by Cindi Madsen
All she had to do was take that first step.
A shower seemed like a good place to start.
When she came back from taking a shower, her phone had a new text from Cody. First Kendall, now Cody. It’s like I’ve warped back in time a couple of months.
Hey, I hope you’re doing okay. I’m here for you if you need me. Just not in front of Jenna. She gets really mad if I talk to you.
“Yeah,” Summer said. “I’d hate to be the cause of you not getting any.” Then she realized she didn’t care. Everything that had happened with Cody had led her to being with Troy, and things were so much better with Troy. She could open up, tell him things she’d never told anyone else before. He knew her—like really knew her—and he still accepted her for who she was.
She scrolled through her contacts, wanting to call Troy and hear his voice, but her phone rang again before she hit the call button.
This time, Ashlyn’s name came across her display.
* * *
Large bouquets lined both sides of the podium of the chapel. Summer’s knees shook as she walked toward the front. Pamela had called Summer using Ashlyn’s phone and asked her to go to the house. Wanting to help however she could, Summer had gone. When she got there, Pamela told her that the hospital called and informed her that Ashlyn had a congenital heart defect. They said it was something she was born with that probably got worse the older she got. It caused problems like shortness of breath and irregular blood flow.
All the times Ashlyn had trouble breathing after skateboarding or surfing had popped into Summer’s head. Pamela continued, telling her how if they would’ve known, they could’ve tried medication or even surgery. Of course the combination of diet pills and caffeine probably hadn’t helped the condition, either. The ‘what ifs’ were overwhelming, and while Summer couldn’t help thinking about them herself, she’d put her hand over Pamela’s and said, “You can’t do that. I’ve thought of hundreds of ways I could’ve kept my mom home the day she was killed, but we can’t change the past, no matter how badly we want to.”
As she’d said the words, she realized she needed to follow her own advice and let go of the guilt she’d been carrying around with her. Mom was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. Mom had made the best of the here and now, and Summer needed to do the same. She still didn’t know if she believed everything happened for a reason, but she knew she and Ashlyn were supposed to meet and that she needed to help Pamela through her loss.
And then Pamela had asked her for a favor. Which brought her to standing at the front of a tiny chapel, a sea of faces staring up at her, awaiting her words. Her notes were in her jacket pocket in case she needed them, but she was going to do her best to speak from the heart.
If only her heart wasn’t beating so fast.
“I’ve learned so much in the short time since I met Ashlyn,” Summer said into the microphone. “I’ve learned to be open to meeting new people. To get to know people, even if it’s tough at first. Most people, if you give them a chance, have something about them that makes them worth knowing.
“The first time I met Ashlyn—well, let’s just say it took me some time to win her over.” Summer smiled at the memory of trying to get to know the girl who ended up becoming her best friend. “Later, I found out that she wanted to keep her friends protected until she was sure she could trust me. Now that she’s gone, I can’t help but feel cheated that I didn’t meet her my first day here. That I missed out on the hours of friendship we could’ve had. But since I can’t change any of that, I’ll forever be grateful for the time I spent with her. Everyone who knew her will tell you how awesome she was. Ashlyn reminded me of who I was—the real me. She made me feel better about myself and made me want to be a better person. With Ashlyn, even doing nothing together was fun.”
Summer cleared her throat, trying to finish before the tears took over and she couldn’t talk anymore. “You never know what person will come into your life and change it. I’ll miss her every time I need someone to talk to.” The people got blurry, and Summer blinked, trying to clear her tears. “I’ll miss her every time I look out at the ocean and think about her dragging me into the water at dawn. But missing means she’s remembered, and she’s someone I’ll never forget.”
Summer walked back down the steps and took her seat on the bench with Tiffany, Dad, Troy and the rest of the Misfits, alternately smiling and crying the rest of the ceremony. As they came out of the chapel, Troy squeezed Summer’s hand. The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky, keeping the fall day warm.
