Cipher

Chapter Seventeen

Summer walked across the cafeteria and sat down in her usual spot next to Marcie. “This day’s been hell.”

“The girls aren’t playing nice?” Ashlyn asked.

“That’s an understatement. I’ve been called things I’m not even sure what are, some I wished I didn’t know what were, and I feel like I’m wearing a Give Me Evil Glares sign.” Summer twisted so Marcie and Ashlyn could see her back. “I’m not, right?”

“No sign, so they must’ve passed it through the Air Heads ‘R’ Us Network earlier.”

“Okay, that? That deserves a high-five.” Summer lunged across the table and smacked Ashlyn’s hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, Summer saw Troy heading their way. Her heart beat picked up speed, each beat tripping over itself, anticipation swirling through her stomach.

Then that stupid volleyball-player girl that kept popping up everywhere cut him off. Summer shoved a handful of Cheetos in her mouth, chewing as she stared at the two of them together. “Who’s the girl Troy’s talking to?” she asked, trying to sound casual, as if jealousy wasn’t stirring in her stomach, ruining her nuclear orange lunch.

Ashlyn peeked around Summer’s head. “Not sure. Marcie, do you know who Troy’s talking to?”

Marcie craned her neck to see them. “Um, I’m pretty sure her name is Cara.”

“She’s pretty,” Summer said, wishing she wasn’t. When she’d asked Troy about Lexi, he’d said he liked someone else. No doubt Cara was the someone else. “She and Troy seem to hang out a lot. Seems like there might be something else going on there, too.”

Ashlyn raised an eyebrow. “I was wondering about you two, actually.”

“Me and Troy?”

Ashlyn nodded. “I thought I caught a vibe.”

“Anytime he’s around, there’s definitely a vibe,” Marcie said, a dreamy edge to her words. The two girls leaned in, looking like they were waiting for Summer to give them the scoop.

Lately, she got this strange tugging sensation in her heart whenever she was around Troy. Or looked at him. Or thought of him. Which she’d been doing a lot. But that was crazy. They were just friends. If they were going to be more, it would’ve happened already.

Ashlyn and Marcie were still staring, eyebrows raised.

“I just don’t want him to get a girlfriend right now,” Summer said, trying to convince herself that was all there was to it. “His last girlfriend hated me, then I started dating Cody, and Troy and I stopped hanging out. I really don’t want to go back to not hanging out.” She glanced back at Troy and Cara—still talking, ugh—then looked at Ashlyn. “Speaking of boys, how are things with Matt? Is Spanish class muy caliente?”

Ashlyn tried to act like she didn’t care, but her smile betrayed her. “I talked to him a little bit, but I keep hesitating. Because of how things happened with my last boyfriend.”

“And that was…?”

Ashlyn looked around, then whispered, “Not here. We’ll have to discuss him later.”

“So spill,” Summer said, flopping down on the bed next to Ashlyn. After practice she’d needed a friend, so she’d driven over to finish the chat they’d started over lunch. “I want to know why you’re not planning a hot date with Matt.”

“Okay, so I told you how my last boyfriend kept pressuring me to have sex.”

Summer nodded. “Yeah. I got that feeling, anyway, though you didn’t exactly spell it out.”

“I wasn’t sure I was ready for the next step, but he definitely was. It wasn’t like I had other boys knocking down my door either, so I went ahead and had sex with him, thinking I had to get it over with sometime.”

“And how was it?”

“Well, it was a bit awkward at first. Mother’s made me plenty paranoid about my body, so I was mostly terrified about that. But you know, once we got going, it was nice.” Ashlyn’s cheeks turned pink and she suddenly became very interested in a fuzzy piece of lint on her bedspread. “And it was even better the next time. But then we broke up a few weeks later, and I felt used. It seemed like he was only in it for that one thing, got what he wanted, and then I was history. I wish I would’ve been stronger, like you were.”

“Like at the party when I almost kissed Cody? Obviously, I’m not that strong.” Summer covered Ashlyn’s hand with hers. “And you’re stronger than you think. When I first tried to hang out with you and the rest of The Misfits, you set me straight. You made sure to let me know I couldn’t mess with your friends.”

Ashlyn wrinkled her nose. “I was kind of mean.”

“But you had a good reason. I admire you. You’re strong, but sometimes”—Summer bumped her shoulder into Ashlyn’s—“you’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there.”

“You think I should go for Matt?”

“I do. But actually, I’m talking about your mom. Tell her how you feel.”

Ashlyn frowned. “Why are you so obsessed with making things right with me and my mom?”

“I guess it’s because I don’t have my mom here to talk to anymore.” The familiar ache rose up. She hadn’t really realized it before, but now she’d said it, she realized there was truth to it.

Ashlyn’s face dropped. “I’m sorry, Summer. I didn’t think about it like that. I swear, I’ll try to give my mother a break. Just for you.”

Summer smiled, thrilled she’d made progress. Where was Gabriella now? Strike that; she didn’t want her to come barging in right now. She’d only say it wasn’t good enough.

“Oh, I love this song.” Ashlyn jumped up, using her thumb for a microphone and belting out the words along with the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs.

Summer joined in and they danced and sang around the room. By the chorus, Summer was laughing too hard to continue singing. She dropped onto Ashlyn’s bed and grinned at her friend. “You know what’s so awesome about you?”

“Everything?” Ashlyn asked with a laugh, then sat next to Summer. “Kidding, of course.”

“No, you’re right. It’s everything. But I especially love that we could be doing absolutely nothing and I still have a blast. I’m going to go ahead and get all gushy. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

Ashlyn broke into a wide, open smile. “Aw, thanks. You’re my best friend, too.”

Warmth filled Summer’s chest as she returned Ashlyn’s smile. Then came the painful, lung-crushing realization that her best friend was going to die.