Cipher

Chapter Fifteen

The first thing Summer saw when she walked into the school Monday morning was Lexi talking to Darren. Every nerve in Summer’s body pricked up—the girl had been trashing the guy a few days ago. Why was she all buddy-buddy with him now?

A surge of fierce protection shot through Summer, and she charged toward them.

She just caught the end of Lexi’s sentence. “…sit next to you in class, and you give me the signal for the answers.”

“He’s not doing that,” Summer said.

Lexi turned toward Summer and a frown replaced the flirtatious smile she’d had plastered on her face. “This isn’t about you, so stay out of it.”

Summer ignored her and made eye-contact with Darren. “It’s not worth it. Does MIT take cheaters? Any of the colleges you want to go to? Would they take you if you get caught cheating?”

“We won’t get caught.” Lexi put her hand on Darren’s shoulder. “We’ve done it before, and it was fine.”

Unwilling to let Lexi push Darren into doing something she knew that, deep down, he didn’t want to do, Summer stepped between them, crowding Lexi the way she had done to her the other night at the party. “Why don’t you study to get your answers, Lexi?”

Lexi took a large step back.

Summer closed the gap again, anger fueling her forward. “If you can remember all the gossip, surely you can mix some useful facts in with the catty half-truths you spread around.”

“I don’t know what your deal is lately. You think you’re so high and mighty.” Lexi lowered her voice. “Then you keep ignoring your friends to hang with the losers. Like you’re not doing the same thing.”

“I like Darren,” Summer said, not bothering to whisper back. “I’m not asking for help or test answers, and he’s most certainly not a loser.”

Fury filled Lexi’s eyes as she glared at Summer. “You think long and hard about this. I might not have quite as much pull as Kendall, but I can make your life miserable if you cross me.”

“Your threats don’t bother me, Lexi. You’re just a self-centered gossip, and I won’t let you take advantage of my friends because they’re too nice to say no.”

“Remember you brought this on yourself,” Lexi said, then she spun on her heel and stormed off.

Summer turned to check on Darren and almost bumped into Troy. “Whoa. What are you doing here, Mister Bond?”

“I thought you might need reinforcements,” Troy said.

“I didn’t realize we were still on the same team.”

One corner of Troy’s mouth twisted up. “Neither did I. You just proved me wrong.” He glanced at Darren. “You cool, dude?”

“I should’ve said no, but she’s pretty and…”

“And nothing else, dude. That’s it.” Troy nudged Summer. “Let’s take a walk, Sunshine.” He started down the hall, not bothering to look whether she was coming. His overconfidence annoyed her and drew her to him, all at the same time.

She hung back for a second, waiting to see when he’d notice.

He glanced over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows, a silent you-coming-or-what gesture.

She wanted to talk to him too much to continue fighting with him. She caught up to him, matching his quick stride, waiting for him to break the silence.

He twisted the leather cuff on his wrist. “So, I was kind of a jerk about the party.”

Summer raised an eyebrow. “Kind of?”

“Okay, I was, and I’m sorry.” Troy sat on one of the benches lining the hall and patted the spot next to him.

“Well, I might’ve overreacted because I was having a bad day.” Summer sat, tucking her leg under her as she faced him. “I still don’t get why you got so mad about me hanging out with people who you know are my friends.”

He draped his arm on the beach and tapped his long fingers on the top of it. “I thought you’d get around those people and then you’d disappear again. And I wanted to hang out on Friday night. Instead, I pictured you hooking up with that loser again.”

Summer wanted to tell him how wrong he was, but unfortunately, he hadn’t been that wrong.

“Oh, shit, you did.” Troy lifted his hand from the bench and ran it through his hair, making it stick up even more in front. “You’re with him again.”

“I’m not, I swear. He and I had this…” No way am I going to explain this to Troy. “Anyway, Ashlyn and I cut out early and went surfing. I thought about calling you, but since we were in a fight and all…”

Troy let out a long breath and put his arm back on the bench, scooting close enough her knee was against his thigh. And for some reason once she noticed that, all she could think about was the fact that her knee was touching his thigh. He leaned so close their noses were inches from touching. “I declare the fight over.”

She swallowed, finding it more difficult than usual. “What about what you said? About me losing myself?” Just saying the words aloud made her feel like the bottom of her stomach had dropped out.

