Emily leaned back, the leather making a squeaky noise under her legs. “I promise.”
Then she reached out and touched Ali’s hand. It was cold and a little clammy. “I missed you today. There was something I wanted to ask you.”
Ali stared at Emily’s hand on hers. Her lips parted slightly. “What?”
Emily’s heart thumped. “Well, there’s a school Valentine’s Day dance tomorrow.”
Ali moved her jaw. Her bottom teeth stuck out slightly.
“Anyway, I was wondering if you’d…” Emily paused, the words catching in her throat. “If you’d want to go with me. Like as a date. We could double with my sister and her boyfriend. It’ll be really fun.”
Ali pulled her hand away. “Em…” she started. The corners of her lips shook, as if she was suppressing a laugh.
Emily’s stomach plummeted. All at once, she was transported to Ali’s tree house, moments after she’d leaned over and kissed Ali’s lips. Ali kissed back for a delicious few moments before she’d pulled away. “Now I know why you get so quiet when we change during gym class,” she’d teased.
Emily jumped up, bumping into the corner of an enormous marble chessboard on the coffee table. The white queen wobbled, then tipped over. “I have to go.”
Ali’s face fell. “What? Why?”
Emily fumbled for her jacket over the back of the chair. “I just remembered. I have homework.”
Ali’s eyes were round and troubled. “I don’t want you to leave.”
Emily’s chin wobbled. Don’t cry, she told herself.
“I meant what I said the other day about how I feel about you.” Ali grabbed Emily’s hand. Outside, the neighbor’s porch light flickered on. “But I have to get my life together first, okay?”
Emily searched for the car keys in her coat pocket. It was probably an excuse. Ali would be making fun of her for it by tomorrow. Emily shouldn’t have trusted her so quickly. She clearly hadn’t changed that much.
“I’m not going to ditch you,” Ali promised, like she could tell what was galloping through Emily’s mind. “The most important thing is that we’re friends again. We can still hang out at the dance. And I want all of us to get ready together.”
“All of us?” Emily blinked.
“You, me, Spencer, Hanna…” Ali looked hopeful. “Maybe even Aria? I was thinking that we could go to my family’s Poconos house afterward.” She squeezed Emily’s hands. “I want us all to be back together again, like things used to be.”
Emily sniffed, but she put her keys away.
Ali patted the cushion beside her. “Please stay. We need to talk about the dance, now that I know you’re going. I bet you haven’t even picked out a dress yet.”
“Well, no. I was thinking of wearing something of my sister’s.”
Ali punched her playfully. “Just like old times.”
Emily sat back down. It felt like her emotions had been on a high-spin cycle, but as Ali opened a copy of Teen Vogue and pointed out a series of party dresses that would complement Emily’s peaches-and-cream complexion, her mood began to thaw. Perhaps she was losing sight of things. Ali had returned—everything else would come in time.
Ali was reaching for Seventeen when Emily heard footsteps in the hall. Jason stood at the foot of the stairs, glaring into the den. His forehead was wrinkled, the corners of his mouth turned sharply down, and he was gripping the banister so tightly that his knuckles were white.
Emily’s mouth dropped open. But just as she was about to nudge Ali, Jason stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
20
IT’S ALL ABOUT LETTING GO
Early Saturday afternoon, Aria climbed out of the Subaru, locked up, and started across the mall parking lot. Mike walked alongside her, the hood on his jacket pulled tight around his head. Aria had volunteered to escort Mike to the optician in the King James Mall to pick up a spare pair of contacts—he was constantly ripping them, but wouldn’t dare wear his glasses. Lately, Meredith had been maniacally humming songs from Cinderella while decorating the baby’s room—in neutral yellows, as Meredith and Byron didn’t want to know the sex until the baby was born—and Aria was desperate for an excuse to get out of the house.
Aria’s phone started to bleat. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. Wilden. A dart of fear streaked through her stomach. Why was he calling her? Could he know she’d been the one who’d sent the police that extra photo she’d found in the woods? She hit silent and dropped the phone into her pocket again, her heart thudding hard.
She knew she’d done the right thing by giving the photos to the Rosewood PD anonymously. It was an act of self-preservation—Aria didn’t want to be at the center of this case anymore. She’d considered telling the cops about seeing Melissa running into the woods, but what if it all was a big coincidence? And she definitely didn’t want to tell the police about seeing Courtney—Ali—at the wishing well…or what they talked about.
“So are you going to the dance tonight?” Aria asked Mike as they trudged to the Saks entrance of the mall.
Mike glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “What do you think?”
Aria skirted around a huge SUV whose back end was sticking way out of its parking space. “Uh…yes?” Mike had attended every single Rosewood Day event since they’d returned to Rosewood.
Mike stopped and placed his hands on his hips. A puff of air streamed out of his nostrils. “You mean you haven’t heard?” he asked incredulously.