Ali and Chloe Revisted (Book 2)

Chapter 15: Sins Of The Sister

The flyer was pinned above the bike rack for everyone to see. Time Capsule Starts Tomorrow, it said in big black letters. Get ready!

The final bell of the day rang. Chloe noticed Aria sitting on the stone wall, scribbling. Hanna stood next to Scott Chin, her cheeks round and puffy. Spencer was walking with Kirsten Cullen, chattering about Youth League field hockey. Emily was whispering to some other swimmers, Mona Vanderwaal was unlocking her scooter, and Toby Cavanaugh was crouched under a distant tree, shoving a stick into a small pile of dirt.

Ali pushed through the crowd and snatched down the flyer. "Jason's hiding one of the pieces. And he's going to tell me where it is."

Everyone cheered. Ali pranced through the throng of kids and gave Spencer a high five. Which was startling—Ali had never paid attention to Spencer before, even though they lived next to each other.

But today, it appeared they were friends. Ali bumped Spencer's hip. "Aren't you excited for me?"

"Uh, sure," Spencer stammered.

Ali narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to try and steal it, are you?"

Spencer shook her head. "No! Absolutely not!"

"Yeah, she is," said a voice behind them. A second, older Ali stood on the sidewalk. She was a little taller and her face was a little thinner. A blue string bracelet was tied around her wrist—the very bracelet Chloe had made for her after Ali had been sent to the Preserve—and she wore a pale blue American Apparel T-shirt and a rolled-up-at-the-waist hockey kilt. It was the same outfit Ali had worn to the end-of-seventh-grade sleepover in Spencer's barn.

Chloe recognized who both Ali's were instantly: The younger one was Ali, and the older one was Courtney.

"She's totally going to try and steal it from you," Courtney confirmed, giving Ali a sidelong glance. "But she doesn't. Someone else does."

Ali narrowed her eyes. "Right. Someone's going to have to kill me to get my flag." She turned to Chloe and gave her a high five. "When I get the flag, you're going to help me decorate it."

Ali grabbed Chloe's hands and kissed them. Wait a minute...this couldn't be right. Chloe had been here when Time Capsule was announced, but no one knew she was there. She'd been very sneaky about everything.

The crowd of Rosewood Day students parted, and Ian slipped through. He opened his mouth, an evil look on his face. If that's what it takes, he was about to tell Ali. But when he breathed in to speak, he made a fire engine sound instead, shrill and piercingly loud.

Ali and Courtney covered their ears. Ali took a step back.

Then Ali's eyes widened in fear. "Chloe!"

Chloe noticed a little girl with red hair laying on the ground, her eyes closed. Ali dropped to her knees and held Younger Chloe's head on her lap. "It's okay, Chloe. I'm here."

Ali began to cry, and Courtney stared down at both of them. "I love you, Chloe," Ali said, stroking Younger Chloe's hair. "Everything I do is for you."

Suddenly, Ali let go of Younger Chloe for a split second. Then Younger Chloe's body flew across the commons, disappearing into thin air.

"No!" Ali cried, reaching out. She stood up and watched helplessly as Younger Chloe vanished.

Courtney put her hands on her hips, kicking Younger Ali with the side of her foot. "What's wrong with you? Let Chloe go. She doesn't want to be with you."

"No," Ali said.

"Yes," Courtney insisted. They were fighting as bitterly as Spencer and Melissa did.

Courtney rolled her eyes and faced Chloe. "You shouldn't have thrown it away, Chloe. Everything you needed was there. All the answers."