Destiny Gift by Juliana Haygert Page B

exhausted and useless. There was no way I could go out, even if there was a possibility of the real Victor being there. As it was, I found out on Sunday he’d been at the club with two classmates.
    “He’s totally hot, but Nad, please, he has this permanent I’m-mad-with-the-world look.” Raisa also told me a few girls tried to talk to him, and he turned them down. “I think he was rude to them.” Then she mentioned how his stance was stoic and detracting at the same time. “He doesn’t look like a bad boy. He just looks antisocial and annoyed.”
    So I wasn’t the only one he mistreated or the only one who noticed how his posture shouted “back off.” That was sort of a relief.
    When the hospital called me to schedule an interview, my hands started sweating. There was a big chance I would run into Victor there, and despite the fact I wanted to see him and talk to him, I didn’t know if I was ready to face him yet. But there was nothing I could do. I needed this job. I agreed on an interview time, right after my shift was over on Monday evening.
    Destiny or not, I literally bumped into Victor’s grandma when I left the human resources office after my interview.
    “I’m so sorry, ma’am.” I grabbed her arm to steady her. Bianca Gianni was old and fragile, with a neat white bun and gentle wrinkles adorning her still beautiful face. Sadly, she was alone. No Victor.
    “I’m fine, dear,” she said, her parched tone revealing how sick she really was. But she found the energy to smile at me. She wasn’t as tall as her grandson, but she was still much taller than I. “I was close to the walls and doors. You know, in case I trip.” She chuckled and I grinned.
    Hmm. Ideas sprouted in my mind. “Do you need any help getting somewhere?”
    “No, no, dear. I’m just stretching my legs. I get tired of spending most of my day in these damned hospital beds.” Her dull laugh became a couple of dried coughs. “I apologize for my inappropriate words.”
    “No need to apologize.” I stepped back, letting her pass me and get on with her walk. If what my vision Victor had told me was right, she stumbled over her feet all the time, and I would be there to offer her my arm for support.
    Not even ten seconds later, Bianca did trip and, when I offered assistance, she accepted it.
    “There aren’t many nice young ladies around anymore,” she said with a gentle smile. Oh, if only she knew.
    “You know,” I said, prepared to use bribery to find out what I wanted to know while we strolled through the hospital’s sterilized corridors. I had a chance to prove if all I knew about the Gianni family was right. “I was on my way to the cafeteria to buy a cocoa cappuccino. Would you like one?”
    Her green eyes brightened. “I would love one,” she exclaimed, then lowered her voice. “My grandson would kill me if he knew I had one. You see, I shouldn’t eat chocolate or drink coffee. And certainly not both at once.”
    I chuckled at the old lady’s enthusiasm. I loved the fact that during one of my visions, Victor had commented how it was hard to keep his grandmother away from chocolate and coffee and some other things she shouldn’t consume in excess.
    My heart rate rocketed. Oh God, it was true!
    “I won’t tell him if you don’t,” I whispered, and she eagerly agreed, looking like a child who was about to get a new toy.
    After getting cocoa cappuccinos, Bianca and I sat at one of the cozy internal gardens the hospital had built after the darkness had taken over. By then, we had formally introduced ourselves, and she had told me about her illness—like in my visions, she had stomach cancer.
    “I don’t think I have much time left,” she confessed, seated by my side on one of the wooden benches. She had on a heavy wool coat, but she looked cold. I considered getting her inside, but she seemed so relaxed next to the living plants. “I try to be strong, you know. I have to. Otherwise, I don’t know what will