Pamela walked up to Summer and threw her arms around her. “Thank you for speaking today and for being such a great friend to Ashlyn. I’ve never seen her so happy. I swear, you’re an angel.”
Not quite, Summer thought. “If you ever want to talk about Ashlyn—about anything—give me a call.”
“I will.” Pamela looked over at a large group of people. “Excuse me,” she said, then headed toward the group.
“I just thought of something,” Troy said, running his fingers down her back and then hooking them around her hip. “You said you only see the end right before it happens. What made you so determined to meet Ashlyn all those weeks ago?”
Troy hadn’t given her any reason to not trust him, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about being a Cipher and exactly all that entailed. “I got a really strong feeling that I should meet her. One so powerful I couldn’t ignore it. I told you my intuition was good.”
“Like a message straight from Heaven,” Troy said.
Summer thought of the bubbly Gabriella, the messenger sent to her. You have no idea. The thought of Gabriella must’ve made her see things, because she swore she was seeing the Angel of Death standing a few yards back.
Summer blinked, but the image remained. It was definitely Gabriella. No one else looked quite like that.
Summer leaned in and gave Troy a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll be right back.”
She wandered over to where Gabriella was standing, halfway hidden behind a tree. Keeping her back to all the people so they wouldn’t see her talking to air, she said, “Do you say goodbye to everyone you deal with?”
“I’m not here for her,” Gabriella said.
“Really? Someone’s going to die at a funeral? You guys have an odd sense of humor.”
“Yes, we sit around thinking of funny ways to die. It keeps us from getting bored.”
“Is that sarcasm I hear?” Summer smiled at Gabriella. “Maybe I’m a bad influence. Now, I’ve got you being a smart a—” she stopped herself in the nick of time. Gabriella might be using sarcasm, but Summer doubted she’d changed her opinion on swearing. “A smart alec.”
“I appreciate you editing. But I’m not here to take anyone home.”
Something about the way Gabriella was looking at Summer sent a sick feeling through her gut. “Oh no,” she said, taking a step back. “You said I’d have time.”
“Well, it so happens that someone in the area is going to need you. He’s not ready yet, but he’s going to be soon. And you’ve got your work cut out for you with this one.”
Summer’s stomach churned at the thought, but already she felt it. Knew someone needed her help. She groaned. “I hate this job.”
Read on for a sneak peek at Rift, book 2 in the Cipher series!
Chapter One
Bad news was on its way to ruin her life again. Summer could feel it in every inch of her body. The mix of apprehension and nausea? Nerves strung so tight her muscles ached? Classic signs. Every one of her Cipher senses was tingling, and as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, she sensed Gabriella’s presence. As chipper as the Angel of Death was, her visits were rarely welcome.
Gabriella flashed her blindingly white, beauty-queen smile as Summer stepped inside her bedroom. “Hello, Summer Dear,” she said. As usual, she was dressed in all sparkly pink, her Marilyn Monroe hairdo frozen in place with enough hairspray to withstand a tornado. “Isn’t the w
eather lovely today?”
Summer swung the door closed in case Dad came home early—she didn’t want him to hear any of what was about to go down, even if he’d only hear one side. “It’s California. It would be more of a shock if it wasn’t lovely.”
Two creases formed between Gabriella’s eyebrows as she frowned at Summer. “No need to get all huffy. I was just trying to make small talk.”
“That’s the problem, though. You’re not really here for just small talk, are you?”
Gabriella pressed her bubble gum pink lips together, then shook her head. “It’s time, Summer. I’ve come to give you your next assignment.”
For two months she’d been on edge, waiting for this job to pop up like a demented version of jack in the box. Surprise, guess who’s dying now!? At one point, she’d wished Gabriella would just get it over with already. But now, Summer didn’t want to hear about it. Didn’t want to know that another person was going to die, but only after she’d gotten to know them and, with any luck, managed to resolve their problems with their family members first.
