Cipher

going to give up all his other girls for me. She couldn’t watch anymore, so she hid between the buildings. There was no way she was going to walk past the two of them right now. She was the girl he was around all the time—the one who talked to him about you know. It made Summer feel like an even bigger idiot for thinking they’d shared something more than a kiss today.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Ashlyn’s number. She swore when she got the voicemail. “Ashlyn, please pick up. I really need to talk to you. I’m sorry about everything, and I really need to hear your voice. Please call me back.”

Summer peeked around the corner. Troy opened the passenger-side door for the amazon-volleyball-player girl. He pulled out his phone as he walked around the Jeep. Summer’s phone rang, vibrating in her pocket. Eager to talk to Ashlyn, she dug it out.

Ashlyn’s name didn’t show up, though. Troy’s did. He’s calling me while he’s practically on a date? Maybe he wanted to tell her today was a mistake—try to sugarcoat his we’ll-just-be-friends spiel. Or maybe he wanted to keep her on the back burner with the rest of his girls. Either way, she couldn’t talk to him now. In fact, she felt like she’d never be able to talk to him again.

He climbed inside his Jeep and drove away, his and Cara’s outlines visible for a moment before they disappeared into the evening to do whatever they were going to do. Summer tried the text message approach with Ashlyn.

Ash, please call me. Need to talk. Today sucked without you.

She slowly made her way to the Civic, hoping it’d give Ashlyn time to reply. She glanced in the direction the Jeep had disappeared. What was I thinking, kissing Troy? Of course he kissed her back. He was a guy. That was what they cared about. It didn’t mean they wanted a girlfriend or wouldn’t get what else they “needed” somewhere else. Now, she’d ruined things between them for good.

And on top of that mess, Ashlyn wouldn’t even answer the phone or text her back.

Chapter Twenty-Six

As sick as Summer had gotten of hearing about the pep rally all week and how important it was, nailing the dance routine in front of the school had given her that rush that made it worth the fight to keep performing. Bonus, Kendall had gotten permission for them to skip first period to practice the routine and help the cheerleaders set up, which had saved her from an awkward Troy encounter. That drama was going to have to wait. Today was about getting her friendship with Ashlyn back on track.

As the students spilled out of the bleachers, Summer searched for Ashlyn’s face among the crowd.

“You looked good out there,” Summer heard. She turned and saw Cody. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped closer. “Look, Summer, I’m sorry about how messed up everything’s gotten with us. I feel like an ass.”

“Well, you’ve been an ass, so that seems appropriate,” she said. His face dropped, and she decided she should try to say something nice. After all, she’d had her jerk moments, too. “I guess we both made some mistakes.”

He stood there, nodding, looking like he wanted to say more.

Summer felt obligated to fill in the awkward silence. “So….good luck on the game tomorrow.”

“Thanks. It’s gonna be a tough one, but don’t worry; we’ll come out on top. By the way, you guys looked great out there, getting your dance on. I’m sure you’ll do awesome at the State Competition.”

For all the times she thought he was simply ignoring her when she talked about dancing, it appeared he actually knew how important it was to her. Maybe eventually, they could even be sorta friends. “Thanks, Cody.”

Jenna walked up, snaked her arm around Cody’s waist, and glared at Summer. “I’d appreciate it if you stopped trying to throw yourself at Cody.”

Summer blinked, the accusation taking a moment to register. “We were just talking, so you can go ahead and take it down about twenty notches.”

“It was no big deal,” Cody said. “Really.”

Jenna stepped forward, shoving her face in Summer’s. “I don’t buy that innocent act. I’m not going to stand by and watch you try to steal my boyfriend.”

“Oh, like you didn’t hit on him when I was out of town, back when he was still my boyfriend.”

“Don’t blame me that you don’t know how to keep your man. You’re just jealous because it’s obvious how much more satisfied he is with me.”

Summer clenched her teeth. “If you thought he was so satisfied, you wouldn’t feel the need to come over and go crazy on me for just talking to him.” Heat was rising through her body and her muscles were tensing. She shook her head. “You know what, you’re not worth it.”

Jenna shoved her, sending her stumbling backward. Summer barely managed to keep her balance. Her mouth dropped and the thin strand of control she had on her temper started to fray. Cody was tugging at Jenna, obviously trying to get her to walk away, but she was yelling and pushing him, acting like she was going to come at Summer again. “Don’t defend her,” she yelled at Cody, fighting to get around him. “I want to settle this right here, right now.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t touch her again.” Ashlyn stepped up next to Summer and glared at Jenna.

And just like that, Summer didn’t care about Jenna or the fact that she’d shoved her anymore. Ashlyn cared enough to defend her, and that was all that mattered. “It’s okay, Ash. Let’s just go.”

“You think I’m scared of you because you’re twice my size.” Jenna pulled away from Cody. “Bring it on, fatty!”

Thoughts fled; the thread snapped. Summer lunged at Jenna, planning on doing a lot more than shoving. Cody cut her off just before she could get her hands around the girl’s neck, keeping himself between them.

“You think I’m scared of you?” Jenna shrieked. “You’re lucky Cody’s holding me back.”

Ashlyn yelled something at Jenna that Summer couldn’t make out because she was trying to break away from Cody, Jenna yelled back, and Cody repeatedly suggested everyone calm down.

“All of you, get to the office now!” Mrs. Crawford bellowed. She and another teacher pushed their way through the crowd that had gathered.

Summer turned to Mrs. Crawford. “But she’s the one who—”

“Not another word!” Mrs. Crawford jabbed a finger toward the exit. “To the office. Now!”

Mrs. Crawford marched Summer, Ashlyn, and Jenna down the hall into the office. She pointed to one side of the room. “Jenna, you sit over there.” She turned to Ashlyn and Summer. “You two over there.” She told the secretary to make sure they stayed on their opposing sides before disappearing into the principal’s office.

The anger that’d been pumping through Summer cooled a few notches. Okay, so maybe lunging at Jenna wasn’t the smartest move. She swore she’d never be one of those ghetto chicks who got into a fight at school, yet here she was, awaiting punishment.

She glanced at Ashlyn. “Thanks for coming to my defense,” she whispered. “I know it’s only been a few days, but it seems like forever. I really missed you.”

Ashlyn put her hands over her heart. “I missed you, too. I’m sorry I’ve been so dumb.”

“I was dumb, too. You can make your own decisions. I just care about you.”

“I know,” Ashlyn said, sounding like she might cry. “Let’s never fight again.” Her gaze flicked to Jenna. “With each other.”

Jenna’s eyes widened, and Summer threw her hand to her mouth to cover her laughter.

“I wonder how much trouble we’re in,” Summer said, trying to see through the office window—Mrs. Crawford had never liked her. Right now, the woman was probably painting Summer as the troublemaker, even though this was the first time she’d been at trouble in school. Besides the ripped pants thing.

Ashlyn shrugged. “My mother will probably consider a fight exercise. Maybe she’ll come in and talk Mr. Strider out of punishing us.”

Summer laughed again, and Ashlyn joined in.