Read Destiny (Waiting for Forever) for Free Online Page B

continued. “I really hope that you find Jamie, and that he realizes how lucky he is to have you.” Pulling away, she went back to her mother, who put an arm around her. I watched her father grab her huge suitcase and pull it over to a cab.
    It was time for Sarah to go back home.
    For the next five hours, Texas melded into New Mexico, which morphed into Arizona. The landscape all looked the same, and I was starting to get fidgety. It was late and I was tired, more than ready for that part of my journey to be over. I grabbed another coffee in Phoenix as I transferred to my final bus a little before five on Wednesday morning. It had been only two days since I’d received the letter from Jamie, and it felt like things were changing rapidly for me across the stretch of thousands of miles. Briefly, I wondered if Sarah was already in the air on the way back to Florida. I hadn’t texted her yet, wanting her to spend time talking to her parents.
     
     
    I SAW him from a distance; his blond hair was shorter but still beautiful in the midafternoon California sun. The soft blue polo shirt was a departure from his usual T-shirt, but I was so incredibly happy to see him that I didn’t think anything of it. Jamie was standing just a few dozen feet from me on the front porch of a large modern-looking home that I assumed belonged to his parents. Turned slightly so I could only see his profile, he was looking in the house, apparently waiting for something.
    My heart stopped when I saw the pretty girl step out onto the porch and kiss him sweetly. Rather than shying away, Jamie embraced her. When he turned, taking the girl’s hand, and walked down the sidewalk toward me, I froze. Holding my breath, I waited for him to look up. When he was about six feet from me, he did. His expression wasn’t what I would have expected. It was almost pitying.
    “I don’t know why you wasted your time, Brian,” Jamie told me harshly as he lifted the hand that was still holding the girl’s hand. “I don’t have those feelings anymore.” Pulling the girl along, he walked right past me like I wasn’t even there.
    I woke with a start, my breaths coming in pants as I looked wildly around. My heart was racing as I thought about the dream. My worst fear was that something had happened to Jamie, but just after that was the fear that he wouldn’t want me anymore. Anything else, I could deal with.
    The bus stopped, and I looked out the window, feeling my fear rise as I heard the announcement come over the onboard speakers.
    “Thank you for choosing Greyline Bus Services. Welcome to San Diego.”

Three

     
     
    W ALKING through the crowded gate, I followed the signs to the front doors of the bus station and passed through them to the sidewalk. My breath left my lungs in an exhalation of sheer wonder as I stood, dumbstruck, looking up at the huge building across the street. A bright light and the images of nearby buildings reflected on the surface that seemed to go on forever toward the sky. The rest of the scene seemed to come into focus as the traffic rushed along the busy street and colorful banners flew high on poles decorating the landscape. It was all so overwhelming when just two days ago I had been in my backwoods little Alabama town.
    The stoplight to my left turned green, and a flood of people began to walk past me. A panicky feeling rose inside me, and I pressed myself back against the wall of the station as the sidewalk filled.
    “Hey, kid, need a ride?” a cab driver called as I held onto my duffel, trying to decide what to do. I looked over at him and thought that maybe his cab was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. It was old and faded, but it would mean I could ride to the hotel instead of walking. I’d found a cheap hotel during my research, and I could not wait to get there. Exhausted, filthy, and beyond my limit, I gave in and nodded, pulling my duffel over to the cab.
    The driver stepped out and walked around to the back. As