“I’m not ready,” Summer said. “My psychology class doesn’t start until tomorrow, and so far the grief counseling sessions I’ve been attending have only really shown me how much people cry.”
Gabriella stuck a fist on her hip. “Last time I came to visit, you begged me to give you the assignment before you went ‘wackjob crazy,’ whatever that means.”
Summer flopped onto the end of her bed, the weight of an assignment already pressing down her shoulders. “I changed my mind.”
“But you can feel it, right? So you know it’s time whether you’re ready or not.”
Ready or not, here it comes. Summer took a deep breath. “Okay. Rip the Band-Aid off.” When Gabriella looked confused, she said. “The job. Just give me the job.”
“His name is Liam Fry. He’s a freshman at SDSU. Only this time, you need to help him make peace with his dad. His dad, a man named Dennis Fry, is the one who’s dying.”
Summer rolled the name over in her head for a few seconds. Liam. He wouldn’t be dying, so surely this wouldn’t be as gut-wrenching as last time. Her heart gave one painful throb, a dull reminder of the emotional scar over her heart from her first Cipher job. “Okay, so I’ll work it through the son angle. Got it.”
“Good. But… there’s something you need to know about Dennis, and it’s kind of a big deal.” Gabriella tapped her finger to her lips, a gesture she did whenever she was thinking. “I’m prefacing this by telling you to keep in mind how much you’ve learned over the last few months.”
The apprehension coursing through Summer kicked up a notch. “That bad, huh?”
“Summer Dear, his father’s in a detention facility.”
“Like jail?” Summer’s voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.
Gabriella nodded.
“Did he do it? Is he guilty?” Summer stared at Gabriella, wanting her to say, Of course not. I wouldn’t be asking you to do this if he was guilty.
“He’s done a great deal of repenting, and he desperately wants to make peace with his son. He doesn’t know it, but he’s sick, so he’ll never make it to parole. Which is why it’s so important to get Liam to visit him now.”
Summer shook her head. “No. I don’t think I can do that. Did he kill someone?”
The hesitation was enough for Summer to know she was going to hate Gabriella’s response. “His actions did cause a few innocent lives,” Gabriella said softly. “We all make mistakes.”
Images from her mom’s death flashed through her mind. The convenience store. The man who’d pulled the gun. Mom and the woman she’d gone on a Cipher job to help lying dead on the floor. Everything inside her turned hard and cold. “There’s mistakes, and then there’s killing people. My mom is gone because of someone like that. You’re asking too much.”
“Liam will be the one to suffer, though, and that hardly seems fair. Don’t worry about the punishment for Dennis. He’ll have to pay for his crimes. He’s already paid a great deal, being in jail for the past eight years. Low security or not, jail is not a pleasant experience.” Gabriella squatted in front of Summer and spoke in a soothing tone. “This is what you’ve been training for. You can do this.”
All the speculation Summer had been doing about her job over the past few months hadn’t even come close. She’d often looked around the school, wondering if her next assignment would be there. If any of her old friends would be involved. Never did college student and inmate father cross her mind.
“Like with Ashlyn, you’ll have some time on this one,” Gabriella said. “That doesn’t mean you don’t need to hurry things along, and, I’m not going to lie, it’ll be a tough one. But you will have enough time. As long as you start right away.”
Words kept getting caught in Summer’s throat, unable to make it out her mouth. Anger heated her veins at the unfairness of it all. From what she’d heard, this Dennis guy deserved to die alone. He’d taken someone else’s family away. Why did he deserve his?
Gabriella patted her knee. “Let’s just get you introduced to Liam, then we’ll figure out the rest. He’s going to be at a party down on fraternity row tonight.” She stood, searched her pockets in vain, and ended up grabbing a notepad and pen out of the air. When Summer first met Gabriella, pulling things out of the air had sent her mind reeling. Now, it seemed almost normal. Actually, she wished she could pull stuff out of thin air as well.
