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.”