“Oh, I wouldn’t dare, Mister Bond. Not when you have mysterious
“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.”
“
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
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.”
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
Ashlyn rode past them. As the wave petered out, Ashlyn lost her footing and the board pitched forward, throwing her backward into the water.
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.
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.
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.
“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
“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