Cipher (The Cipher Series) (20 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

Troy stood in front of his locker, looking as cute as ever.
Possibly even cuter than normal. His gaze was on the book in his hands, his eyebrows drawn together. His lips—the same lips he’d pressed against hers yesterday—were pursed in concentration.

Usually she’d stroll right up and start talking, no thought about how she looked or if she’d sound stupid.
Oh holy crap, I have no idea what to say to him now.
She almost chickened out and fled the scene, but then she told herself he’d helped her out yesterday. So no matter how awkward, she needed to go talk to him. And try to figure out if the attraction was one-sided, which would totally suck. Even though she’d decided to approach him, her feet remained planted.

Just get it over already.
Her heart picked up speed as she approached him, beating so fast she was slightly dizzy. “Good morning, Mister Bond.”

Why did my voice come out all squeaky? Two seconds in, and I’m already a wreck.

Troy flashed her a smile and draped his arm over her shoulders. “Hey, Sunshine. Are things better or worse today?”

“Well, I’m not sure. Yesterday’s practice was sorta like dance team gone rabid. Apparently Lexi’s decided that
I’m
the reason you didn’t keep going out with her.”

“She can definitely keep that blame all to herself.” Troy walked toward their classroom, keeping her next to him. “So you’re saying I made things worse?”

“No, I think your stunt was enough to at least keep Ashlyn out of the rumors. I’m sure they’ll come up with much more insulting things to spread around about me soon, though.”

“So you don’t need me to be your pretend boyfriend anymore?”

She looked at him, the words
I need you to be my real one
on the tip of her tongue. She wasn’t that bold, though
.
Just give me a hint. Something that says you want to be more than friends.

“Hey, Troy!” a guy yelled across the hall.

Troy gave the guy the nod. “What’s up, Tiny?”

Tiny?
The guy had light brown skin and an eyebrow piercing, was built like a linebacker, and had the deepest voice she’d ever heard in the halls of school. Calling him
Tiny
seemed like a good way to get punched in the face.

“
Need to talk to you,” Tiny said, jerking his head toward a less crowded area.

Troy dropped his arm from
Summer’s shoulders. “I’ll catch up with you in a second. Make sure no one takes my seat.”

In other words, you need me to get lost.
As Summer turned to walk into chemistry alone, her chest tightened. Why oh why, hadn’t she said she needed a pretend boyfriend for a little while? Maybe the
pretend
part could drop off in time. After seeing him again today, she knew what she hadn’t admitted to herself last night. She was already crazy about Troy, on the verge of getting hurt all over again if it went badly. And of course now she was only more curious about his extracurricular activities.

What exactly is he doing that makes him so popular with
everyone, that he also wants kept a secret?

Before lunch, Summer walked up to Troy, determined to figure him out. “How were your last few classes?”

“Boring. I prefer chemistry where I have you to talk to.” He tugged on her broken belt loop. “I like your pants, by the way. I see you’re taking this whole rebel thing very seriously.”

Purple paint from when she and Mom had painted Summer’s bedroom back in Chicago was splattered across the denim, and both knees had huge holes with white fringe hanging down the sides. “These used to be my favorite jeans. I still can’t find any that fit this good, so I can’t bear to throw them away. Honestly, it’s more of a sign of needing to do laundry than rebellion, though.”

Another tug on her belt loop.
“Well, whatever the reason, I say go with it.” He glanced at the large clock hanging on the cafeteria wall. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll catch you later.”

He turned to leave and she couldn’t hold it in anymore. “It seems you’re always rushing off, like you’re late to your underground resistance meeting or something.”

He threw his fist up. “
Viva la resistance
,” he said with a laugh. “Did you need something else before I go? You have another problem I can help you with?”

“Don’t you get sick of helping me with my problems?” she asked.

“No.” He stepped closer, and he was studying her so closely that heat crept into her neck, across her cheeks. Now she felt stupid. “I’m happy to help. Whatever you need. You know that.”

It took her a couple of seconds to find her voice again, but she figured now was as good a time as any to get answers. “Do you get sick of me?”

He frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“I just want to make sure.” Summer couldn’t figure him out. Sometimes he seemed to be all about her; other times he was in a huge hurry to get away. If he was as interested in her as she was in him, he’d want to stay, right? Or was she being needy? Ugh, liking him was making everything too complicated. Maybe she should just leave it as friends and forget about the kiss. Her gaze automatically drifted to his lips.

He put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m not trying to get away from you, I swear. But I really do have to go.”

“Okay, later then.” Frustration filled her as he walked away, and she wondered how she was going to get control over her sudden, overwhelming feelings for him on top of everything else.

Unfortunately, some problems you just have to fix yourself.

***

Clothes lay in piles all around Summer’s room, and she decided the laundry couldn’t wait any longer. Mrs. Crawford had sent her to the office earlier today. Apparently, the school has a dress code they sporadically enforce, and ripped jeans happened to be on the bad list. If she didn’t do her laundry, she’d have to wear the ripped jeans again, along with the kitty shirt Dad had bought her when she was in junior high. The other girls from the team had plenty of ammunition to throw at her already without adding a shirt that had never been cool in the first place.

She gathered her clothes into a giant heap and scooped as many items in her arms as she could carry. She spun around to take them to the laundry room.

And found herself face-to-face with Gabriella.

“Holy crap!” The clothes dropped to the floor as
Summer threw her hand over her heart. “Could you give a girl a little warning? I’m going to die of a heart attack before I can help anyone else.”

Gabriella cocked a brow. “I assumed you could sense it better. And I don’t like that saying, by the way. There’s no such thing as holy…most anything you people put after it, but especially not
that
.”

“Well, my mom said it all the time.”

“I hated it when she said it, too. In fact, she used the more profane version for years. I finally got her to break that, but she only swapped it for crap. Not much better, if you ask me.”

Summer stared at Gabriella as the impact of the words hit her. “Wait? You knew my mom?”

Gabriella’s eyes widened. “I… You see…” She sighed. “Yes, I knew her. Under normal circumstances, mothers are the ones who train their daughters for their Cipher jobs. But yours…ran out of time.”

Summer tried to get words out, but it took her a few seconds of unintelligible squeaks before she finally succeeded. “Why didn’t you mention that before?”

“It’s not easy, trying to figure out how much I can tell you. What will push you over the edge, what’s helpful and what’s not. I planned on mentioning it later, after you finished your job with Ashlyn, because I was afraid talking about your mother might slow you down. And honestly, dear, you’re working way too slowly already.”

“You didn’t think it might help me?”

Gabriella leaned a hip against the dresser. “You already had a hard time believing it all, and I was fairly certain bringing her into it would result in anger and most likely being called a liar. Plus, I know it’s a sensitive subject for you, and I didn’t want to make this more difficult.”

As much as she wanted to argue,
Summer was still having trouble wrapping her mind around it. Gabriella knew Mom.
But how? And when? And why didn’t she ever say anything?

“Wait. If she was supposed to train me, that must mean she was a Cipher, too.”

Gabriella nodded. “Her first case was shortly after her nineteenth birthday. Debra was a natural. In a matter of minutes, she’d get people to agree to whatever she wanted them to do.”

“She was good like that,” Summer said. “I remember when she talked me into wearing pigtails the first day of fourth grade, even though I argued I was too old. She also convinced me to help her teach some of the people at the nursing home to square dance—that ended up being pretty fun actually.” She smiled at all the things Mom had persuaded her to do.

As always, the other images involving Mom followed. The man with the gun. The aftermath. All that had happened because Summer couldn’t get her to stay.

Sorrow was reaching its long tentacles up, wrapping around her heart. But then she realized she’d never gotten a goodbye, and all the pieces didn’t quite make a complete picture. “I don’t understand. If my mom did this job, why didn’t anyone tell her to say goodbye to me and Dad before she left?”

“It’s complicated,” Gabriella said.

“Well uncomplicated it.”

“Another time. I came to talk about
your
case.”

Summer crossed her arms. “I’m not talking about my case unless you tell me why mom never said goodbye.”