“I was just mad.”

“Sometimes I do feel a little lost, though.” To her dismay, her voice cracked. “I don’t even know how to get back to the person I used to be.” And I don’t even think it’s possible with everything that’s happening to me.

His hand brushed across her shoulder and then he gently lifted her chin with his fingers. “You’re still in there.” His eyes locked onto hers, and it felt like he was peering inside of her, pulling out all her secrets. “I’ve seen more of the old you lately. The girl who talked music for hours and didn’t get embarrassed when she crashed my skateboard.”

Heat crept into her cheeks as she remembered wrecking in front of him, the kind of wipeout where you were up one minute, then down the next, with no idea how exactly you got there. “Oh, I was embarrassed.”

“But you just laughed, got up, and hopped back on. Knee dripping blood and everything.” An easy smile played at the corners of his mouth. “I’ll even forgive you for the dance music. Everyone has their problems.”

Summer grinned. “Like you’re so normal.”

“Normal’s boring.”

Something in the air shifted, and it was just her and Troy, in their own little bubble. I knew his eyes were green, but were they always that green. This close, she could see how much darker the rim was, which made the lighter part stand out that much more.

“Troy?” A female voice asked, popping the bubble. She was the same tall brunette he was with yesterday after school—a volleyball player, if Summer remembered it right. “I need to talk to you. About…you know.”

“You know?” She’s interrupting us for you know? As annoying as that was, Summer found herself wanting to know. Especially since Troy straightened, widening the space between them.

He held up one finger to the volleyball player, and then glanced back at Summer. “You did a nice thing, standing up for Darren earlier. I know Lexi is your friend, and that probably wasn’t easy.”

“Actually, it was easier than I dreamed it’d be. Lexi and I have always had a rocky relationship, even before this morning. But it’s probably going to get worse. Not just with her, either.” Summer worried about the fallout with the team and how it’d affect their dance routine. Hopefully Kendall would figure out a way to smooth it over, because Summer didn’t think she had the energy.

The volleyball player was still standing there, and judging from her crossed arm position, getting impatient. But Summer didn’t want to let Troy go quite yet. “You seem to flow effortlessly from group to group with no problems, Mister Bond. How do you do it?”

He gave a casual shrug, a cocky smile curving his lips. “I’m an enigma.” He glanced at the volleyball player. “I’ve gotta go.” He gave Summer’s knee a quick squeeze. “See you around.”

He stood, and he and the brunette walked away, their heads close together, but in a hushed-discussion way, not a we’re-about-to-suck face way.

So there was that. Whatever that was.

All the other girls on the dance team gave Summer icy glares as she took her place on the floor. Is it cold in here, or is it just all of you?

The music for their routine started. She went one way; the whole team went the other. Struggling to keep up, she found herself a step behind the entire dance. Again. She’d practiced over and over, but that didn’t matter if someone pulled the rug out from under you.

“What happened?” Summer asked at the end of the routine.

“We changed the steps,” Kendall said.

“No one told me.”

Kendall crossed her arms. “Sucks to be left out, doesn’t it?”

So apparently Kendall wasn’t on her side anymore. Awesome.

“We had a meeting at lunch,” Kendall continued, “but you were busy with your other friends. I don’t have time to explain it all again, so I guess you’ll have to pick it up on your own.”

For the next hour, Summer struggled. The girls gave her dirty looks, and no one offered to help. Basically, Lexi had made good on her threat. By the end of practice, Summer’s frustrations threatened a hostile takeover.

She headed over to Kendall. “Can I come over and work on the new moves?”

“Now you want to be my friend?” Kendall asked.

“I never stopped being your friend.”

“Really? You left my party early with Ashlyn, and never even called to find out how the rest of my birthday was.”

“I did mean to call,” Summer said, realizing she’d forgotten to keep her promise about that. “I was just—”

“Let me guess. Busy. Did you have time to hang out with your new friend?”

“Kendall, there’s a good explanation.” Summer tried to think of what explanation she could give. The real one certainly wouldn’t do. And the other truth—that she had so much fun hanging out with Ashlyn that she didn’t want to deal with her high-maintenance friends—wouldn’t go over very well either. “I still don’t understand why it matters if I have other friends.”

