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Tears filled Melissa’s eyes "This just isn’t fair You girls don’t deserve this Alison shouldn’t get to win"

"Have you talked to Dad? What are they saying about our chances?" Spencer asked "Every tial team, they sort of dance around the question Do you think we’ll actually get shipped to Jalanced at Wilden He turned away When she looked back at Spencer, there were tears in her eyes "Dad’s saying it’s looking pretty hopeless," she whispered

Spencer’s storabbed Aria’s hand Emily laid her head on Hanna’s shoulder Hopeless

"What are we going to do?" Emily moaned

Wilden cleared his throat "Don’t do anything rash, girls I’ve heardrued another look It wasn’t even worth asking--they all knehat the ruht it didn’t really sound like that bad of an idea What did she have left, after all?

But then Spencer looked at Melissa again She looked worried, alhts Spencer placed her hand over Melissa’s, and her sister pulled her into a hug After a ed them, too, and then Emily and Hanna Spencer inhaled Melissa’s clean, soapy scent It was nice to be on Melissa’s side after soher Even if she was no help, at least so left to do, everyone stood and headed for the door Melissa followed the defeated She offered to drive Spencer and the others to the train, but Spencer waved her off "You’ve done enough already"

"Calldown her cheeks "Even if you just want to talk I’ her hand a squeeze

And then she turned to the street The tenificantly, and the ht to her torso and followed the others back to the train station No one said anything, because as there to say? Another dead end Another lead gone cold

26

THE DARKEST PLACE EVER

That next Thursday, Eet out of bed, but her legs wouldn’t et up, she told herself

Only, why? Her Rosewood Day graduation was in an hour, but it wasn’t like the school was allowing her to take part in it She’d been given permission to attend, but ould she want to watch? And more than that, her mother still hadn’t returned fro froirls had killed Tabitha Enment was tomorrow, and then she’d be shipped off to Jahbors were grilling and playing with their dogs and going for walks around the neighborhood But when Ereen grass, all she felt was dread All of this was for other people to enjoy, not her

She grabbed her phone, pulled up CNN, and looked again at the video By now, eleven thousand, eight hundred, forty-two--no, forty-three--people had commented that Emily and her friends were evil incarnate She winced as the shadowy girls beat Tabitha to death It did look like the four of them Besides, if the police suspected the video was a fake, wouldn’t they have already blown the thing up, used all their high-tech equipment to prove it? Ali had soure out who N could be, a voice told her

Another i to allow a suspected cri Besides, they’d already balked when she’d asked

But she dialed The Preserve’s number all the same, another hed "Has Iris Taylor returned?" she asked shakily

"Let"No, Iris Taylor isn’t here," she answered

Eripped the phone hard "You haven’t found her?"

There was rustling on the other end, and a second voice got on the line "Who is this?" a man demanded "Are you another reporter?" And then, click

The call time flashed on Emily’s screen She set her phone down on the bedside table and stared blankly out theIris was out there somewhere Who knew if she was alive or dead? And it was all Emily’s fault

Suddenly, a second voice sounded in Eive up, it echoed Just stay in bed Close your eyes There’s no point to anything

A door slah it took a huge effort, she hefted herself out of bed and crossed the hall to the frontOutside, her father was helping her s, and E to be useful

She watched her ray and old, clearly sick The door creaked as it opened, and Eht here," Mr Fields encouraged softly "See? Isn’t that nice?"

"Can I get you so, Moer ale?" said Jake

"That would be lovely," Mrs Fields said Her voice was scratchy, like a grand sound of the fridge opening and closing Emily hesitated at the top of the stairs, more nervous than she’d felt on the blocks before the state-cha breaths, she squared her shoulders and walked down the stairs

Beth and Carolyn were sitting on the couch, their hands in their laps, their slass of ginger ale Mr Fields was squatting by the TV, doing so on the recliner, her face pale and lined

When Emily reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone froze Carolyn’s lips puckered Jake shot to his feet Beth looked ahich made Emily feel especially awful