“Oh, Summer Dear, you’re my most high-maintenance Cipher. I know you don’t have the training and that you’re young, but you want to know everything before you know anything.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,”
Summer said. Gabriella’s answers were always so infuriating, and she couldn’t hold back her frustration anymore. “Maybe if you stopped talking in code, you’d have time to explain. Or maybe it means you’ve got the wrong girl. Just because my mom was a Cipher doesn’t mean I can do it. Give it to someone else. I think I’m doing more damage than good anyway.”

“This is
exactly
why I didn’t tell you about your mother earlier.” Gabriella glanced at her watch and started talking at lightning speed. “Like I keep saying, no one else can help Ashlyn. Your mom’s mom was a Cipher, and her mom before that. The Cipher job is passed on to the eldest daughter, going back for generations. Once in a while a generation does get skipped. A girl isn’t ready. If that happens, her name doesn’t even come up.
Yours
came up. And you can see me, meaning not only can you do this, but you’re the
only
person who can do it. This isn’t like when someone slacks off and there’s another person to take her place. When you’re called, you’re the only one who can help that particular person.”

Gabriella sucked in a giant breath. Summer didn’t know if it was out of necessity or to show how exasperating she found her. “Now, as for your mom. What did she tell you every time before she left?”

The words Mom used to say any time she left, Dad left, or Summer left popped into her head. Whenever you parted from Mom, she said the exact same thing. “Be good. You’re awesome. I love you.”

“See. Because of her job, she knew how important it was to end on a good note. Your mom didn’t have to say goodbye. She didn’t
need
to make amends. She did it every time she said goodbye to someone she loved.”

Summer’s eyes stung, and she blinked away the hot tears, determined not to cry. “Did she know…? When it came to that last goodbye, did she know it was the last?”

Gabriella shook her head. “You can’t sense your own death coming. Only others’.”

Yes,
Summer saw others’. She saw her mom’s death before it came, and she was the one who didn’t say goodbye properly. It haunted her for months—it still haunted her.

Gabriella’s watch chimed. “I’m out of time—like beyond out of time. You know what you need to do. Now, do it.” Her outlined glimmered and then disappeared.

Summer sat on her bed and hugged her knees to her aching chest. She thought about how mad Gabriella had gotten when she’d messed with fate. But something stood out in her mind, something Gabriella had said the day Summer had tried to keep that guy from falling asleep at the wheel. Because of what she’d said, he’d changed his actions. Enough that the outcome almost changed, which meant it was possible.

I’ve just got to find a way to stop Ashlyn from dying. I’m going to do for her what I couldn’t do for my own mom.

I’m going to save her before it’s too late.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The sight of Ashlyn standing in the parking lot next to the beach pointing out an open spot instantly lifted
Summer’s spirits. She pulled into the space, grabbed her beach bag, and walked to where her best friend was waiting for her.

All week, she’d stuck by Ashlyn’s side, determined to keep her breathing. Summer “accidentally” bumped into her on a regular basis so the moment she saw her death coming she’d be able to stop it. Before she and Ashlyn headed to the water to catch some waves,
Summer planned on working in another bump or arm drape.

“So, you’ve been busy,” Ashlyn said. “I’ve heard you’ve been hooking up with every guy in school, which is weird considering you’ve been at my house most nights.”

It was also slightly ironic, considering why her relationship with Cody had ended. “Yeah, aren’t those rumors lovely? Someone used their finger to write ‘dirty whore’ in the dust collected on my car. It’s not my car’s fault she’s so promiscuous; I just drive her to wherever the gas is cheapest.”

Ashlyn laughed. “Your car
does
get around.” She draped her arm over Summer’s shoulders. “I’m sorry they’re so mean.”

Summer focused on the contact from Ashlyn, relieved when no scenes of death came to her. Now she could relax. “It’s okay. But only because I have you, and you’re obviously so much better anyway.”

“Obviously.” Ashlyn handed Summer the long board, grabbed her own surf board, and then they headed down the wooden steps leading to the beach.

Ashlyn dropped her board onto the wet sand, just out of the reach of the incoming waves. “So, how was dance practice this morning?”

Usually Saturdays were free days, but Kendall had called an emergency practice because they “looked like uncoordinated monkeys out there.” The rest of the girls practically worshiped her for saying so, too. Summer just went along with it, stubbornly determined to keep her spot, regardless of how much they pushed.