Kendall let out an Oscar-winning sigh and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Because you having these new friends is screwing everything up! You mess up at dance practice, and now my grades are on the line. Darren helped Lexi, then I got the answers from her. We had a system, and you messed it up for a guy who likes getting attention from us.”

Summer clenched her jaw, working to cool the angry heat quickly rising through her body. “You guys take advantage of him.”

“So what? That’s the way the world works. Someday he’ll be running a computer company or something like that, and women will throw themselves at him. It all works out.” Kendall pointed a finger in Summer’s face. “You need to fix it. Tell Darren to help us out again and I can probably get Lexi to forgive you.”

She clenched her jaw tighter, so hard she thought a couple of teeth might crack. “I’m not going to do that. I won’t let you use him. Especially when you all trash-talk him behind his back.”

“You still want to dance, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well it’s them or us, so if I were you, I’d rethink your stance. You’ve got till tomorrow morning to fix it. Now if you’ll excuse me, the girls and I have plans.” Kendall picked up her bag and raised her voice. “Come on guys. Let’s go.”

Summer stared as they walked away. Well hell.

She exited the gym and spotted Troy walking across the parking lot, headed toward his Jeep. Needing to talk to someone who didn’t hate her, she rushed to catch up with him. “What are you still doing here, Mister Bond?”

Troy glanced at her. “Hey. Just…this and that. How was dance practice?”

“The girls are mad about the Lexi-Darren thing. I got an ultimatum and everything. Fix it or get off the team.”

“So quit. You don’t need them.”

“It’s not them that I need. It’s the dancing,” she said. Mom always talked about how much she loved watching her dance. Summer loved it not only because she loved dancing and the rush of a performance, but also because she and Mom had done it together. “Dancing. It…my mom…It’s hard to explain.” A giant lump formed in her throat. “I feel closer to her when I dance.”

Troy slowed and put his hand on her arm, just above her elbow. “Then you dance, Sunshine.” He shot her a giant grin. “Dance your ass off.”

Usually, she’d laugh at that—at least smile—but she didn’t know if she had it in her today. A big part of her wanted to give up. But those months she hadn’t danced were her darkest, and she never wanted to feel like that again. Maybe she could take other classes at a studio or something. But Mom wouldn’t be there, sitting with the other moms. She wouldn’t be beside Summer either, struggling to learn the steps with her. Besides, Summer had worked hard on the routine so the team could compete at the State Competition. She’d made up sections of the choreography. It was her senior year, and her last chance to be part of something like that. She didn’t want to walk away now.

“Come on. I know what’ll cheer you up.” Troy pulled her over to his Jeep and opened the passenger door. “Hop in.”

Troy opened the door to Louie’s Pizza and ushered Summer inside. It used to be one of their regular stops before going to Equinox. Louie’s was the only place that could compare to the pizza in Chicago. After ordering a few giant slices of pepperoni and a couple of drinks, they settled into a corner table.

“You never told me your mom was a dancer like you,” Troy said.

“She was an amazing dancer. I remember her blasting music and declaring it Dance Party Time. She even forced Dad to join in.” Summer smiled, thinking about their dance parties that sometimes included jumping off and on the furniture. “As soon as I could walk, she put me in classes. I did jazz, tap, hip-hop, a little Irish dancing, and even ballet.”

Troy’s eyebrows shot up. “Ballet? I never would’ve pegged you for a ballerina.”

“My ballerina stint was brief.” Since she’d seen her first vision of death after her ballet solo, she’d never put on her toe shoes again, as if ballet had anything to do with her vision. She shook off that thought and forced herself to move on. “But since my first class, I’ve always been involved in dance in some way. It became such a big part of how I defined myself.”

Summer opened her mouth, poised to take a bite of pizza, when she realized something. “I guess that’s why I settled into things with Kendall and her crowd. It went along with dance. I’m afraid I got sucked in and turned a little shallow myself. Really, I just haven’t been the same since my mom left.”

“She didn’t leave, Summer,” Troy said. “Not on purpose.”

Her chest tightened and tears crawled up her throat. She did, though. I asked her not to go, but she went anyway.

“My dad…” Troy picked up his soda, and pointed the straw toward her. “Now, that’s a loser that left on purpose.”

