A Discovery of Hope (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

hit me deep. I’ve always sort of lived in a perfect little bubble where my parents have always protected me. That bubble shattered in a million little excruciating pieces with the slap of my mom leaving. And let’s not forget the horrific wreck where I’m pretty sure I died. Talk about when it rains it pours…
    “I don’t think I’m the right person to help you,” I mutter.
    Hope eases her hand out of my hair and places it in her lap. “That’s why you are the perfect person to help me. God says if you humble yourself before Him, He will lift you up.”
    “Fine,” I slur. The meds are starting to pull me under and I am thankful. “Who do I need to show com… compassion to?” I nod off, but reawaken. I pry my eyes open and find myself alone. Maybe I just needed to be willing, or maybe the meds have alleviated my hallucination…
     
    ~~~~~
     
    Morning arrives without me noticing. The room is still as dark as night from the custom blackout curtains. I turn the bedside lamp on and come close to screaming.
    “You trying to give me a heart attack?” I gasp and clench my chest.
    “Your heart is healthy. You can handle being startled,” Hope says with her usual smile dancing along her face. She’s sitting on my dresser. Even though she’s been randomly popping up for a while, I still can’t get used to the unexpectedness of it.
    I roll away from her and try to go back to sleep. I feel a slight change in the air and open my eyes to find her face just inches from mine. She’s kneeling beside my bed now. I sigh in frustration. “What do you want?”
    “Today, I need you to help me with someone who is hurting.” She hops to her feet and starts pulling the covers off of me.
    I try making a grab for them, but she’s quicker. The clock indicates seven in the morning. “Who could possibly need me this early in the morning?”
    “Well. Let’s see?” She says this as she taps her chin in mock thought. “You and your mother used to meet at a little coffee shop every Tuesday morning to catch up. Why did that stop?”
    Please, Lord. Don’t make me go there…
    “She left me.” I glare over at the annoying hallucination.
    “You still see her. She’s not left you. Death is the only permanent separation. She’s still here and it’s time you forgive her.”
    I scratch my fingers through my disheveled hair in frustration. “Pick another person, please.”
    “Nope. This is where you have to begin. Or you can just keep being stuck with me. The choice is yours.”
    “I’ve got to figure out this driving thing first. That’s going to be enough to focus on. Mom knows I love her.” I crawl out of the bed and lock the bathroom door behind me. I can’t face any of this right now.
    I spend the next several days venturing out farther each time. I have finally worked up enough nerve to make a few practice runs to the campus, but it’s been harder than I had imagined. I always make sure I’m in by dusk. There’s no way I’m ready for night driving. Who knows how long that will take for me to overcome?
     

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
     
    I begin the spring semester this mild January with Hope tagging along with me everywhere I go. Even though she is ever a constant, my angel won’t say a word. She’s sort of like my shadow, quietly following behind me.
    “What’s up with you being mute all of a sudden?” I asked on the drive home from school last week.
    “I’m patiently waiting for you to forgive your mother.”
    With that, she went right back to being my mute shadow. I’ve tried to provoke her into conversation. However, she’s one determined angel and has kept diligently silent.
    A few weeks of school pass and I’m ready to scream at the frustration of having this shadow. I want her gone so I can focus on my education. Every class, Hope perches on top of the desks, so I have no choice but to see her. I know this is intentional, so today after class, I declared defeat. I call Mom and she agrees to