Summer glanced up as Ashlyn walked back into the room. “I accidentally knocked your bag off the bed, and I was picking it up, and…” She held up the diet pills. “I found these. You’re not still taking them are you?”
Ashlyn ripped them out of Summer’s hand. “You act like it’s crack or something. Just leave me alone about it.”
Come to think of it, Summer hadn’t seen Ashlyn eat much in days. “Did you eat dinner?”
“Of course I did. I even got snacks.”
“Carrot sticks? You didn’t even get your usual Diet Coke.”
Ashlyn crossed her arms. “You know, I don’t feel like a movie anymore.”
Summer stood up. “Oh, come on, Ash. I’m worried about you. I just want you to be happy with yourself.”
“Well, I’m not. Especially right now. I feel tired, actually. Maybe we should do the movie another night.”
Summer’s throat tightened. “But we haven’t hung out in forever, and I’ve been looking forward to this all day. Please, let’s just watch the movie. I won’t say a thing.”
“It’s too late to not say a thing. I’ll talk to you later, when I don’t feel like crap.”
Summer’s heart fell into her stomach. Not only had she pissed off Pamela, she’d also pissed off Ashlyn. She reached out and squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “That’s really not what I meant to do.”
“I know.” A tear ran down Ashlyn’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”
“Okay, if that’s really what you want.” Summer waited for her to say it wasn’t, but she didn’t. “See you tomorrow.”
Without a word, Ashlyn headed over to her dresser and snatched the iPod off it. Summer walked out of the room, down the hall, which seemed twice as long as usual. This night hadn’t gone at all the way it was supposed to.
Pamela was sitting on the couch, watching television. “I hope that know-it-all head of yours fits out the door.”
No response seemed like a good one, so Summer simply left. She could handle Pamela being annoyed, but the fact she’d hurt Ashlyn’s feelings made her gut clench. By the time she made it to the car, she felt so sad it seemed like she’d never be happy again.
Troy’s Jeep was parked in front of her house when she pulled into her driveway. Summer flipped down her visor and looked at her ragged reflection. Every time Troy was around, she managed to look like hell. Taking a deep breath to prepare, she headed inside, and followed the blare of the television.
Dad picked up the remote and hit the pause button. “Hey, kid. I thought you’d be at Ashlyn’s ‘till late.”
“Ash was tired, so we chatted for a few minutes, and then I took off.”
“Well, Troy said he had some time to kill, so we’ve been watching UFC fights. It’s nice having a guy around. This kid knows his stuff.” Dad scooted to the edge of the couch. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“You can’t leave now,” Troy said. “We’ve got to finish this fight at least.”
Summer sat next to Troy. “Yeah, Dad, finish the fight. I don’t mind.”
“You’re just trying to butter me up,” Dad said.
Summer smiled at him. “And what’s wrong with that?”
Dad leaned back and pressed play, and the fighters on the television commenced trying to beat the crap out of each other.
“Something wrong?” Troy whispered.
Summer shook her head. “I’m fine.” She was getting so sick of saying that, when the truth was she was freaking falling apart. Her best friend had asked her to leave. Pamela wanted to crush her, the way the guys on the television screen were crushing each other.
They watched until one of the bloody, battered men was declared the winner. Dad turned the volume way down and looked at Summer. “Hey, before I forget, I need you home tomorrow. Tiffany wants to make us dinner again. She feels really badly about last night.”
Summer groaned. She didn’t have time to deal with Tiffany. She needed to do some serious damage control with Ashlyn and Pamela.
“Summer doesn’t like my girlfriend,” Dad said, apparently thinking Troy needed to know.
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.” Dad turned off the TV and tossed the remote on the coffee table, leaving the room way too quiet all of a sudden.
Troy’s phone beeped and he glanced at it. “My mom. I’ve gotta get home.”
Dying to know if he was telling the truth, she tried to get a quick look at his screen, but he was too fast. He stood, and she felt like it was so unfair that he was leaving, even though she wasn’t sure how to be around him these days.
She pushed herself off the couch. “I’ll walk you out.”
“I’m giving you five minutes,” Dad said. “Which is pretty generous considering you’re still awaiting sentencing for yesterday’s offense.” He raised an eyebrow at her, so much warning in that tiny movement.
The cool night hair cut through Summer’s thin shirt, despite the fact that she was wearing long sleeves. She and Troy walked in silence over to his Jeep. She wasn’t sure why she’d wanted to walk him out. Only that she needed to be around him for a few more minutes, even if things were weird.
Troy bumped his hip into hers. “Thanks for walking me out, Sunshine. You’re a real gentleman.”
Summer couldn’t help return his smile. “Well, I know how scared you are of the dark.”
He glanced back at the house, and she did, too, thinking Dad must be standing in the doorway watching them or something. If he was, she sure didn’t see him. “You know, I actually enjoyed hanging out with your dad tonight,” Troy said. “You should give him a break.”
“What do you mean, I should give him a break?”
“He’s worried about you. I told him you were okay, because hell, I didn’t know what else to say, and he looked so stressed out about it. Maybe I shouldn’t have assured him everything was cool with you. Maybe I’m making it worse.”
“No, I’m glad that you did.” She put her hand on his arm. “Thanks. Sorry you had to deal with that. And I’m sorry he got all weird about his girlfriend. It’s not that I don’t like her. She’s just not…”
“Your mom.”
“She’s nothing like her, and I don’t understand how he can even like someone who’s so opposite of her. Of us.”
“I’m sure it’s good for him to try to move on and be happy,” Troy said. “You both deserve to be happy.”
Every time she was around Troy, he knew exactly what to say to make her fall apart. She bit back the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes. “I know you’re right, but I have a hard time letting my mom go. I just keep thinking if I would’ve stopped my mom that morning, then none of this would’ve happened. He wouldn’t need a new girlfriend.”
Troy put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in her the eye. “You can’t do that. It’s not like you could’ve changed it.”
Oh, hell, the tears were coming. “That’s not true. I knew something bad was going to happen. I had a really bad feeling that morning before she left. I tried to talk her out of it…” She clenched her jaw to kill the sob in her throat. “But she went anyway.”
“You can’t torture yourself with the past.”
The images were torture. Something tickled Summer’s memory as the quick flashes she saw if she let her guard down started up—but there was something new, in the far corner of her mind. She almost had a grasp of it, then Troy spoke again. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?”
His features came back into focus, the streetlight casting them in sharp relief. “I’ll tell you my secret if you tell me yours.” As much as she wanted to know his, she’d have to edit several details out of hers. In fact, she couldn’t really tell him. He’d think she was insane.
A slow grin spread across his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sunshine. I’ll save you your usual spot in chemistry. We both know that trying to sit away from me didn’t work.”
There was no way his secret was as awful as hers, yet he seemed as reluctant to share it. “Goodnight, Mister Bond.”
