A dreamy look crossed her features. “I’m not sure what exactly we’re doing, but I’m pretty excited. And a little nervous. Then I tell myself not to get my hopes up.”
“I say get your hopes up. If he’s even kind of smart, he’s going to fall so hard for you.” The second she said it, an icy bucket of realization doused her happiness. And then there will be one more person who’s crushed when you die.
No. Because I’m gonna stop it.
No matter what it takes.
Summer felt it coming seconds before it happened. “Hah!” she shouted as Gabriella materialized in her bedroom.
Gabriella stumbled back, bumping into Summer’s dresser, her hand over her heart. “Goodness, gracious!”
“Now you know how it feels. I sensed it this time before you could scare me.”
“I was never trying to scare you.” Gabriella took a few deep breaths and straightened, running her hands down her skirt. “I’m glad you’re sensing it, though. It shows improvement.”
“I think that’s the first compliment you’ve ever given me.
Gabriella sat on the bed next to Summer. “We need to talk.”
“I know it’s getting closer, and I’m trying,” Summer said. “I’ve had a few setbacks, and Pamela wasn’t even there tonight, but I swear I’m working on it. Just give me some more time.”
“It’s not about that. It’s about the talk you had last night with your dad.”
“Oh, that. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t sure what I all I could tell him. I didn’t mention you, and my mom had already told him enough that he kind of knows what’s going on, so—”
“Summer Dear, just be quiet and listen for a second, okay? This is really important. I should’ve put it together when I talked to you the other day, but I was preoccupied. There had been this mix up, and I missed an ‘I’ in one of the names and she almost…” Gabriella shook her head. “Never mind that. What’s important is…” She reached out and took Summer’s hand. “Your mom didn’t die because of anything you did or didn’t do. Once you get those visions, you can’t change them. You getting them means that person is already on their way to the other side. You can’t stop it.”
“But if I would’ve told her about it, at least we could’ve said goodbye.”
“Most Ciphers don’t actually see the deaths like you do. It’s a very rare gift. Doesn’t it seem like it’s happening more and more?”
Summer thought about the guy falling asleep at the wheel. The man breaking into the house. “It’s starting to get overwhelming. The nightmares are the worst.” A chill ran down her spine, and she shuddered.
“You’re drawn to those people,” Gabriella said. “Without even meaning to, you find people who are near the end. In time, you might learn to simply offer an encouraging word—nothing to change their paths, just a warm smile or kind word before they die. Your great, great grandmother had that same gift. Your mom only sensed it coming. Debra got her message to go help, and she had great intuition about how to fix the situation, but she didn’t usually stay until the end. She resolved it and then moved on. Sometimes—like on her last case—Debra met the people only days before the end. That was her gift, to work fast. Yours is to see what’s coming.”
“I don’t want it. It makes me feel awful.”
“When this is over, we’ll try to figure out how to help you deal with that. Right now, we’ve got to keep focus. Just know that it was your mom’s time to go. You couldn’t have stopped it. Okay?”
“Okay,” Sumer said, still feeling like it wasn’t.
“What’s your gut telling you?”
“That I can’t think about anything else until Ashlyn and her mom reconcile.”
“Good. Go with that. You know what to do.”
The minute the idea popped into her head, Summer decided it was the only way. “I’m going to tell them it’s coming.”
Gabriella’s face dropped. “You can’t. That’s not how it works.”
“Why not? It’s simple. I’ll tell Ashlyn and her mom what I know, and they’ll have to make up.”
“I’m telling you that you can’t do it like that.” Gabriella’s voice took on a frantic edge. “If all of our Ciphers told their charges they were going to die, it would be total chaos. People need to have faith. Hope.”
“You keep saying it’s my job, and I’m gonna do it however I can. I’m not letting Ashlyn down, even if I have to scare her and her mom first.”
There was practically glittery steam coming out of Gabriella’s ears. “You think you know better than thousands of years of experience?”
Summer shrugged, determined this was the way. “Maybe things need to get shaken up.”Gabriella’s watch chimed, and Summer was actually glad for the interruption this time. She didn’t want to listen to Gabriella go on and on about what she was supposed to do. It had never helped her before.
“You know that means I’ve got to go, but this is the wrong way to approach the subject. If you simply realized that I know what I’m doing, we’d avoid a lot of this stuff we don’t have time for. I’ll explain more later, but you can’t tell Ashlyn or her mom that she’s going to die.”
Oh yeah? Watch me. Tomorrow morning after she and Ashlyn went surfing, she was going to tell her and Pamela the truth. Then they’d have no choice but to talk to each other.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ashlyn secured the surfboards to the top of her car. “Troy called this morning and asked if I wanted to catch some waves with him and a few friends. I told him I already had plans with you.”
“Good.” Summer pulled her hair into a bun.
“Can’t we just invite him to come along with us?”
“I don’t want to deal with the weirdness, but if you’d rather go surfing with him, you can.”
Ashlyn climbed into her car and waited until Summer got in to continue. “Of course I’d rather go with you. You make me feel like a pro surfer.”
“Thanks a lot,” Summer said with a laugh. She tossed her bag and towel into the back seat. “I probably should get my own board if I’m going to go surfing all the time.”
Ashlyn backed out of her driveway. “I never use the one you’ve been using, so I really have no problem with you borrowing it. In fact, you can have it.” She waited for a car to pass, then entered the flow of traffic, turning down the road that would take them to their usual beach spot.
Obligatory by Unicorn Stench came over the car’s speakers. “Ugh. Troy ruined this song for me,” Summer said. “Now it makes me think about him.”
“You want me to change it? I’m thinking a little Finding Me is in order.”
“Finding Me seems appropriate right now.”
Ashlyn blasted the song, and they belted it out right along with the band who had helped bring them together.
You have to decide what you’re going to do and who you’re going to be.
And I’ve found that I’m better off being me.
I’ve found myself no thanks to you.
And I don’t need you to be me anymore.
Because I’m finding me
I won’t let you use me. I won’t let you in anymore.
I’m finding my own way, I’m stronger than before.