Another 2 days had passed and Ali still hadn't shown up to school or tried to contact me. Needless to say, I barely got any sleep, and my dark circles were betraying my attempt to look normal to the other girls. They had their reasons to suspect me of knowing what's happening with Alison, and they were right, but I didn't slip out a single word about it. Hanna even cornered me in the girls' bathroom and told me she knows I'm hiding something and to stop putting on a brave face. Still I didn't say a single word about Alison, or the church, or the letter in my mailbox.

It was now Friday and I couldn't stand the idea of waiting around an entire weekend, only to hope that Ali would return to school on Monday. So I decided to go over to her house again, except this time showing up at the DiLaurentis' front door wasn't an option. I was probably among the last people Ali's dad wanted to see at that moment, because I'd given him a reason to lose all his trust in me.

"Em. Em. Emily!"

"Huh, sorry, what's up?"

"Since when do I have to call out your name 3 times when you're sitting right in front of me to get your attention?" Aria asked, sitting across from me in the courtyard at lunch.

"I was just thinking what I have to do after school today."

"Um, get your doctor to prescribe attention pills?"

"That's not funny, Hanna" Spencer intercepted. "What's going on Em, you've totally been spacing out lately… Since Ali hasn't been showing up to school actually. Do you know anything about that?"

"N-no, I don't, why would you ask me that, I already told you guys a thousand times. I don't know what's up with Ali or why she's been skipping school."

That was the typical conversation I would have with them. I wanted to let them know so badly, but in all honesty, I was afraid of the consequences. Whoever sent the letter to my house wasn't A, and if it was, why would it be signed "Jessica DiLaurentis"? Before solving any mysteries, however, I wanted to make sure that Ali was okay.

Around 7 I went to her house and walked into her shed, which was open, and grabbed a ladder. It wasn't a very tall or sturdy one, but good enough, I thought, to get me to Ali's bedroom. I propped it against the wall and started climbing. When I was an arm's reach away from her windowpane, I could hear a muffled voice, and I figured it was Ali talking to someone quietly. I climbed a little higher, but the words were still imperceptible and unclear. Just as I was about to go even higher, the wooden ladder creaked and I figured it must have been old and rotten from infiltrated water. The problem was, it was crumbling underneath me. My fingers were desperately clinging to the window ledge to try to lessen the weight on the ladder, but with no success. I let out an involuntary shriek and within seconds, Ali was at the window and opened it widely enough to reach out and grab my hands to pull me inside.

"What the hell?!" Ali shouted as soon as my feet were on the ground, in her room.

"Can you be a bit quieter please? I don't want your dad to know I'm here."

"He's not home. Why were you sneaking into my house?"

"I wanted to see you, I didn't know if you had run away… And your dad probably hates me, so I didn't wanna use the front door."

"If I'd run away? Pfft, I wish!"

I couldn't form any logical response, so I remained silent. The weight of her words came crashing down upon me like iron fists punching holes into my stomach. She wished so badly that she ran away?

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Oh, just a friend."

"A friend, what friend? You barely just got back to Rosewood."

"Look, Emily, I get that you wanna help me and all that, but sneaking up on my phone conversations is a bit out of bounds."

"I think you owe me an explanation. Or several, actually… You not replying to any of my calls or texts, the church, the drinking."

"Seriously? You're totally freaking out for no reason right now. I'm fine! I got a little scared and downed my fears by having a few shots of tequila. Can you blame me?"

"Did you find out who that letter was from?"

"No, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Why were you at the church?"

"Because it was after hours and nobody was there, I just needed to be in a quiet place. And then I texted you, because I was drunk, and needed someone to be with me, but by the time you got there I was okay!"

"You were anything but okay, Alison. Anyway, so… You're not gonna try to find out who sent you the letter?"

"Probably some jealous freak trying to get me to run away from Rosewood High… I don't think this was A's work, A has finally shut their mouth, and now someone is their wannabe."

"Someone can't be A's wannabe since not that many people know about A…"

"Can you just let it go, Em? Forget about it, pretend it never happened."

I looked at her in disbelief. I didn't understand how she just wanted me to "forget about it", this wasn't a prank, it was a threat.

"Come sit with me" Ali said in a calm voice, patting the empty spot on the blanket that was covering her bed.

I was reluctant at first, but my emotions were on a dangerous rollercoaster, swinging up and down, making me dizzy. I wanted to scream at her and hug her as tightly as possible, all at the same time. She owed me a million explanations, but her letting me be near her in that moment seemed enough. I sat carefully next to her and looked into her big blue eyes. They were clear and there were no signs of her crying anytime recently. I was happy about that, and I started caressing her hand. She shifted over and adjusted her body in such a way that she was now completely facing me. She put her other hand on the side of my body, over my ribs, and slowly started inching down, until she reached underneath my tank top. The contact between her hand and my skin gave me goose bumps, and I giggled softly.

"Look, I don't want any more answers from you today, but can I stay over tonight? I need something to be able to trust you again."

"Sure you can" she said smirking, then winked. "My room can be our hideaway from my dad, I'll lock us inside so he'll never know you're here."

"Okay" I replied laughing, and wanting to taste the cherry chapstick on her lips.

She brought her hand up behind my neck and pulled me in closer to her and the next second I was kissing her. One of her hands was still playing with my hair, and her other hand was still holding mine. Then she pulled me in even more, deepening the kiss. I slid my hand down her thigh, and she reached under my top again, sending shivers up and down my spine.

And just then, in that blizzard of raw emotions and passionate kissing, I heard an intrusive noise. When I looked up, I think my heart skipped several beats. Ali's father was standing in the doorway, stunned and in awe, about to unleash a storm upon us. Or, just remain silent for an undetermined amount of time, because the shock that must have overtaken him was unimaginable.