The night she’d told him about how Mom had died and how much she missed her, he’d told her about his dad. Troy was thirteen when his dad informed him he’d have to be the man of the house. Then his dad left, all so he could pursue his dream of becoming a musician. He never wrote, called, sent money—never did any of those things dads were supposed to do. Troy and his mom never heard from him again.

Summer thought of her own father and how lost she’d be without him. Which is why certain things are better left unsaid.

Troy sighed. “This conversation went downhill quickly. I don’t think I’m doing a very good job of cheering you up.

“I can feel it. Things are starting to change. And I don’t think it’ll be for the better.” She might be able to handle all the crap at school if she could just make better progress with Ashlyn and her mom. If she didn’t feel like she was failing at everything.

“Come on,” Troy said a few minutes later. “I’m not done trying to cheer you up yet.” They walked back down the sidewalk the way they’d come, toward Troy’s Jeep. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds, the temperature dropping without its warmth. Summer slipped on her hoodie, glad she’d brought it. The streetlights lit up downtown, and she scooted closer to Troy as they approached his Jeep.

He reached into the back and took out two skateboards. He placed one on the ground in front of her. “Hop on. Unless all your months away have ruined your skills.”

“What skills? I never had any skills to start with.” She put a tentative foot on the board and slowly pushed off.

Troy eased ahead of her, and she followed. He went slow for her—she knew because she’d seen how fast he usually rode. They rolled down the sidewalks, weaving in and out of people, until they reached the park.

A few familiar figures greeted them as they neared the fountain.

“I heard you’re having a bad day,” Ashlyn said, shooting Summer a sympathetic smile. “Troy texted me and told me to get the gang together. Said you might need a pick-me-up.”

Nelson raised his digital camcorder. “I’m ready.”

Troy kicked up his skateboard and caught it. “This is how I first met these guys, by the way. Nelson makes movies to put up on YouTube, and he wanted to get a few skate stunts filmed. He saw me riding outside of school one day and asked if I’d be interested. Ashlyn rides, too. So Nelson films, and Aaron and Darren help with calculations.” He gave the twins a charming nod/grin combo. “Although human error often skews the results, right guys?”

Darren raised a finger. “Yes, our calculations are not at fault. Math never fails. But it’s like that saying of too many cooks spoiling the broth. If you add too many variables, even a computer won’t be able to compute the infinite possibilities.”

“Wow, good to know,” Summer said, though she had no idea what it was supposed to mean. She glanced from face to face, noticing one was missing. “Where’s Marcie?”

“Marcie only hangs with us at lunch,” Ashlyn said. “Her parents don’t let her go out much. She’s got like eight brothers and sisters, so it’s school, and then home to help take care of all her siblings. It’s one of the few times I actually feel glad to have the mom I do.”

Summer felt like she should say something, like maybe make a positive statement about Pamela. Nothing came to mind, though, and she wanted to forget about her troubles, not think about her job.

Ashlyn hopped on her board. “I say we try by the fountain until someone yells at us.”

Summer pushed off, rolling after Ashlyn and Troy. When she picked up speed, she teetered, barely catching herself from falling. Dang, I’m rusty.

She, Troy, and Ashlyn skated around the center of the park. Summer’s trick was to stay on, while Ashlyn and Troy did real, far cooler tricks, like kick-flips and rail slides. Nelson had his video camera up, filming them as they rode.

“I’m going to go do another rail slide,” Ashlyn said, skating toward the set of stairs.

Summer wobbled and worked to steady herself. “I’ll just be here in the flat part, trying not to hurt myself.” She skated after Troy as he made another circle around the fountain.

They were going down a slight incline, when Troy unexpectedly stopped in front of Summer. “Hey, we should—”

“Watch—” Summer barreled into Troy, unable to stop in time or finish her warning. They went down hard, landing in a tangled heap on the unforgiving cement. Her breath was still somewhere in the air above her, and she heard her skateboard still rolling on without her. “Ouch.”

In her attempt to dive right, she’d landed on her side, and her hip and knee throbbed. She rolled onto her back with a groan.

Troy’s face appeared over her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, all except for my pride.” She sucked in a breath as she propped herself onto her elbows, gravel digging into her skin. “How about you? I crashed into you pretty good.”

