Ali and Chloe Revisted (Book 2)

Chapter 14: Fortune Cookies Solve Everything

Ali hid in the dark shadows of the church parking lot near China Rose, the restaurant where Chloe, Courtney, and Emily were going to be arriving at in a matter of seconds. China Rose was a few miles down Route 30, a cheerful little stand-alone building next to a falling-down stone structure that used to be a spring. To get there, Nick had to drive through the parking lot of a Kinko's, a yarn store, and the Amish market, which sold homemade apple butter and paintings of farm animals on lacquered slabs of wood.

The Rosewood Bowl-O-Rama was in the business complex too, although it was in the process of being remodeled into yet another Whole Foods.

Chloe, Courtney, and the four girls used to go bowling at this very alley on Friday nights. Ali, Naomi, and Riley used to go to the King James Mall on the weekends. Sometimes Chloe would come with them—after Ali did a ton of begging and pleading—but other times, she'd go with Courtney and the four girls to the bowling alley. Then, the day Time Capsule was announced, Chloe had invited Ali to go bowling with them. At first, Ali hated the idea of hanging out with those losers. But when she saw how happy Chloe was to go bowling—and that she'd even invited Ali to come—she decided it was a great idea. Besides, she wondered what they talked about while they were there.

Emily and Courtney had been fooling around in a lane, getting a sugar rush off fountain sodas from the snack bar and seeing if they could knock down more pins by bowling between their legs. When Spencer got up to bowl and Hanna and Aria ran off to the vending machines, Chloe came up to Ali as she was busy drawing cartoon smiley faces in the margins of the scorecard.

Chloe didn't have time to react as Ali drew her into her arms and sat her down on her lap. Ali laid down the nubby scorecard pencil and stared at Chloe for nearly a minute. "Gotcha," she said.

Courtney and Emily turned to them. "Chloe, is Ali making you uncomfortable?"

Courtney put a hand on Emily's shoulder just as Ali narrowed her eyes. "Easy there, Killer!" Courtney always called Emily Killer—as in, her personal, protective pit bull—which was so lame.

Chloe shook her head. "Ali just loves having my attention." She nuzzled her head in Ali's neck, making her giggle.

"Of course I do." Ali held Chloe tight, just like she always did. As she kissed Chloe's forehead, she shot Courtney and Emily a dirty look. Chloe was her little sister, not theirs.

Looking back on it now, Ali wondered why Chloe had invited her, knowing how jealous Ali got when she was with Courtney and the four girls. Ali watched as Emily's Volvo pulled into the parking lot. When she, Courtney, and Chloe got out, they looked around, probably because of how eerily quiet—too quiet—it was.

Seething hate boiled Ali's blood. She wanted to reach out and push Emily—and even Courtney—into that hole in her old backyard. Or better. She could strangle them, just like she'd done to Ian moments ago. She remembered how hard she'd squeezed his neck, thinking of Chloe the entire time. You're not going to take Chloe away from me, Ali had thought.

Emily, Courtney, and Chloe slammed the door of the Volvo. Then Emily put her keys in her pocket, they and made their way down the little brick path to China Rose's front door. Ali emerged from the shadows, sneaked across the parking lot, and crept down the brick path. Then something caught her eye.

Ali knelt down and peered at the shiny object. When she realizes what it was, she gasped. It was the beaded bracelet Chloe had given her during her last few weeks at the Radley. Silver star beads made up the bracelet—Chloe had made the bracelet herself—and it fit Ali's wrist perfectly. Ali debated whether or not she wanted to wear it, but ultimately, she put it in the pocket of her jeans, pulled her hood tighter around her head, and lept to her feet.