Cipher

Chapter Twenty-Two

The sight of Ashlyn standing in the parking lot next to the beach pointing out an open spot instantly lifted Summer’s spirits. She pulled into the space, grabbed her beach bag, and walked to where her best friend was waiting for her.

All week, she’d stuck by Ashlyn’s side, determined to keep her breathing. Summer “accidentally” bumped into her on a regular basis so the moment she saw her death coming she’d be able to stop it. Before she and Ashlyn headed to the water to catch some waves, Summer planned on working in another bump or arm drape.

“So, you’ve been busy,” Ashlyn said. “I’ve heard you’ve been hooking up with every guy in school, which is weird considering you’ve been at my house most nights.”

It was also slightly ironic, considering why her relationship with Cody had ended. “Yeah, aren’t those rumors lovely? Someone used their finger to write ‘dirty whore’ in the dust collected on my car. It’s not my car’s fault she’s so promiscuous; I just drive her to wherever the gas is cheapest.”

Ashlyn laughed. “Your car does get around.” She draped her arm over Summer’s shoulders. “I’m sorry they’re so mean.”

Summer focused on the contact from Ashlyn, relieved when no scenes of death came to her. Now she could relax. “It’s okay. But only because I have you, and you’re obviously so much better anyway.”

“Obviously.” Ashlyn handed Summer the long board, grabbed her own surf board, and then they headed down the wooden steps leading to the beach.

Ashlyn dropped her board onto the wet sand, just out of the reach of the incoming waves. “So, how was dance practice this morning?”

Usually Saturdays were free days, but Kendall had called an emergency practice because they “looked like uncoordinated monkeys out there.” The rest of the girls practically worshiped her for saying so, too. Summer just went along with it, stubbornly determined to keep her spot, regardless of how much they pushed.

Summer zipped up her wetsuit. “Oh, the usual. Dirty looks, insults on my dancing, face, hair, clothes—you name it, they thought of it. I still rock, though, and I think they even realize they need me on the team to do well at the State Competition. Even a small change now would be a detriment to our routine.”

Ashlyn shielded her eyes with her hand and peered out at the ocean. “Well the good news is, it looks like a great day for surfing. You ready to ride your troubles away?”

“Oh, I was born ready!” She lowered her eyebrows. “You know, that saying really doesn’t make sense. I mean, I couldn’t even walk, much less hold a surfboard, when I was born.”

“In theory, you know how to swim when you’re born, though. Have you seen those crazy moms who toss their babies in the water and see if they go to town paddling their little arms and legs?”

“That doesn’t seem right,” Summer said.

“I know. It’s freaky.” Ashlyn’s gaze returned to the ocean. “Okay. Back on track. Last one in the water is a… I can’t think of anything appropriate. It’s another one of those sayings that people always say but doesn’t really make sense.” She shook her head. “I think I’ve been hanging out with you too much. Now I can’t say anything without remarking on its meaning.”

Summer smiled. “I think that’s awesome. No one will understand us, but we’ll understand each other.”

“And you know that’s going to make so many people very sad.”

“Because we’re so popular?”

Ashlyn laughed. “Because we’re so awesome.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And no one will even know.”

Summer leaned in, ready to add to the conspiracy. “We’re like undercover awesome.”

“Exactly. And that’s the best kind of awesome. If people knew, we’d have fans stalking us. Things would be so hectic.”

“Then we’d have to wear big, hiding-from-the-paparazzi shades and complain about how hard our life is.”

Ashlyn laughed. “Word.” She grabbed her board. “Now let’s get into the water before we start another conversation that has no end.”

“I just want to point out that you started that one.”

“Hey,” a male voice called, and Summer spun around to see Troy jogging over to them, surfboard tucked under his arm. “I thought you girls would be in the water by now.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and hung on her, as if he needed to catch his breath from his short jog. It was another one of those flirty things that confused her because she wasn’t sure if it was a friendly gesture or an I-wanna-be-more gesture. “Sorry, I’m late. I had a thing.”

And then there was still the fact that he always had to be somewhere else, without ever explaining why. Summer shot him a sidelong glance. “A thing? Yes, I’ve heard that things can be very important.”

“Are you mocking me, Sunshine?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare, Mister Bond. Not when you have mysterious things going on.”

“Troy, I barely got her to stop rambling,” Ashlyn said. “Now we’ll never get in the water.”