“I’ve had much worse.” Troy jumped to his feet and extended a hand to her. She let him pull her up and then looked down to assess the damage. The denim over her knee was ripped open, and the exposed skin had a bloody scuff on it. It stung, but there was something cool about it, too. Like it was reminding her that she was still alive and doing something she forgot she loved. Not that she needed anymore battle scars tonight. “I should probably take a break before I break something. Or someone.”

“Let’s go sit for a few, then.” Troy grabbed both skateboards and tucked them under his arm. He wrapped the other arm around her waist. She almost told him she didn’t need his help, but he was warm and he smelled good, a beach-y scent with a hint of citrusy goodness. Her knee was stiff and not very happy about moving as they made their way over to the fountain.

Summer lowered herself onto the ledge of the fountain with a sigh, and Troy followed suit, letting out a sigh of his own. He put his hands behind him and leaned back on his palms, the muscles in his arms flexing. With his dark, messy hair and the stubble starting to form on his jaw, he looked tougher than he used to when he constantly bleached his hair. But then there was his constant, easy smile. The delicious mix of good and bad boy had her pulse suddenly skidding out of control. She knew she should stop looking at him, thinking those kinds of thoughts about one of her best friends, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. He was the same guy as always, yet totally different in a lot of ways.

Darren came over and pointed at Troy’s disregarded skateboards. “Mind if I use yours for a few minutes, Summer?”

“Be my guest,” she said.

Darren hopped on and started messing around, skating back and forth across the area. Even though he was wobbly, she was impressed by how many of the basics he had down.

Troy shifted forward and his knee rested against Summer’s. All the blood in her body seemed to rush to that one spot. “So?” he said.

“So,” she echoed. The breeze sent her hair across her face and she swiped it off her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Troy opened his mouth, but then his gaze flicked over her shoulder. She heard a skateboard approaching and glanced in that direction.

Ashlyn rode up to them, kicked up her board, and sat next to Summer. “It’s been a long time. I came so close to face-planting that last one. Pulled it out last minute, but still got my palms pretty good. She held them up, and, sure enough, they had little bits of skin hanging loose.

“Still, I’m impressed. Yet another thing you’re awesome at,” Summer said.

“Mother says it doesn’t count as exercise because it’s got wheels,” Ashlyn pressed a hand to her chest. She was wheezing again, her breaths coming out shallow and fast. Summer knew that Ashlyn hated attention drawn to it, so she didn’t say anything, but she was going to keep her eyes glued to the girl until her breathing normalized again.

“Watch out, dude!” Nelson shouted. He had his camera up, filming Darren as he rolled toward the large, cement stairs.

“Stop, Darren,” Troy said, tensing up beside Summer. “The stairs are right—” He jumped to his feet, but it was too late.

Darren rode backward over the edge of the cement steps, disappearing from view. His yell tore through the air. Then everything fell silent.

They all sprinted toward the stairs. Summer gasped when she saw Darren’s body crumpled at the bottom, eerily still.

Ashlyn threw her hands over her mouth. “Darren!”

Ignoring the pain in her knee, Summer rushed down the stairs with the rest of the group. Blood oozed from the back of Darren’s head, and the streetlight lit up his pale, pinched face.

Oh holy crap. Summer crouched next to him. Dying from a skateboarding incident would be unlikely, but Darren wasn’t the sturdiest of kids to begin with. Bracing herself as much as one could when death was involved, she slowly reached out and touched his arm. Nothing. She went ahead and wrapped her entire hand around his arm. Still, no visions came, and she let out a shaky breath.

Darren blinked up at her. “I think my brain’s coming out the back of my skull. I heard it crack open. If I move my head, my brain will slide out, I just know it.”

Troy flipped out his phone and started dialing, and Aaron knelt down next to his brother. Summer shucked off her hoodie and held it against Darren’s head wound, trying to stop the blood, hoping it was the right thing to do. “Don’t move okay,” she said. “You’re going to be fine.”

“My wrist hurts really bad, and I’ve got the chess tournament coming up. How am I going to play speed chess with a broken hand?” With his left hand, he reached back to where Summer held the hoodie and slipped his hand between the fabric and his head. “Why does it feel so wet?”

