Summer heard Dad toss his keys into the dish next to the door—somehow she’d missed the sound of him pulling into the garage. Knowing he’d come around the corner any minute, she pushed back the weird thoughts swimming through her head and focused on appearing normal.
Dad walked into the room and glanced at the television. “Whatchya watching?”
“Nothing really.” Summer picked up the remote and clicked off the TV. “I was about to make dinner. Is Tiffany coming over?”
“She has to work late tonight.”
Summer did her best to keep her face neutral instead of smiling at that joyous bit of news. Dad’s girlfriend was a lot to deal with, even on a normal night when Summer hadn’t been told she needed to help out a soon-to-be-dead person. “I’ll warm up a can of soup and make grilled cheese.”
“Sounds good.” Dad pulled at his tie, sliding the knot away from his collar. “You going out tonight?”
“Yeah, Cody and I are doubling with Kendall and Jack. Cody’s supposed to be here about seven to pick me up.”
“He still driving that giant SUV?”
“I’m sure he is.” Summer already knew what was coming next.
“I’m glad you’ll be one of the biggest vehicles on the road, but those things have horrible blind spots.”
“I’ll help him check them. And I’ll make sure he doesn’t roll us either,” she added before he said anything about it. As an insurance claims adjuster, Dad’s job entailed studying and assessing wrecked vehicles. His lectures about driving safety were lengthy, to say the least.
Before he decided to start one, she headed to the kitchen to prepare a meal that passed for gourmet in this house. A meal Tiffany would scoff at or somehow try to turn into a five-course meal. She wished her dad’s girlfriend didn’t bug her so much—that she could be happy her dad had someone. But she didn’t like the fact that he was dating at all. And if he did have to, she didn’t want to witness it.
The phone rang while she was slicing cheese. “Why aren’t you answering your cell?” Kendall asked. “I’ve been trying to call you for, like, an hour.”
“I left it in my car.” Summer tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder so she could finish assembling the sandwiches while she chatted with her best friend. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to tell you to wear something special tonight.”
“And here I was planning on wearing my un-special outfit.” Summer placed the sandwiches in the skillet.
A couple seconds passed before Kendall said anything. “You know what I think of your sarcasm,” Kendall said, and her annoyed expression popped into Summer’s head. Kendall’s idea of funny didn’t exactly coincide with hers. “I also wanted to ask your opinion on movies to rent, but since you didn’t answer your phone, I had to do my best. We probably won’t end up watching it anyway. So, did you see what Lizzie Harris was wearing today? I feel so bad for the fashion-challenged.”
Summer pictured Lizzie’s too short pants with her electric blue heels. “It’s like she was trying so hard, but didn’t quite get it.”
“I know. It’s sad how hard people try to be cool. You really can’t force it. Speaking of fashion, I was thinking about wearing my new necklace. The one I got at the mall last weekend. What do you think?”
Summer tried to inject enthusiasm into her words. If she didn’t sound excited enough, Kendall accused her of not caring. “I think it would look awesome with that pink shirt you bought.”
“You’re totally right.” There was a pause. “Hey, I’m getting called down for dinner. See you in an hour.”
Summer hung up the phone and moved the bubbling soup off the burner. As she grabbed a couple of bowls and started dishing up dinner, her thoughts moved to tonight’s plans. With any luck, hanging out with everyone would get her mind off the thing she couldn’t stop thinking about. Death wasn’t exactly a good party topic.
Cody turned down the radio. “You okay, baby? You haven’t said much since I picked you up.”
Summer’s attention turned from the palm trees she’d been watching whiz by outside the window to her boyfriend. He got upset if anyone called him a pretty boy, but his full lips, baby blues, and the blond hair framing his face didn’t exactly dispute the pretty title.
Summer reached over and grabbed his hand. “I’m okay.”
He lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers, then turned down the road to Jack’s place. She wanted to be able to tell Cody about the encounter she’d had with Gabriella—to have someone listen and help her sort it out. But knowing how crazy her story would sound, she decided to keep it to herself. Cody was a good boyfriend for the most part. He said sweet things, called when he said he’d call, and when Jenna Cambell had thrown herself at him, he’d resisted her advances. Sometimes she wished she trusted him on a deeper level, that she could tell him her innermost thoughts and feelings. That was a lot to ask of anyone, though, especially of a boy whose life was focused on the next big game.
He parked in front of Jack’s house, then hurried around the vehicle and opened the door for her. When they reached the front door, Kendall opened it before they even rang the doorbell. “Come on in,” she said. Her long platinum hair was secured with a barrette that matched the necklace she was wearing. Both sparkled as they caught the light.
“That necklace looks great with your new shirt,” Summer said. The compliment was more required than sincere, though her friend did look nice. “You look awesome as usual.”
“You, too. Glad I talked you into buying those jeans.” Kendall wrinkled her nose. “So much better than that first pair you picked out.”
Jack showed up behind Kendall and tucked his chin on her shoulder. “As fascinating as this fashion-tip session is, baby, I think it’s time for dessert.” He kissed Kendall’s cheek, and Summer wondered if he meant he was having her for dessert—they had no problem with letting everyone know how they felt about each other. But then his gaze moved back to Summer and Cody. “My mom made a chocolate cake. You guys want some?”
Summer’s stomach growled, like it’d heard the suggestion and wanted to announce its intentions. “You know I won’t pass up cake.”
“Boy, do I know,” Kendall said. “I have no idea how you eat as much as you do and still stay skinny.”
Cody wrapped his arms around her waist. “It just all goes to her boobs.”
“Cody!” Summer glared at him over her shoulder.
“What? I’m not complaining; I like it.” His hands drifted up to the assets he’d just mentioned and she pulled away. He shrugged and aimed his next comment at Jack. “She’s in a bad mood. Nothing some chocolate won’t fix.”
Teeth clenched, Summer moved for the kitchen. She’d love to be joking around, but he was right about the bad mood. Thinking about death all afternoon could do that to a person. It also confirmed that Cody wasn’t someone she could open up to about it.
Jack grabbed forks out of a drawer and tossed all but one of them onto the table. Using the fork in his hand, he dug into the pan.
Kendall smacked his hand, and the bite of cake fell off his fork. “Could you at least pretend to be civilized and get some plates?”
Jack stared into the pan, a frown on his face. “You made me drop my cake.”
Kendall shot him a look that made him walk across the kitchen and retrieve the plates, then played hostess, dishing everyone out a piece.
The guys scarfed down their pieces in a few bites. “We’re going to go get the movie ready,” Cody said, a smear of chocolate still on his lips. At one point in their relationship, Summer might’ve walked over and licked it off for him. Now he took those gestures to mean she was ready for things she wasn’t.
“You girls take your time,” Jack added before the two of them disappeared into the other room. Summer knew they wanted to hurry and get a few rounds of videogames in. It’s not like it took twenty minutes to get a DVD ready.