“No, I’m ready now.” Summer stepped out of Troy’s grasp and pulled her surfboard out of the sand. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a thing to go do in the water.”

Ashlyn followed, and within a couple of minutes, they were nearing the spot where the frothy waves promised an awesome day of surfing.

Troy paddled over to where Ashlyn and Summer were floating on their boards in the water. The waves had gotten weaker and weaker, not giving them much to work with anymore. “So, it’s been fun, but I’ve got to go.”

Summer turned to Ashlyn. “You see, Troy’s in charge of an underground resistance movement. He doesn’t have time for idle chit-chat anymore.”

“Ooh, sounds intriguing,” Ashlyn said. “What cause are you fighting for?”

Troy rolled his eyes. “I told you guys I didn’t have much time, but I came and caught some waves, anyway. Now I’ve got to go.”

“Well, thanks for the favor of hanging out with us,” Summer said, irritation over his continued secrecy digging at her. “We’re so lucky to get a few hours of your time.”

Ashlyn glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, here comes a wave. It’s wimpy, but I’m going to catch it.” She paddled off, ducking under the smaller waves to get out to the bigger one.

Troy moved his board closer to Summer’s. “Are you mad at me? You’ve been cold all week.”

Yeah, ever since your friend Tiny showed up and you made it clear I should get lost. “I’m not mad. It’s just been a rough week.” And I can’t deal with you if you’re only going to confuse me more.

He ran a hand through his hair, the damp strands sticking up in a completely charming way she was trying to ignore. “I keep telling you that you can talk to me.”

“Sure. Right before you run off to your important…whatever you’re always doing.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “What if I want to talk now?”

“I’ll skip my thing and we talk. I’ll just need to go make a quick call first.”

Summer didn’t know why she was being so confrontational and needy. The last thing she wanted to do was manipulate him so he’d stay. Especially since she didn’t have anything to talk about—or anything she could talk about, anyway. “I was just giving you a bad time. Thanks for coming and hanging with us. I mean that, I swear.”

Ashlyn rode past them. As the wave petered out, Ashlyn lost her footing and the board pitched forward, throwing her backward into the water. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wipe out like that before. Not when the water’s so smooth.

Summer watched the spot she’d disappeared and waited for her to come up.

And waited.

Her pulse spiked as she scanned the surface of the water, still not seeing Ashlyn. “Where is she?”

“She’ll come up,” Troy said, his eyes glued to her empty surfboard.

But more seconds passed, and panic tightened her lungs. She hadn’t seen this earlier, and she’d been looking out for it. Of course, they’d been out here for hours. “Come up, Ash.”

Still nothing.

“Something’s wrong.” Summer glanced at Troy and then they both paddled toward the spot Ashlyn had gone under. Troy tore his cuff off and dove into the water.

Don’t freak out. You need to keep your head clear enough to help. Summer ripped off her cuff, took a deep breath, and plunged into the ocean. Murky salt water stung her eyes as she tried to look around. She couldn’t see Ashlyn or Troy, and soon the need for oxygen overpowered her. She pushed herself to the surface and took a couple deep breaths.

Just as she was about to dive back in, Troy and Ashlyn broke the surface. Troy had his arm around Ashlyn, keeping her head above water. He headed to the shore. Summer followed, swimming as fast as she could.

I messed up. I’m too late. I didn’t even get her to make up with her mom. Guilt ripped through her, and tears sprung to her eyes, mixing with the salt water dripping down her face.

Summer tripped onto the sand where Troy had already laid Ashlyn. “Oh my gosh, is she…?” Ashlyn couldn’t be gone. She just couldn’t.

Dropping to her knees, Summer looked her friend over. Her lips already had a bluish tint, and her skin was deathly pale.

With a shaky hand, she reached for Ashlyn, deciding to try to get a read on her. This late, she didn’t know if she’d see anything.

Her fingers grazed Ashlyn’s shoulder…

And Ashlyn coughed.

A large gasp followed, then her breath came out in ragged, wheezing noises.

“I’m sorry.” Tears spilled from Summer’s eyes. “This is all my fault.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Ashlyn said. “I’m already embarrassed enough without you blubbering all over me.” She coughed again.

“You scared the crap out of me! Don’t ever do that again!”

Troy sat back on his heels. “You want me to call a paramedic or the lifeguard or something?”

“Yes,” Summer said, while Ashlyn yelled “No!” over the top of her.

Ashlyn sat up halfway, propping herself on her elbows. “I’m fine. I got a little winded; then I got tangled up in my cord. Let’s not make this any more embarrassing.”

