Ali and Chloe Revisted (Book 2)

Chapter 1: Four Blue Eyes

Tuesday morning, Chloe DiLaurentis wore a dark green asymmetrical dress, black high heels, a 24k gold bracelet, and gold earrings. Her makeup had been done to absolute perfection, and her long red hair flowed flawlessly like a wave of fire. She looked over at her sister, Courtney DiLaurentis, and the four girls who were her sister's best friends. Courtney looked beautiful in the pink wrap dress she'd borrowed from Chloe's closet.

Emily Fields scratched at the back of the polka-dotted cap-sleeve dress she'd borrowed from Hanna Marin, probably wishing she could've just worn pants. Next to her, Hanna was all dolled up in a red retro swing dress, and Spencer Hastings, Chloe's other sister, wore a sleek, savvy pin-striped suit. Aria  Montgomery was wearing one of her usual layered getups—a short-sleeved black bubble dress over a green thermal shirt, with thick white cable-knit tights and chic ankle boots that she said she'd bought in Spain. They all stood outside in the cold morning air in an empty lot next to the courthouse, away from the media flurry on the grand front steps.

"Are we ready?" Spencer asked, gazing around at everyone.

"Ready," Courtney and Chloe along with the four girls chanted. Slowly, Spencer stretched out a large Hefty trash bag, and the girls dropped things in, one by one. Courtney threw in a photo of her and Chloe with a message written on their faces: She's mine, bitch. Aria threw in a Snow White Wicked Queen doll with X's over her eyes. Hanna tossed in a crumpled-up piece of paper that said, Feel sorry for me. Spencer threw in the photo of Courtney and Ian. Then Emily threw in the letter where she'd confessed her feelings to Courtney, shortly after they'd kissed in the tree house in Chloe's backyard. They took turns pitching in all the physical things Alison DiLaurentis had sent them four years ago. Ali was Courtney's identical twin sister as well as Chloe's sister. She'd sent those things to each of them the same year she'd come home from the Preserve at Addison-Stevens, the year she'd planned to kill Courtney and take her life back after being trapped in a mental hospital for a year and a half.

When it was Chloe's final turn, she stared down at the last thing she held in her hands. It was the letter she'd written to Ali while she was in the hospital, not long before that fateful night when Ali had come home, not long before Chloe got her sent away again. In it, Chloe confessed that she loved Ali very much and hoped she'd get better. But Chloe never mailed it. She'd been too angry at Ali for everything she'd done. Now she wondered if the letter might have worked and made Ali a better person.

Feeling hesitant, Chloe placed the letter into the bag. Courtney took Chloe's hand, and Chloe felt a cold sensation. It was the Tiffany initial ring Courtney wore on her right pointer finger. Chloe stared down at her own Tiffany initial ring on her right ring finger, and Ali's Tiffany initial ring came to mind. Except Ali didn't have her ring anymore. Chloe had taken it and put it somewhere safe. And she wasn't telling anyone where she put it.

"We should go in." Spencer tossed the bag in her Mercedes, and Chloe followed her and the others through one of the courthouse's side doors. As they entered the wood-paneled, high-ceilinged courtroom, Chloe's stomach flipped. All of Rosewood was here—her peers and teachers, Emily's swim coach, Jenna Cavanaugh and her parents, all of Courtney's old hockey friends—and they were all staring. The only person Chloe didn't immediately see was Maya St. Germain, the girl who'd moved to Rosewood two months ago and lived down the street from Aria's house.

Chloe watched as Wilden emerged from a group of police officers and led them to an empty bench. The air was taut with tension and smelled like various expensive colognes and perfumes. After a few more minutes, the doors slammed shut. Then the room fell into dead silence as the bailiffs brought Ian down the center aisle. Courtney's clasped Chloe's hand again. Hanna put her arm around Spencer. Then Emily and Aria clasped hands. Ian wore an orange prison jumpsuit. His hair was uncombed and there were enormous purple circles under his eyes.

Ian walked up to the bench. The judge, a stern, balding man who wore an enormous class ring, glowered at him. "Mr. Thomas, how do you wish to plead?"

"Not guilty," Ian said in a very small voice.

A murmur went through the crowd. Courtney kissed Chloe on the cheek. As she shut her eyes, she saw the horrible images of the story she'd created four years ago,—this time, Ali wasn't the one who was being blamed, but someone else: Ian. Chloe remembered seeing Ian that summer when she was Spencer's guest at the Rosewood Country Club, where Ian used to lifeguard. He'd sat atop his lifeguard stand, twirling his whistle like he didn't have a care in the world.

The judge leaned over his high perch and glared at Ian. "Because of the seriousness of this crime, and because we have deemed you a flight risk, you are to remain in jail until your pretrial hearing, Mr. Thomas." He banged his gavel and then folded his hands. Ian's head slumped down, and his attorney patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. Within seconds, he was marching out again, his hands cuffed. It was all over.

The members of the Rosewood community rose to leave. Then Chloe noticed a family down front that she hadn't seen earlier. The bailiffs and cameras had blocked them. She recognized her mother, Jessica DiLaurentis's short, chic haircut and her former father, Kenneth DiLaurentis's handsome, aging leading-man looks. Her older brother, Jason DiLaurentis stood next to them, dressed in a crisp black suit and a dark checked tie. As the family embraced, they all looked incredibly relieved...and maybe the slightest bit repentant, too. Chloe thought about what Jason had said on the news not long ago: I don't talk to my family much. They're too messed up. Maybe they all felt guilty for going so long without speaking. Or maybe they felt guilty for what they thought Ali had done to Courtney and Chloe.

Everyone lingered outside the courthouse. The weather was nothing like that sublime, cloudless fall day of Mona Vanderwaal's memorial service just weeks earlier. Today, the sky was blurred with dark clouds, making the whole world dull and shadowless. Chloe felt a hand on her arm. Spencer wrapped her arms around Chloe's shoulders.

"It's all over," Spencer whispered.

"I know," Chloe said, hugging back.

The other girls joined in on the hug. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe saw a camera flash. She could already imagine the newspaper caption: DiLaurentis Sisters Distraught but at Peace. At that moment, a black Lincoln idling near the curb caught her eye. A chauffeur sat in the passenger seat, waiting. The tinted back window was rolled down the tiniest crack, and Chloe saw a pair of eyes staring straight at her. Chloe slipped out of the hug. She'd only seen blue eyes like that one other time in her life.

For a second, the eyes looked unblinking. Then they became desperate, as though whoever they belonged to was staring at Chloe with love and longing. Chloe took a step forward.

"Chloe, what is it?" Emily whispered.

The others broke out of their hug. "What?" Spencer asked, concerned.

Chloe glanced back at them, then back at the sedan. The back window was now closed, and the chauffeur was shifting the car into gear. But Chloe knew who was staring back at her. "Nothing," she said, shaking her head.

The girls turned away, drifting back to their own families, promising to call one another later. But Chloe remained where she was, her heart pounding as the sedan pulled away from the curb. She watched as it cruised down the street, turned right at the light, and disappeared. Her blood chilled. It's her, she told herself.

Courtney put her hand on Chloe's arm. "Come on, Chloe. Spencer's waiting for us."

Chloe followed Courtney back to Spencer's car. Then, as Courtney hopped into the passenger seat and she climbed into the backseat, she remembered the blue eyes staring into her own blue eyes.

Ali.