He brought his hand back to his face and screeched at the blood covering his fingers. “I do one crazy thing in my life and now I’m going to die. There’s so much I haven’t done. I’m too young to die!”

Summer gripped his hand and locked eyes with him. “Darren, listen to me. You’re not going to die.”

He looked unconvinced, fear etched across his features.

She squeezed his hand tighter. “You’re a math guy, right? I can give you a one-hundred-percent guarantee that you’re not going to die. If you were an athlete, I’d say a hundred and ten percent, but you’re too smart for that. You know that’s impossible as much as I do.”

“In fact, giving one hundred percent would cause you to die.”

Summer smiled. If he was still alert enough to give out mathematical facts, he should be okay. “That’s right.”

“So how can you be sure I’m not going to die?” His eyes focused in on her, and they looked clearer this time. A good sign.

“I get a sense about these things. Just trust me.”

“Mom’s going to kill both of us.” Aaron pulled out his phone. “I guess I better call her, too.”

Summer squeezed his hand. “You hang on, Darren. Help’s on the way.” She glanced up at the rest of them through the hair the wind kept blowing in her face and noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Ashlyn?”

The lights from the ambulance lit up the area, and several people gathered around to see what was going on.

Summer remained glued to Ashlyn’s side, afraid to take her eyes off her. For those few minutes she didn’t know where Ashlyn was, or if her breathing had returned to normal, she’d panicked, thinking the worst. Apparently she’d run up the stairs to try to find help.

Now they both watched as the paramedics loaded Darren into the back of an ambulance. He needed stitches and most likely had a broken wrist. The paramedics assured everyone he’d be fine but said they’d probably want to observe him at the hospital overnight to see how bad the concussion was.

Ashlyn steepled her hands and brought them to her lips. “Mrs. Devlin looked so worried.”

As luck would have it, Aaron and Darren’s mom had already been downtown. She’d shown up shortly after the ambulance had. Seeing an opportunity, Summer said, “Moms are like that. Always worried about their kids. I guess we should give them a break sometimes.”

Ashlyn’s shoulders slumped. “My mother would rather me have a heart attack exercising than accept me at what I weigh now.”

“That’s not true. Besides, you’re fabulous just the way you are.”

“I don’t think so, but thanks for saying it anyway.”

Troy walked up before Summer could say anything else about moms or how awesome Ashlyn was. “So, that was a little more fun than I bargained for.” He put his hand on Summer’s back. “Come on, Sunshine. I better take you back to the school to get your car.” He glanced at Ashlyn. “Need a ride, Ash?”

Ashlyn shook her head. “I’ve got my car. I’ll take Nelson home and see you guys later.”

“Wait,” Summer said. Even though she and Ashlyn had never hugged, she just went for it. No weird visions. Her breathing was normal. And, well, when Ashlyn squeezed back, it was hard to convince herself to let go. “See you tomorrow.”

On their way back to the Jeep, a cold breeze kicked up, sending goose bumps across Summer’s skin. Troy put his arm around her and tucked her in next to him. “I’ve got a jacket in the car. Sorry yours got ruined.” He ran his hand up and down her arm. “You were really great with Darren tonight. You calmed him down when he was about to freak out.”

“I just had to speak a little math lingo.” Images of the night flashed through her head. Pizza, skateboarding with her friends, the crazy ending. “Now that everyone’s okay, is it bad to say that I had a good time?”

“I think even Darren’s going to like re-telling the story. If he can get over his chess hand being busted, anyway.”

Summer looked at Troy’s hand on her arm—the long fingers, the fat silver ring he wore on his index finger—and tingly butterflies erupted in her stomach. She glanced up at him and found his green eyes looking right back at her. Her heart thudded in her chest. All day she kept seeing him in a different light. But she was still fresh from a breakup, and she had too much other stuff going on her life to even consider the possibility of her and Troy being more.

Right?

Curled up against him, though, she felt safe and warm, the worries from earlier today so far away now. Realizing she was staring, she decided she should say something before she simply started drooling, or some other equally cool thing. “Um, so your plan worked. I’m successfully cheered up.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Thanks.”

Troy tightened his grip and his lips brushed her temple as he spoke. “Anytime, Sunshine. Anytime.”