“This is where you need to go.” Gabriella handed over the note. Purple glittery pen looped across the page, giving added flair to the address and the immaculately drawn map beside it. “I know you’re going to hate this, but you need to take someone besides Troy. You need to be approachable, not attached—not to mention Troy might have trouble getting in.”
“I don’t have any other friends,” Summer said. “Friends that could get into the party anyway.” Sad but true. As much as she loved the Misfits, chess-playing twins and a kid who liked to film everything didn’t stand a chance at a frat party. And Marcie didn’t go out, period.
“Kendall seems like she’d be good in this situation,” Gabriella said.
Summer groaned. She and Kendall had semi-patched up their relationship, but it was still awkward, and she didn’t want to owe Kendall any favors. Part of her wondered how Gabriella even knew about Kendall, but she knew better than to ask—the Angel of Death would only talk in infuriating riddles about the mysteries of the universe.
“Just be careful,” Gabriella said. “I’m not happy about the situation, but you’ll have some added protection.” She looked to the heavens—Summer assumed, anyway. She doubted the out-of-date popcorn ceiling was going to protect her somehow. “Still, you should probably take your mace.”
“Sounds like a blast.” Summer slumped forward, propping her elbows on her knees. Her first college party, and it was already shaping up to be a bust.
The jewel-encrusted watch on Gabriella’s watch chimed.
“Oh, Heavens! I’ve got to go,” Summer said at the exact time Gabriella did. She already knew the drill, and she did a pretty good impression of the Angel of Death, if she did say so herself.
One corner of Gabriella’s mouth turned up. “Very funny. I’ll be checking in later.”
Then, as always, Gabriella’s outline glittered before disappearing completely.
* * *
Music always made menial tasks better, so Summer put her earphones in, cranked up her tunes, and started unloading the dishwasher. Singing and dancing, she twirled here and there, putting away the dishes. She tucked the spatula in the utensil drawer and spun around.
And froze mid-song and dance, blonde curls covering one of her eyes.
Troy stood in the archway of the kitchen, giant, heart-melting grin on his face. He stuck a thumb toward the living room. “Your dad let me in.”
Heat flooded Summer’s cheeks, embarrassment mixing in with the tingly excitement of seeing her super-cute boyfriend. All hers. That realizat
ion never got old. She tugged out her earphones, wondering just how much singing and dancing he’d witnessed.
He crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I thought you said you couldn’t sing.”
“I can’t. And I really wish you hadn’t heard me trying to.”
Troy leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, sending her heart rate skyrocketing. “Because now you have to kill me?”
“Exactly.” Summer closed the small distance between their mouths, covering his mouth with hers. She ran her fingers up his arms and looped them behind his neck, loving the way his fingers dug into her sides as she deepened the kiss. They both knew it was only a matter of time before Dad “accidentally” interrupted, so each kiss, each second she could be pressed against him, felt stolen.
The volume of the TV in the other room went quiet, which meant time was up. Sometimes Dad would come in. Sometimes he’d just listen. Mostly, he was a pain, but in the way she still loved him anyhow.
Troy pulled back but kept his hands on the sides of her waist. Even though the space between them was fractional, she couldn’t help resent it. “So, Sunshine, what are we going to do tonight?”
“About that.” Summer twisted one of her curls around her finger. “I’ve got to go to this party, and as much as I want to, I can’t take you with me.” The omission of the words frat and college had been intentional.
Troy’s eyebrows drew together. “Who are you going to go with?”
“Kendall.”
“So what? You don’t want me getting in the way of you meeting guys?”
Summer shrugged. “Um, kind of?”
Troy’s teasing expression dropped. “That was supposed to be a joke.”
“Look, all I really know is that someone needs help, and that I’ll be more approachable if I’m unattached.” She grabbed both his hands and laced her fingers with his. “But don’t worry, I’m still really attached.”
“Just no one gets to know.”
