Twelve: Ali In The Alley.

A few days later, Ali sat with her friends on a bench in front of Pinkberry, which was on Rosewood's main thoroughfare a few blocks away from school. Across the street, the neon sign for Ferra's Cheesesteaks blinked off and on. Women in capri pants and big Chanel sunglasses went in and out of the Aveda salon. The bells on the door of Wordsmith's Books jingled cheerfully, aside from the occasionally stinky exhaust from the passing cars, the whole world smelled like spring flowers and hot caramel from Pinkberry's topping bar.

"And then, when I looked out my window, one of the workers was staring at me." Ali was telling her friends about the guys who'd come to dig the hole from the gazebo that morning. "And then he actually whistled! I mean, he was as gross as Toby Cavanaugh used to be. Maybe even grosser. I felt icky all over. What if they took pictures of me?"

Spencer dropped in her cup. "You should have closed your curtains if they didn't want them to see you."

"What does it matter?" Emily jumped in. "Those guys can't do that! You should tell your parents, Ali."

Ali made a halting motion with her hand. "It's okay. I can handle it on my own."

"Seriously." Emily was breathing heavily, which she always did when she got worked up. "That, like, harassment! They should hire someone else! Do you want me to tell them for you?"

"Easy, Killer," Ali teased, using her favorite nickname for Emily. Okay, so she'd stretched the truth a teensy bit. The workers actually hadn't as much as cast a glance in her direction this morning, even when she walked to Jason's car.

"Okay, everyone, switch," Ali said to her friends, plopping the plastic spoon into her cup of Pinkberry and handing it to Hanna, who was on her left. Hanna handed her pistachio to Emily, Emily gave her peanut butter flavored frozen yogurt to Spencer, and Ali got Aria's lychee-nut with chocolate sprinkles.

Ali let the flavors melt on her tongue, feeling that all was right with the world. So far today, she'd received three texts from Ian promising her that Spencer's kiss would come soon but also wanting to know when his kiss with her would be. Hopefully, in time, he'd just forget—especially now that things were going so well with Nick. She was still basking in the glow of their amazing date. Part of her wanted to tell her friends about it, but part of her wanted to keep Nick to herself for a little longer. She hadn't even written about him in her diary yet; he was so special she hadn't been able to find the right words to describe him.

She suddenly felt so happy that she wanted to pass the feeling along. She rested her head on Spencer's blazer-clad shoulder. "So, girls. I think we should all find amazing crushes for the summer. And then we make a move to turn those crushes into boyfriends."

Hanna looked thrilled. "I'm in! I claim Sean!"

"Great!" Ali grinned. "What about you, Spence? Got anyone you're into?" She didn't know when Ian was going to make his move, but the sooner, the better.

Spencer stiffened and gave her a Please don't tell anyone look. "Uh, no." She stabbed her spoon into the ice cream and vigorously scooped up a bite.

"Well, I have a crush," Aria said proudly when Spencer didn't answer.

"We know, we know." Emily cuffed her playfully. "On Noel. You've only told us fifty times."

"Yeah, and even bonded last week," Aria said excitedly.

Ali demurely blotted her lips with a napkin. "Why don't I ask him out for you?" she said, feeling generous.

Aria's eyes widened. "What would you say?'

"I'd tell him that you're the most awesome girl in the world."

Aria laughed. "And he'd believe you?"

"Of course, Aria. Noel listens to me. Whatever I say, goes. I can convince him that you're the only girl he should go out with." She looked around at the others. "Tell her, guys. Tell her I can convince him Aria is amazing."

"She can," Emily said. Of course she was the first to agree.

"It's true." Hanna nodded.

Even Spencer reluctantly shrugged. Aria swirled her spoon around rapidly melting ice cream. "You would really do that for me, Ali? What's the catch?"

"No catch." Ali mussed Aria's barrel curls, which helped her do that morning before school. "I just want you to be happy." As happy as I am, she thought.

"You're amazing." Aria gave Ali a huge hug.

After the girls finished their dessert, Spencer announced she was due at the Rosewood Memorial Hospital, where she volunteered as a candy striper. Hanna's mom was waiting for her at the Starbucks down the street. Emily and Aria mounted their bikes and headed for home, too. Ali tossed her yogurt cup in the trash and sauntered toward Wordsmith's, then sped Jason's car parked in a no-loading zone. For once, he was actually on time.

"Do you mind if we stop at Kinko's in Hollis before we go home?" Jason asked when Ali climbed into the car. "I have to make a photocopy of my transcript for school." Then he glanced at her in the backseat. "And move to the front! I'm not your chauffeur!"

Ali grumbled, then climbed into the front seat at the next stoplight and buckled her seat belt. "Why do you have to make a copy of your transcript for Yale?" she asked.

"Because it has my final grades," Jason answered. "Yale required all submit them to make sure they still want to admit us."

Ali wrinkled her nose. "I thought you were already in."

"It ensures that kids don't flunk out their last semester of high school," Jason said, hitting the gas when the light turned green.

Ali closed her eyes and thought about her brother going to college. It used to be one o the things he talked to her about when he visited her at the Radley—he wanted to major in political science, he said, and then maybe become a lawyer who specialized in child emancipation cases. I should get emancipated from Mom and Dad, she'd said sadly. Then maybe I could get out of this place. Jason had murmured in agreement.

