us expertly went through the racks of several department stores finding the perfect dress in less than two hours. It was impressive. Emily and Mariah had to get new outfits too, of course. We were giggling as we left the mall, climbed in the Volt, and drove to Mariah’s house to get ready.
    I let my friends give me a make-over since arguing was pointless. Mariah did my make-up while Emily worked on my hair. I have to admit I looked good when they were done. I put on the dress and looked in the mirror.
    The dress was red, short, and swirled around my body. It had thin spaghetti straps and an empire waist with rhinestones around the bust. I added a few thin silver bangle bracelets with rhinestones in them and a pair of thin, silver strappy heels. Mariah had done my make-up very light and natural looking, playing up my eyes. Emily curled my hair and pulled the top part away from my face, clipping it back except for a few strands that fell softly around my eyes. I looked perfect for the party and hopefully for someone else.
    “Wow, thanks. This is perfect you guys.” I choked up slightly. It occurred to me then how different it was going to be after we graduated and didn’t see each other every day anymore. I was going to miss them.
    “I’m going to miss you guys after graduation. Promise we won’t lose