“You should at least get checked out.”

Troy watched them argue, his head turning to one, then the other, as they went back and forth on the issue of getting a medical opinion.

Summer put her hand on Troy’s knee, hoping he’d be able to talk some sense into Ashlyn. “Tell her she needs to see somebody.”

“Well if she feels okay…” Troy shrugged.

Heat burned through Summer’s veins, and she was irritated at him all over again. I can’t believe he’s not backing me up here! Of course, he didn’t have the whole truth. He didn’t know about Ashlyn’s looming death. That Summer had thought that death had come before she’d done her job. “Fine. You better hurry off to your thing, so you’re not late. I’ll take Ashlyn home and see what her mom thinks.”

“Summer, please don’t tell my mother. She’ll say it’s because of…” Ashlyn glanced at Troy, then back at Summer. “And it’ll be a mess and make things worse. Promise me you won’t say anything.”

Ashlyn was probably right. Pamela would turn this into a lesson for what happens if you’re out of shape. Ash clearly didn’t want Troy to know about it either, so Summer decided to drop it. Even though she really, really didn’t want to. “I won’t say anything. Let’s go to my place and relax for a little while, then. Deal?”

“Deal.” Ashlyn coughed again and pushed herself to her feet. “See, I’m fine. I just swallowed too much salt water.” She turned to Troy. “Thanks for helping me out of the water. Now get going so you’re not late.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, Ash.” Troy patted Summer’s shoulder. “Later, Sunshine.”

Still mad he hadn’t backed her up, she crossed her arms. Sure, it wasn’t his fault he didn’t know about Ashlyn, but right now everything sucked, and she couldn’t manage a happy goodbye.

Troy gathered his belongings and took off. If he cared that she was angry, he sure didn’t show it.

From her bedroom window, Summer watched Ashlyn drive away. She’d bumped into her several times this afternoon and hadn’t seen anything. In fact, her friend probably thought she was a giant klutz. Although she’d gotten no flashes of Ashlyn’s death, she couldn’t erase all the morbid images filling her head. It was too close a call. While she wanted to be optimistic and believe that she’d intervened and now Ashlyn would be fine, instinct told her otherwise.

Needing to clear her head, she pulled on a hoodie and headed downstairs, planning on going for a walk. She’d just reached for the doorknob to the front door when Dad came in from the garage. “Hey, kid, where you off to?”

“Going for a walk.”

“Don’t go too far. It’s starting to get dark.” He tossed his keys in the bowl. “Have you got your mace?”

Summer reached into the key dish, gripped the canister, and held it up. “I do now.” She opened the door, ready to step out, but something pulled at her. She’d thought about it all week, ever since she’d spoken to Gabriella. So far she’d been too much of a wimp to spit it out. Now it exploded out of her, almost as if she had no control. “Be good. You’re awesome. I love you.”

Dad stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face her. He stared at her for a minute, his expression turning from neutral to—well, Summer wasn’t sure what. He walked over and pulled her into a giant hug. “I love you, too. I loved your mom like crazy, and it made me happy every time she said goodbye like that. She never forgot. I guess I’ve been slacking off.”

“It’s okay,” Summer said, squeezing back. “I just didn’t want to leave the house without you knowing. It seemed important to say, for some reason.”

“She even said it to me that morning before I left for the conference.” Dad appeared to be back, reliving the memory. He looked a little sad, but not like the memory crushed him.

“She said it to me, too,” Summer said. Right before I begged her not to go. She broke free from the hug, the guilt too heavy, her heart knotting so tightly she wasn’t sure it’d ever go back to normal. “Okay, I’ll be back in a few.”

With the sun setting, the temperature dipped down into the low sixties. It shouldn’t feel that cold—not after the face-freezing, see-your-breath cold she’d experienced in Chicago. She still shivered and tucked her hands into her pockets.

As she walked, the problem between Ashlyn and her mom weighed heavy on her. Okay, as much as she hated to believe in signs, she’d seen too much to not give them a little consideration. The fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about her job meant she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

New resolution: Keep working on Ashlyn’s relationship with her mom.

It didn’t mean she planned on giving up her efforts to keep Ashlyn’s death from happening, but there was that whole better-safe-than-sorry thing to worry about. Besides, if she repaired their relationship, it would mean Ashlyn’s life was better. And Summer wanted her to have the best life she could. However long it was going to last.