They were quiet as the car rolled past the curlicue-lettered sign announcing Hollis College. The campus had a lot of old, brick buildings, a Big Ben-type clock tower, and a big arena that held the ice hockey rink and the fencing rings—Hollis's only Division I sports. They passed a bar called Snooker's, which had a chalkboard out front that listed that week's Phillies schedule. As Jason took a left at the next light, cruising down a street that was rife with college bars and head shops, he gave Ali a sidelong glance. "Can I ask you a question?"

Ali shrugged. "Depends what the question is."

Jason took a big swallow from his water bottle. "I know Courtney was in the bathroom with you before we left the hospital. Did she say anything?"

The smile melted off Ali's face. She didn't think anyone had seen Courtney go into the bathroom. When she'd emerged, the hall had been empty—Jason and the others had been waiting in the lobby. Was it possible that he'd heard what her twin had said?

"I saw her come out after you," Jason said, as if reading her mind. "Was everything okay?"

Ali flicked the string bracelet on her wrist. "It was fine. We just talked about stupid stuff."

"Are you sure?"

Ali blinked. "Why wouldn't I be sure?"

"I don't know." Jason raised his hands defensively. "I'm just asking."

Ali licked her lips and considered telling him how the rest Ali had threatened her, but then her words echoed in her mind. Please don't lock me up again, she said, basically admitting everything she'd done.

Jason stopped at a crosswalk to let students pass. "Do you think Courtney seems different?"

Ali flinched. "Different how?"

"Happier, I guess. Not herself."

There was a sizzling feeling in the pit of Ali's stomach. "Does anyone know who Courtney really is? She's crazy."

"I know who she is."

No, you don't, Ali thought with a flare of anger. You don't know anything.

Jason pulled into a parking space in front of Kinko's. "I know you've never understood why I visited her all those years at the Radley," he said quietly. "I just thought she needed someone in her corner, you know?"

"So why did you stop visiting her at the Preserve?" It was a question Ali had never asked him.

Jason ran his finger over the silver BMW keychain. "I didn't mean to stop visiting her at first. I was just swamped with schoolwork and couldn't make the time. The times I did visit her, though, she seemed so...strange." He swallowed hard, then glanced at her. "She told me some weird things about you."

Ali's stomach tightened. "She's a jealous, crazy bitch."

Jason didn't look convinced. "For a while, I thought some of the things she told me were true."

Ali tried hard to keep her hands from trembling. "She's lying."

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it again. He stared at her hard, as though trying to memorize every freckle, every eyelash on her face. "Do you ever wish you could go back and change what you did?"

The words hit Ali like an icicle through the heart. What you did. But he meant what Ali did...to Courtney. Right? Not the switch. "I didn't do anything," she snapped.

Jason kept his eyes on the road. "We all did things we could have done differently. We could have helped her. Been more of a family."

"That's not how I see it," Ali said sharply. "She's crazy. She needs to be locked up. End of story."

Jason bit his bottom lip and didn't say anything. After a moment, he got out of the car and slouched into Kinko's. Ali watched the door open and shut, her stomach turning over. The walls seemed to close in on her inside the car, and she suddenly felt squeezed into a seat that could no longer contain her.

She fumbled for the door handle and staggered onto the street. Cars and trucks whizzed past the busy thoroughfare. Students rushed by holding Starbucks coffee cups and textbooks. The clock tower let out four bongs. Ali took a few careful steps down the sidewalk, trying to find her balance again.

She walked to the end of the block and studied the skater-logo stickers someone had plastered to a stop sign. Then, a lilting giggle sounded from around the corner. Ali turned and cocked her ear. There it was again. It was coming from the alley.

She poked her head into the narrow strip of road between two university buildings. These Spaces Reserved For Art History Department Faculty Only read a placard in front of a parking spot. A Subaru was in the lot, its window cracked, two people inside. One of them had a blond ponytail and an earnest, college-girl smile. The other, the driver, had a craggy face and wild, professor-style hair.

Ali straightened up, recognizing the familiar Planned Parenthood and Visualize Whirled Peas stickers on the Subaru's bumper. There was that dent in the fender, too, the one Aria's mom had made when she'd run over a decorative boulder in Ali's front yard.

It was Aria's dad who was in that car. But the other, the ponytail girl, was definitely not his wife.

"I love these after-class study sessions," he was saying.

"Me, too," the girl said, then pouted. "But I hate having to squeeze them into Tuesdays at four."

Mr. Montgomery touched her cheek. "This is the only time we're both around."

The girl sighed. "I know, I know, but..."

Mr. Montgomery put his finger to his lips to silence her. Then he cupped her chin and brought her face toward his. Ali crept behind the brick wall as Aria's father ran his hands through the girl's hair. The girl pulled Aria's dad closer and kissed his neck.

"Ali?"

The two heads shot apart. Ali whirled around. Jason stood behind her, a plastic Kinko's bag in his hand. "You ready?" he asked.

Ali blinked hard. There was a tumbling sound behind her. "Uh...," she said, poking her head back into the alley.

But it was empty now. All that remained was a cloud of exhaust, like Mr. Montgomery's car—and what he'd done inside it—had never been there at all.

But Ali knew what she'd seen.