Free Here Comes the Light (Cambrooke #1) by Emily Camp

laughing about something. Jess catches my eye and glares. Should I just suck it up and sit there and be ignored all of lunch or… I look over at Declan’s table. I could sit there. He would actually talk to me. Sitting there would be social suicide, but Declan has been the only true friend I have had these last few weeks. Hudson will never take me back and Jess may never talk to me again. I go over the pros and cons of each option as I approach my normal table my insides shake and I can’t bring myself to be ignored and uncomfortable.
    I lift my chin in the air as I walk right past them.  Their stares burn into the back of my head, but I don’t care. It takes guts but I am sitting where I am welcome today. I know it is the end of relationships with Hudson and Jess. They already think I slept with him. I can only imagine what they are thinking now. Nova will still talk to me, but not when Jess is around she still has to keep her own peace with her.
    “Is there any room here?” I ask. Declan turns and smiles at me. To my surprise the rest of the table does to. I don’t even know if I know any of their names but they are still welcoming.
    “Absolut ely.” Declan says with a smile wide across his face as he slides over making room for me. “These are my friends from youth group. Trey,” I remember Trey from the hall yesterday. “Jonathan and Sophie.”
     
    I am both relieved and nervous Friday night. Relieved because school is over for the week and nervous because the woman who is conning my dad into marriage is coming over.  My dad seems to be in love with Declan, maybe he should be the one to date him if he loves him so much.  He is convinced Declan and I are dating I tried to tell him he is just a friend but he doesn’t believe me. My dad’s smile beams as he cups Declan’s shoulder and laughs when Declan tells him a funny joke.
    I can see why he likes him much better than Hudson considering I don’t think Hudson has said more than ten words to my dad in the two years we were together and here is Declan carrying on a ten minute long conversation. Not just talking, but making my dad laugh as well.
    Maybe that is why I am having such a hard time picturing him as more than a friend though. Some kind of teenage rebellion issue. My dad loves him so I am not going to just to spite him. Well that and the fact I am sure Declan doesn’t want to be anything more than friends with me. He says God will tell him who he is meant to be with and I am sure it isn’t me. Besides I know that Hudson and I were supposed to be together. I know I’ll never get over him.
    I just sit on the couch my legs and arms crossed and roll my eyes. I didn’t make much effort to look nice tonight. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and threw on jeans and a plain white tee shirt.
     
    My stomach drops when my dad opens the front door when we hear a car pull up. This is really happening. My mom will be replaced and forgotten, gone for good. It seems like forever before my dad walks back in with his arm around her waist. It feels weird seeing my dad give affection to a woman who is not my mom. I do remember him with my mom faintly. The way he looked at her like she was everything. Even as young as I was I still remember that I always wanted Hudson to look at me like that.
    Now I am standing here watching him give this woman the exact same look he used to give my mom. I fight the tears back. Is he crazy can he not see what I see? She doesn’t look much older than me. She has to be a gold digger. Her petite body almost disappears under my dad’s husky build. She walks with incredibly good posture making her seem a little snooty to me. Her bright blond locks hang in large loose curls over her shoulders.
    “ Miley,” my dad says with way too much excitement in his voice, “this is Penelope.” What kind of name is Penelope?
    “Nice to meet you Miley.” She extends her tiny hand out to me her nail s are bright red and seem to be miles long.