Summer zipped up her wetsuit. “Oh, the usual. Dirty looks, insults on my dancing, face, hair, clothes—you name it, they thought of it. I still rock, though, and I think they even realize they need me on the team to do well at the State Competition. Even a small change now would be a detriment to our routine.”

Ashlyn shielded her eyes with her hand and peered out at the ocean. “Well the good news is, it looks like a great day for surfing. You ready to ride your troubles away?”

“Oh, I was born ready!” She lowered her eyebrows. “You know, that saying really doesn’t make sense. I mean, I couldn’t even walk, much less hold a surfboard, when I was born.”

“In theory, you know how to swim when you’re born, though. Have you seen those crazy moms who toss their babies in the water and see if they go to town paddling their little arms and legs?”

“That doesn’t seem right,” Summer said.

“I know. It’s freaky.” Ashlyn’s gaze returned to the ocean. “Okay. Back on track. Last one in the water is a… I can’t think of anything appropriate. It’s another one of those sayings that people always say but doesn’t really make sense.” She shook her head. “I think I’ve been hanging out with you too much. Now I can’t say anything without remarking on its meaning.”

Summer smiled. “I think that’s awesome. No one will understand us, but we’ll understand each other.”

“And you know that’s going to make so many people very sad.”

“Because we’re so popular?”

Ashlyn laughed. “Because we’re so awesome.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And no one will even know.”

Summer leaned in, ready to add to the conspiracy. “We’re like undercover awesome.”

“Exactly. And that’s the best kind of awesome. If people knew, we’d have fans stalking us. Things would be so hectic.”

“Then we’d have to wear big, hiding-from-the-paparazzi shades and complain about how hard our life is.”

Ashlyn laughed. “Word.” She grabbed her board. “Now let’s get into the water before we start another conversation that has no end.”

“I just want to point out that
you
started that one.”

“Hey,” a male voice called, and
Summer spun around to see Troy jogging over to them, surfboard tucked under his arm. “I thought you girls would be in the water by now.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and hung on her, as if he needed to catch his breath from his short jog. It was another one of those flirty things that confused her because she wasn’t sure if it was a friendly gesture or an I-wanna-be-more gesture. “Sorry, I’m late. I had a thing.”

And then there was still the fact that he always had to be somewhere else, without ever explaining why. Summer shot him a sidelong glance. “A thing? Yes, I’ve heard that
things
can be very important.”

“Are you mocking me, Sunshine?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare, Mister Bond. Not when you have mysterious
things
going on.”

“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.”

“
Ooh
, sounds intriguing,” Ashlyn said. “What cause are you fighting for?”

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
so
lucky to get a few hours of your time.”

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.”

Yeah, ever since your friend Tiny showed up and you made it clear I should get lost.
“I’m not mad. It’s just been a rough week.”
And I can’t deal with you if you’re only going to confuse me more.

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
could
talk about, anyway. “I was just giving you a bad time. Thanks for coming and hanging with us. I mean that, I swear.”

Ashlyn rode past them. As the wave petered out, Ashlyn lost her footing and the board pitched forward, throwing her backward into the water.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wipe out like that before. Not when the water’s so smooth.

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
.

Don’t freak out. You need to keep your head clear enough to help.
Summer ripped off her cuff, took a deep breath, and plunged into the ocean. Murky salt water stung her eyes as she tried to look around. She couldn’t see Ashlyn or Troy, and soon the need for oxygen overpowered her. She pushed herself to the surface and took a couple deep breaths.

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.

I messed up. I’m too late. I didn’t even get her to make up with her mom.
Guilt ripped through her, and tears sprung to her eyes, mixing with the salt water dripping down her face.

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.
I can’t believe he’s not backing me up here!
Of course, he didn’t have the whole truth. He didn’t know about Ashlyn’s looming death. That Summer had thought that death had come before she’d done her job. “Fine. You better hurry off to your thing, so you’re not late. I’ll take Ashlyn home and see what her mom thinks.”

“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
would
turn this into a lesson for what happens if you’re out of shape. Ash clearly didn’t want Troy to know about it either, so Summer decided to drop it. Even though she really,
really
didn’t want to. “I won’t say anything. Let’s go to my place and relax for a little while, then. Deal?”

“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 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.”