Page 126 of I Don't Need Your Love

“Great. Got a new recruit for Astor University,” he says as he turns back to mixing the pot. “He comes from a broken home. I’ve never met anyone so resilient.”

Dad’s a college football recruiter for Astor University. The school is about an hour away from our small town of Edenbury, Georgia. He loves his job because he meets so many kids from different backgrounds and makes their dreams come true. He’s very dedicated, maybe because poring himself into his job helps him forget the pain of losing Mom. It’s been three years, but when you have that kind of love? I don’t think the pain could ever disappear.

I swallow hard as a lump the size of Jupiter attacks my throat. Mom was my…everything. My best friend. My confidant. The one person in the world who understood me. And now she’s gone and I have to navigate life all by myself. I mean, I have Dad, but he’s so clueless sometimes. And I’m so scared of hurting him. I just want him to be happy.

He announces that the soup’s ready and we settle down at the table. Dad’s not the greatest cook—that was Mom’s department—but the food’s pretty decent. I can’t complain, I can’t cook worth crap.

“Any luck finding more extracurriculars?” he asks.

The image of me splatting on my butt in front of Brayden flashes before my eyes. “Ugh!” I groan.

Dad’s eyes widen. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I quickly say. “I just feel so awkward sometimes.”

He nods slowly like he’s a little confused. “Isn’t that normal at your age?”

“Not for people like Teagyn and all the other cheerleaders,” I grumble.

“What was that?” he asks as he takes a spoonful of soup.

I paste on another smile, this one probably showing too much teeth. “It’s okay, Dad. You don’t have to try to understand the teenage girl brain. I’ll survive.”I hope.

A serious expression crawls on Dad’s face as he lays his spoon in his bowl. “Honey, I hope you know you can talk to me whenever you need to. I know it was always your mother’s department…” He shifts in his chair. “But I’m fully capable of…er…helping you navigate these confusing and nervous years?”

I burst into giggles. “Dad, you look like you’d rather jump into a lion’s den.”

“I’m trying to be serious here, Kara.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh at you. But you have nothing to worry about. I’m fine. And I’ve got…friends to help.” Ugh, I hate lying to him.

He nods slowly, relief clouding his features. “Yes, I suppose that’s true. You have your girlfriends to help. Because they’re going through the same things as you.”

Yeah, if only the sky would open and a group of girlfriends would rain down on me.

Sick of lying and this conversation, I steer the conversation to something my dad loves—football. All his worries about me fly out the window. As for my worries? Unfortunately, they’re still stuck to me like glue.

I offer to do the dishes, but he shoos me away to my room to get started on homework. I plop down on my bed with a heavy sigh, my body sagging into the soft mattress. Putting up the façade that I’m happy and everything is perfect is soexhausting. Why can’t I have at least one friend? Someone who actually seesme. Then maybe Dad would stop worrying that he’s doing a bad job at this single parenting thing.

Reaching for my phone, I open up the Spill It! social media app. It’s all the rage these days. It was created a few years ago by multi-gazillionaire Easton Knight. His son, Easton Jr., is a new student at our school this year. He’s already fitting in so well with the popular kids—and look at me. I’ve been with these kids since ninth grade, some of them in elementary school, and theystilldon’t know I exist. It’s not because I’m ugly, right? No, if I was ugly I’d still be noticed. I guess I’m just plain and boring.

My fingers bring me to Brayden’s page. He’s posted and tagged pictures with the football team and cheerleaders. They’re at Mikey’s Diner and are having the grandest time. They’re not stuck at home with no friends like this pathetic loser.

I zoom in the picture to his face. He’s such a hottie. Strong features, a chiseled jaw, the whitest of teeth. Zooming out, I catch the person he’s smiling at—Teagyn Myers. The gorgeous blonde who’s all legs and enough body to command the attention of every guy in the room. The way she grins at Brayden, it’s like she’s got him in the bag. That might as well be true—girls like her always get their way.

But my mom was a cheerleader, too. Her team won nationals when she was a junior. She wasn’t a witch like Teagyn. She raised me to believe that you can achieve anything you want—as long as you’re kind to everyone around you.

I zoom back in to our star quarterback, scrutinizing that perfect face. As if someone like Brayden would ever notice someone like me.