It was as if all five women had gone into a state of shock. They looked at each other but no one knew what to do. Time itself had stopped.

Finally Hanna broke out of it.

"No," she stated. "No. This isn't real. This has to be a joke."

"Charlotte is dead, right?" Aria asked. "I mean, that was her body in that car?"

"Yes," Alison forced. "The forensics report confirmed it was them."

Emily stared at her phone. "Then who the hell sent this?"

"Someone who's really confident in our ability to find the killer," Spencer assessed.

"And knows about us at The Radley," Alison finished.

"But if they know we had nothing to do with it... why would they threaten us?"

"They want us to do their dirty work," Spencer assumed. "I don't know."

"Or they think we can get closer to the killer than they can," Aria finished.

Hanna stood. "I came to reunite with my old classmates, not Rosewood's old ways of screwing me."

"Maybe Spencer's right. Maybe we should look into Welby," Emily agreed with Spencer. "At this point, we don't seem to have much choice."

"What exactly are we looking into?" Alison asked.

"Why Wren left Welby," Spencer said. "It might lead us somewhere."

Alison sighed. "I can go and try to find out."

Everyone seemed to agree with her idea, but no one offered to come with her. She figured Emily of all people would want to.

"Anyone willing to make the trip with me?" Alison wondered.

Hanna sighed. "Well, I have to stay around town in case Furey calls me in for an ID."

"And I have a writing session with Ezra," Aria declined. "Jillian wants another chapter by Monday morning."

Spencer sipped her tea. "I'll come with you."

"Spence, I think you should stay in Rosewood and keep tabs on your sister," Hanna suggested. "And see if Wren shows up for questioning."

Suddenly Emily felt bad for Alison even when she had basically been volunteered by her friends.

Emily took one for the team. "I'll come."

Alison knew Emily didn't want to, but maybe a road trip is what they needed. She had felt so distant from Emily since she had gotten back.

"Thanks, Em."

Emily's phone rang out for the second time tonight and her heart jumped. Fortunately, it was only Sabrina calling her.

She answered and walked out the door of the barn.

"Hey Sabrina," she greeted.

"Emily," Sabrina said. "I was just wondering if you would want to have coffee tomorrow morning?"

Emily exhaled desperately, knowing she would have to decline because of her road trip with Alison.

"I can't tomorrow morning." Emily kicked the ground. "What about Monday?"

Sabrina sighed in disappointment. "Well, I can't after Sunday morning. I'm leaving to go up to New York for a chef's convention."

Emily felt a pang of guilt.

"How long?" she asked.

"The convention starts on Monday and ends on Wednesday. So I should be back in Rosewood by Thursday."

That was so long, Emily thought.

But maybe it was for the best. If Sabrina wasn't in Rosewood, Emily wouldn't have to lie about what she was up to. Plus, she couldn't talk to Sabrina about any of this because she wouldn't understand.

"So I won't be able to see you till Thursday?" Emily asked. "It sounds like such a long time."

"It'll pass fast," Sabrina comforted.

"I hope so," Emily said.

"Well, I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask." Sabrina paused. "I'll talk to you soon?"

"Soon."

"Bye, Emily."

"Bye."

Then Emily's line cut. As much as she liked Sabrina, not being about to tell her the truth about a lot of her past would be a problem. And she knew that.

Emily rejoined her friends in the barn only to realize they were leaving.

"Was that Sabrina?" Hanna asked.

"Uh, yeah. It was."

Hanna winked before heading to her car.

Alison had heard the exchange and rolled her eyes.

Emily looked at Ali. "What time do you need me at your house?"

"Nine-thirty is fine," Alison said. "It takes about thirty minutes to get there."

"Alright," Emily agreed before she headed out too.

It seemed that no matter how far away she got away from Alison, there was always something that brought them back together. If it wasn't Charlotte, it was her death. And no matter how hard Emily tried to avoid her feelings, she couldn't ignore the fact that they were lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to show.

And Emily knew they would, because they always did.

* * *

Alison thumbed the steering wheel while Emily gazed out of the window. So far the two women had said all but a few words to each other, and that unsatisfied Ali.

"So, how far are you in your degree?" Alison wondered.

Emily snapped out of her daze. "A little over half-way."

"Did you take more classes outside of Pepperdine?"

"They had this community college not far from Stanford and I took what I could afford," Emily admitted. "Then I blew the rest of my college savings on a trip to Italy."

Alison found herself admiring the adventurous side of Emily.

"You went on a bender?" Alison joked.

Emily chuckled. "You can say that."

Alison glanced over. "Why not Paris?"

Emily felt her heart throb at the mentioning. She knew Alison had done that on purpose. If there was one thing Alison DiLaurentis was great at, it was the perfect sentence at the perfect time to send you spinning.

"I didn't have enough money to get there," Emily lied.

Truth was, it was still a sacred place she wanted to share with the blond sitting next to her. Of course, deep down she knew she would end up going without Ali because that was the situation between them. But now, there was a small possibility, and Emily was a sucker for hope.

Alison on the other hand knew the real reason Emily hadn't gone, and it put a smirk on her lips.

"Anything spectacular happen in Italy?" Alison asked.

Emily wished she could tell Alison something amazing like she rode a gondola through Venice or toured St. Peter's Bascila, but she hadn't. Most of her nights had been spent at crazy nightclubs with her college peers and days spent nursing a hangover.

"The coffee is out of this world," Emily admitted. "And the nightclubs are pretty wild."

