Ali and Chloe Forever (Book 1)

Epilogue: Wishes Do Come True

Six Months Later

The brand new Poconos house was exactly the same as the DiLaurentises' old Poconos house: large and rambling, with red-painted teak siding and white shutters and windows. The porch light was off, but the moon was so big and bright that Chloe could see two white rockers on the porch. She, Courtney, and the others used to sit on five rockers on the porch of the other house, Us Weekly magazines in their laps, watching the sun set over the lake.

Now she and Ali were doing the same thing together every night.

The car, a black Acura, crunched into the driveway and rolled to a stop. Ali and Chloe leaped up and grabbed their purses. The night air was cold. A mist hung over the valley, as fine and vaporous as breath. The wind chimes hanging on the porch clanged together, making beautiful music for Ali and Chloe to hear.

There was a rustle in the bushes. Chloe halted. A long tail flickered. Two eyes glowed yellow. A black cat scampered stealthily across the driveway and into the woods. She breathed out.

Ali unlocked the door to the house and ushered Chloe in. The place smelled like aged wallpaper glue, dusty wood floors, and closed-up rooms. There was also a faint odor that reminded Chloe of old hamburger.

For a split second, Chloe thought it was the smell of a dead body.

She remembered the night of the Poconos fire very vividly: the smell of Ian's dead body rotting in the closet of the back bedroom, Ali's strange behavior, the secret room behind the bookcase in the former sitting room that no one knew about.

"Drinks?" Ali cried, dropping the keys on the farmhouse table.

"Definitely," Chloe said. She unloaded a grocery bag of Cheez-Its, blue corn tortilla chips, M&M's, Diet Coke, Red Bull, and a bottle of vodka. Ali went to the cupboard where they kept their glasses and pulled out two crystal tumblers.

Ali pulled the zucchini lasagna out of the oven and set it down on the table next to the keys. "Dinner's ready."

Chloe stared at the lasagna happily. The smell was only the lasagna baking in the oven.

After making vodka and Red Bulls, Ali and Chloe strolled into the den. Built-in bookshelves lined the walls. The closet was slightly open, revealing stacks and stacks of old board games. The television that got only four channels still sat on the old hutch. Chloe stared out at the big backyard, immediately locating the spot where they'd built the two-girl tent and slept under the stars. Ali had presented her with their friendship bracelets in that tent, making her promise that they'd remain best friends until the day they died.

It reminded Chloe of the six-girl tent she'd made with Courtney and the four girls, where Courtney had given them friendship bracelets.

Chloe wandered over to the mantel, noticing a familiar silver-framed photo. It was the picture of the six of them standing next to a big canoe, all of them soaking wet. The same photo used to hang in the DiLaurentises' old foyer. It had been taken the first time Courtney invited them to the Poconos, not long after Ali got sent away to the Preserve. When Ali and Chloe first moved into the house, Ali had presented the photo while they were in the backyard, gazing up at the stars: Ali explained to Chloe that all she ever wanted was a family who loved her, and she wished she hadn't been in the hospital so she could've been in the photo with everyone else.

Ali gathered around the photo, too. The ice in their glasses rattled. "I remember that day," Chloe murmured. Her breath already smelled like vodka. "That crazy waterfall."

Chloe snorted. "Emily freaked." It was their maiden voyage on a new canoe Mr. DiLaurentis had bought from the local sporting goods store. They'd all paddled furiously to start off, but then everyone got tired and bored and let the current carry them. When the river began to get rough, Spencer wanted to try and ride the rapids. Then Emily saw the little waterfall ahead and demanded they abandon ship.