Destiny Gift (The Everlast Trilogy) - By Juliana Haygert Page 0,54

me. From his pocket he pulled out a card. I looked closer. In his hand, he held the same card Micah had picked up from the drawer in my room.

“Nadine?” I heard Victor call me. “Are you okay?”

The vision faded and I returned back to the diner, panting. I frowned, confused at the worry in his tone.

“What did you see?” Micah asked.

I sighed. “I know who can help us.”

Chapter Eighteen

We left Micah’s bike with the owner of the gas station, chained to a thick column, much to his chagrin. Then, we drove for three hours to find a decent motel. I was thankful when we did because, inside the car, I almost died from the intensity of their scents, unable to decide which one tantalized me more.

The bedroom given to us had two full beds. I took one, Victor took the other, and Micah was able to get an old mattress from the receptionist to sleep on the floor.

Five hours later, the guys and I were up and inside an old department store, buying clothes and other necessary stuff for them, since they hadn’t brought anything. After loading up, we went back to driving and eating our snacks inside Victor’s car.

We were headed south on I-95, to Jacksonville, Florida. The business card indicated we would find Morgan Holt, whoever he was, there. Our plan was to drive until evening, stop to rest for a few hours, and keep going in the morning. If everything went as planned, we would arrive there by noon the following day.

The outside was scary. Even sort of protected inside the car, knowing that bats and everything else was out there made me feel like crawling into a corner and crying. It worsened whenever we passed a destroyed town or had to stop and find an alternative route because of broken roads or bridges.

I rode shotgun, while Micah was spread out on the backseat, whistling without rhythm with songs playing on the radio.

My mind was somewhere else. Where exactly, I wasn’t sure. Every time I closed my eyes, the events of the past days, months, flashed before me. I was tired of thinking about it. The more I thought about the occurrences, trying to reason them out, the more my head hurt.

Distracted with the dark and lifeless outside view, I began singing with the songs playing from the car’s stereo—mostly rock and alternative and only a few pop songs. I had sung about ten songs before I noticed Micah leaning toward the front, gawking at me.

“What?” I pulled my hands from the dashboard where I had been playing an imaginary piano without noticing. I flushed.

“I had no idea you could sing like that,” he said. The heat in my cheeks increased.

“Amazing, huh?” Victor said, glancing at me with a gentle smile tugging at his lips. Oh, my heart.

“It is,” Micah exclaimed. He did sound impressed. “Let me ask, why are you in the health program? You have the talent and the looks to succeed in showbiz.”

I frowned. Did he think I was beautiful? It wasn’t the first time he’d implied it.

“It’s a long story,” I said.

He offered me one of his trademark smiles before leaning back, relaxing on the backseat, and putting his clasped hands behind his head. “It’s a long trip. Humor us.”

I received a quick but reassuring sidelong glance from Victor. It was enough to make me talk. “I have to take care of my family. My father’s a farmer, my mom’s a teacher, and I have two brothers and one sister, all younger. Because of the agricultural crisis, life’s been tough.” My throat closed up and I swallowed.

In the rearview mirror, Micah caught my eye, then nodded.

“Before the other three were born, there was another boy. Because conditions were so bad, he … he died.” Tears brimmed in my eyes. But I wanted to go on. “Things got a little better after that, but I decided to follow a route that would give me enough money to help my family. By the time the oldest of my brothers leaves high school, I’ll be a doctor. I’ll be able to pay for his college tuition. And I want to provide an early retirement for my parents.”

“How are you paying for your tuition now?” Victor asked, eyes on the road.

“A discount due to need, and a scholarship because of my SAT scores. The rest I pay for from my salary.”

“I don’t understand.” Micah leaned forward again. “In showbiz, you can make much more than a