Alison realized Emily had gone to Italy at a bad part of her life. Suddenly, she wondered how many other poor decisions Emily had made over the five-year gap.

"The next vacation I want is Paris," Alison said. "It needs to be."

"I'm surprised you haven't gone yet," Emily admitted.

Alison sighed. "Well, my life never gave me the opportunity."

Emily watched Alison drive. What had prevented Alison from running away completely? Starting her own life in the city she had always loved?

"Charlotte and Elliot kind of consumed my life over the past five years," Alison continued. "Just the thought of leaving for Paris with Charlotte stuck in Welby made me guilty. Guess she really had me fooled."

Emily still pitied Alison over that whole mess of a situation.

"Well, you're only twenty-three," Emily admitted. "You have plenty of time."

Alison looked at Emily. "How about we go next summer. Me and you. After the school year ends."

The suggestion had come out of left field for both Alison and Emily. For some reason, Ali recalled the first time she had proposed that to Emily when they were barely teenagers. Back then things had seemed so simple yet so complicated.

Before the conversation could get any further, Alison was pulling into the parking lot of Welby.

"Do you have a plan on how we're gonna figure this out?" Emily asked.

"No, not really," Alison answered. "I was just gonna ask."

"They're not gonna tell you confidential information just because you ask politely."

"Maybe not..." Alison agreed. "But it's worth a shot."

The women exited the vehicle and walked into the front doors. Alison had to force herself to continue up to the front desk. The last time she had been here had been to pick up Charlotte.

"God, I felt nauseous," Alison confessed.

"I can do the talking if you don't want to," Emily offered.

"No it's fine."

Emily followed next to Alison as they approached the nurse at the front desk. She looked up at them from under her reading glasses.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes you can," Alison said. "My sister was a patient here and was under the care of Doctor Kingston. Would it be possible to speak with him?"

The nurse's eyes switched up to Alison at the mentioning of Wren. That was a good sign. She knew something, Emily noted.

"Doctor Kingston no longer works here," the nurse said. "He hasn't for years."

"Oh, well do you know why he quit?"

"Typical reasons, I believe," she answered. "Maybe Welby just wasn't a fit for him."

Alison found that hard to believe considering Wren had worked at Radley and Welby was ten times better, in her opinion.

"So he quit," Alison confirmed. "He wasn't fired or anything?"

"Not to my knowledge, no."

Alison leaned back and smiled. "Well thank you for your help."

"Have a nice day."

Alison and Emily turned away from the nurse and headed back out the door.

"It's odd that he quit," Alison confirmed. "Wren wasn't Charlotte's doctor for very long, maybe a few months at most."

"So why would he move all the way from London just to quit Welby because it wasn't a 'good fit'?" Emily asked.

Alison fell silent in thought. It really didn't make sense to her. Unless...

"Do you think Wren had problems with Charlotte too?" Alison asked.

"Like what?"

"Like Charlotte had more victims than we thought."

Emily climbed into Ali's car. "You think Charlotte targeted Wren and Melissa too?"

That's when Alison's phone rang. It was Spencer.

Alison answered and put her on speaker.

"Have you and Emily found anything?" Spencer asked.

"Wren quit Welby," Emily answered. "Ali said he was Charlotte's doctor for a few months and then just left."

"He quit? Why would he do that after moving all the way from London?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Alison said. "Emily said Charlotte might've targeted other people besides us, like Wren and Melissa."

Spencer was silent for a moment.

"Spence, you still there?" Emily asked.

"It seemed as if Charlotte had something over everyone in Rosewood," Spencer voiced. "Maybe Wren was one of them. Maybe he came back to Welby specifically to treat Charlotte. To make sure she stayed locked up in Welby forever."

The theory made sense to Ali and Emily.

"If that's the case, why would he quit months after getting what he wanted?" Alison asked.

"That's the next question we have to answer."

"And how are we gonna do that?" Emily wondered. " 'Hey Wren, just curious, why'd you run away from Welby like it was on fire?' "

"God no, he'll never tell us if we ask," Spencer said. "I can get Melissa to talk if I play the nice sister card. I'll work on it and let you guys know what I find."

"Alright," Alison said. "We'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

The call ended and Emily and Alison looked at each other.

"Well, at least now we have a lead for -A," Emily said.

"Who the hell would trust the five of us to solve a murder?" Alison complained.

Emily rested her head on the window. "I wish I knew."

"I mean, was finding out my own sister used me and then was murdered not enough torture?" Alison felt her wounds opening. "What kind of sick, psychotic freak would want to do this?"

Emily felt even worse now. She slipped her hand into Alison's free one.

"We'll figure this out," she comforted. "And then we'll move on."

Alison couldn't shake the image of her sister and Elliot in a torched car. Their skin black and charred. The smell of burning flesh in the air. A rush of nausea overcame her.

"I'm gonna be sick," Alison said.

She pulled over and threw her door open.

Emily climbed over and reached for Alison's hair without much thought. She watched as Alison heaved and gripped the handle of the driver's side door. Emily's other hand rubbed Ali's back.

Then when Alison stopped heaving, she started to cry.

Emily felt out of place, but did the only thing she could.

"Hey, it's okay," she comforted. "Here. Let me drive home."

Emily and Alison switched places as Alison found herself unable to stop crying. It was as if a rush of emotion had just come over her, along with the sickness, and it was the breaking point.

And all Emily could do was slip her hand back into Alison's and hope her presence could ease some of her friend's pain.