Cipher

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.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Troy stood in the hall right before third period, flirting with what’s-her-face from the volleyball team. She laughed; he grinned. It was disgusting. Summer ducked alongside another group and hurried past him, focusing on the ground so she wouldn’t have to witness any more of it. She was almost to Mrs. Crawford’s room when she realized she’d forgotten her binder. She’d go in without it, but it had her homework in it, and Mrs. Crawford already had it out for her.

Grumbling, Summer hurried back the way she’d come from.

A new girl was talking to Troy now. This one blond, but wearing the same stupid, smitten expression as the first. What the hell? Does he have to flirt with everyone?

Summer pushed around the items in her locker, chucking pens and crumpling up papers. Why did he have to go and kiss me? I was fine before he did that. His popularity with the girls only seemed to grow, and one thing remained: She was still the friend.

Feeling stupid for falling him in the first place, she grabbed her binder and slammed her locker closed.

“Hey, Sunshine.”

Summer didn’t bother looking at him. “Troy.” She didn’t want to be next on his flirt-with-me list. It seemed to get more extensive by the day, and it was wreaking havoc on her emotions.

“Oh, it’s Troy now?” he asked. “I don’t seem dangerous enough to be Mr. Bond today?”

“Actually, you seem very Bond-like today.” Summer spun on her heel and started toward her classroom for the second time this day.

Troy fell into step next to her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means what it means.”

“Now that you clarified, it makes perfect sense.” Troy gripped her arm and pulled her to a stop. “Why are you so mad at me?”

“I’m not mad,” she said through clenched teeth. “I just think maybe I need a break from you right now.”

Troy threw his hands up. “Fine. I can’t figure you out anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m the problem. Don’t worry about taking any of the blame.” Summer stormed away, rage burning inside her.

* * *

“I can’t stay any longer,” Summer said, and was rewarded with more dirty looks from the girls on the dance team.

“So now you’re going to quit?” Kendall shrieked. “We’ve got to restructure three eight counts in the middle before the pep rally on Thursday.”

Summer looked from face to face, not wanting to give in, but knowing the routine needed work. Since the volleyball team had a game Thursday night, they’d moved the pep rally up a day. “I need to make a quick phone call, then. Let’s take five.”

Kendall exhaled. “Summer needs a five, everyone. We all know that Summer takes whatever she wants, so we all might as well get a rest.”

That was the nicest Kendall had been in a while. Summer dug through her bag until she found her phone. She sent a quick text to Dad and dialed Ashlyn’s number.

“Scott Pilgrim Versus the World is ready to go,” Ashlyn’s cheery voice informed her. “Can you bring me a Diet Coke on your way? I’m all out.”

Hanging with Ashlyn would be way more fun than sticking around here. “You don’t know how much it kills me to say this, but I’ve got to cancel. We’ve got to fix the routine so it’ll be ready for the pep rally, and it’s going to be a late night.”

“That sucks,” Ashlyn said. “I understand, though.”

“I feel so bad. I’d rather be there hanging with you. It’s just that…”

“That you love to dance and those girls will kick you off if they get an excuse. We’ll reschedule. Tomorrow night, okay?”

Summer loved that Ashlyn didn’t throw hissy fits whenever things didn’t go her way, the way the blonde who was most likely glaring daggers at her back had. “Have I told you how much you rock?”

“Yeah, but you can tell me again.”

“You rock so much that they’re thinking about changing paper, rock, scissors, to paper, Ashlyn, scissors.”

Ashlyn laughed. “Okay, that was really bad.”

Summer smiled, the tension leaking out of her. “See you tomorrow.”

“Call me later if you’re bored.”

The next hour and a half was filled with dancing, insults, and tears. Anytime Summer suggested a move, all the girls vetoed it. Then Lexi couldn’t get the new moves and ended up crying. Finally they called practice before anyone else could have a nervous breakdown.

Pulling her jacket tight against the cool air, Summer walked to her car. Troy’s Jeep sat a few spaces away from hers. She glanced around, but there was no sign of him. That boy is hiding something, and it’s got to be bad if he doesn’t want anyone to know what it is.

Summer climbed in her car and slammed the door. She didn’t want to think about Troy. Chevelle greeted her when she started up her car—nice and loud, just the way she liked it. As she drove away, her thoughts turned to Ashlyn. She waited until she reached a stoplight to grab her phone and call her. “So, I’m all danced out,”