Cipher

“Did you give him any hint at all?” Ashlyn asked.

Summer stared out over the endless blue-green waves. “I said I wanted things to go back to the way they were before I kissed him.”

“Liar.”

“Hey!” Summer kicked water at her, and Ashlyn dodged it with a laugh. “Are we going to surf, or are we going to talk boys?”

Ashlyn smiled an up-to-no-good smile. “I choose boys.”

“Liar.”

“You’re right. Let’s surf. I don’t want to think about boys until I’m freaking out about my date.”

Summer dropped her board into the water. “Until then.”

* * *

This was it. The moment she was going to inform Pamela that her daughter didn’t have long to live. It wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, there was a good chance she might puke before she got out the words. But then she’d explain how she was going to try to stop Ashlyn’s death—she’d tell her that they should still prepare for the worst, though. It had to work. It just had to.

Sucking in a giant breath, Summer walked into the kitchen, where Pamela was sitting on a barstool, ever- present water bottle in front of her. She stepped right in front of Ashlyn’s mom and told herself to be strong, no matter what. “I have to tell you something.” Well, the tremble in her voice wasn’t as strong as she wanted, but she’d gotten out the words.

Pamela dropped her fitness magazine onto the counter and glared up at her. “Oh goody. More advice from a teenager.”

“It’s just that Ashlyn… Ashlyn is going to…” Summer’s tongue felt too big for her mouth, and the words wouldn’t form. No sound came out when she tried again. Twice more, and nothing still, even when she attempted to shout it. She literally couldn’t tell her.

Fine. I won’t say it okay? Summer silently pleaded with whoever was listening.

Her throat relaxed her tongue felt normal again. Summer rubbed her tight jaw, while Pamela sat, staring at her, not bothering to hide how annoyed she was. She searched for something else to say. “Ashlyn is going to be nervous for her date, and I was hoping you could tell her how awesome she looks right before she leaves. You know, since I won’t be here to amp her up.”

“Sure. I’ll tell her.” Pamela’s expression made it clear she thought the request was ridiculous, but maybe it would be enough to squeeze a compliment out of her anyway.

“Thanks.” Summer grabbed two Diet Cokes out of the fridge. On her way back to Ashlyn’s room, she worked to clear her mind. Maybe if she took a more spontaneous approach she’d have more luck. “Here’s your Coke.” Summer set one can on the dresser, then popped hers open.

“This shirt?” Ashlyn held a black top over her T-shirt. “Or this one?” A purple scoop-neck top replaced the black.

“Ashlyn, you’re going to—” Summer’s throat tightened, and her tongue felt too big, the same way it had when she’d tried to tell Pamela. That was as spontaneous as she could get, and it still hadn’t worked.

“I’m going to what?”

Clearing her throat gave Summer the needed seconds to recover and think of something else. “You’re going to look awesome in either.”

“I think I’ll go with the purple. Help me choose some shoes.”

Summer moved to the closet and stood next to Ashlyn. A variety of shoes lined the floor. “Comfy or looks?”

“Looks, of course,” Ashlyn said. “Don’t you remember how shallow I am?”

Summer smiled and pointed to the black boots with the four-inch heels. “Those then.” The heels should make her feel awesome, even if her mom failed to. “You’re wrong, though. You’re not shallow.”

“So now would probably be the wrong time to tell you I rented that boxing movie with the hot guys, planning to watch it on mute?”

“Well, as long as I’m invited to watch it with you, I see nothing wrong with that.”

Ashlyn grinned at her. “Who would help me fill in the voices if you’re not here to help?”

“See, that’s not shallow, though. That’s just good, wholesome entertainment.” Summer took a swig of her soda. “You get me, Ash. Not a lot of people do, but you and I are like…” Summer made the eye-to-eye signal.

“We’re like ninjas,” Ashlyn said, holding her hands up in her best ninja stance.

“Right.” Summer laughed. “Exactly like ninjas.”

Ashlyn grabbed her Diet Coke off the dresser and popped it open. “I can’t believe we’ve only been hanging out for like, what is it? A little over a month now?”

“Sounds about right.” Summer knew all too well how much time had passed. Too much time. Weeks without making any progress.

“It seems like forever. In a good way. I missed you like crazy those few days when…Well, all that stupid stuff happened that I don’t want to think about.”

“Aw, I missed you like crazy, too.” Unexpected tears formed in Summer’s eyes, and she quickly blinked them away, hoping Ashlyn didn’t see them. “It pisses me off to think of all those months we spent not being friends. All that wasted time.”

Ashlyn held up her can. “A toast. To not wasting any more time and making sure our last year of high school rocks.”

Summer clanged her can against Ashlyn’s, unable to say anything for fear her shaky voice would give away the intense sadness that had settled over her. Now she needed a new plan. Judging from the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, it needed to be sooner rather than later.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When Summer awoke, a pounding headache accompanied the churning in her stomach. She’d fallen asleep fully dressed, without dinner—she barely remembered coming home yesterday. She’d felt ill the entire drive from Ashlyn’s, her mind spinning to come up with a new plan, and fast.

Groaning, she sat up and looked around. I wonder how Ashlyn’s date went last night. Her cell wasn’t on her dresser or her nightstand. It wasn’t in her pocket either. Must still be in my car.

She stood and stretched her arms over her head. “Whoa,” she said when her reflection greeted her. Her curls were out of control, her eye makeup smudged. She wiped off all the leftover mascara she could without help of soap and water and slipped on her flip flops.

Dad came out of his room as Summer entered the hall. “You seemed pretty out of it last night when I got home. You okay?”

Summer covered a yawn with her hand. “Uh-huh. Just catching up on all the sleep I’ve missed lately, I guess.”

“Tiffany’s coming over in a few minutes. I’d appreciate it if you at least spent some time with us before running off.”

“I was planning on heading to Ashlyn’s.”

Dad’s shoulders slumped, giving him that whole deflated look. She didn’t have a lot of time, but she supposed she shouldn’t push away her family while trying to fix someone else’s. “But not till later,” she said. “So I can spend a few hours with you and. . . Tiffany.”

“How ‘bout I take us all out to a nice Sunday brunch, then?”

“As long as you’re not cooking, I’m down for whatever.”

Dad mocked hurt. “Hey.”

“I love you and all, but man, you’re an awful cook.” She gave him a consoling pat on the shoulder and then jerked her thumb toward the stairs. “I left my phone in my car. I’m gonna go check the messages, and then I’ll