The five women stared at their phones before checking the time. It was ten PM. -A was giving them one more full day before they would inevitably turn in The Radley footage of them. And whether the police could use that for their murder case or not, it definitely wouldn't look good.

"I'll call Melissa," Spencer said.

"Yeah." Hanna crossed her arms. "And while you're at it, ask her if she's about ready to let us take the fall for her murder."

Emily listened to the ringing as Spencer placed her phone on the coffee table.

"Spencer," Melissa said. "It's late-"

"Where are you?" Spencer asked.

"I'm at home," Melissa answered. "Wren and I were sleeping."

Was Melissa hinting that Wren was around, and not to say anything incriminating?

Spencer seemed to play along. "Oh, sorry. Did I wake him?"

"No," Melissa whispered. "Hold on."

Emily heard rustling on Melissa's end of the call and figured she was getting out of bed.

"Did you find something?" Melissa wondered.

"No, but Toby did," Spencer revealed. "They traced the VIN number to the car back to Philly. They have security footage of you and Wren."

Melissa's line went silent. At first, Emily believed she had ended the call, but Melissa just didn't know what to say.

"Oh my God."

"I stole the footage from Toby, but I can't hold onto it forever, Melissa." Spencer looked at her friends. "-A is threatening to throw us under the bus if we don't fess up by tomorrow night."

Melissa remained silent.

"We have a plan," Spencer comforted. "But you need to be willing to work with us."

"I'll be there tomorrow night," Melissa agreed. "This has to work, Spencer."

"It will."

The call ended as Aria, Hanna, Emily, Alison and Spencer all looked at each other. This was all coming to a close, but it seemed to be passing slowly. The anticipation would eventually get to Emily.

"Do you think Melissa will be able to get away from Wren?" Hanna asked.

"As long as she lies convincingly," Spencer responded.

Alison folded her arms. "She's a pro at that."

"So what's the plan we supposedly have for Melissa to get away with murder?" Hanna wondered. "I'd like to know, ahead of time."

Spencer sat. "When Melissa gets here, we'll give her the ultimatum. Either she goes to the police and tells the truth, or we turn in the drive. This will freak her out and she'll be really desperate."

"Then we'll pitch the idea of fabricating a story," Spencer continued. "We'll tell her to go to the police. Tell them that she had been there the night Wren murdered Charlotte and Archer but was threatened into silence, but now she was scared he was going to kill her too."

"You think Melissa can pull that off?" Emily asked.

"Oh yeah. You guys haven't seen anything when it comes to Melissa's acting," Spencer said.

The five friends looked at each other before deciding this would have to do, at least for now. What other choice did they have?

"This will work," Spencer finished.

"It better." Hanna grabbed her purse. "Because -A's getting ready to make our lives hell."

Then she left.

Aria sighed. "I gotta go too. Text me tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Spencer agreed.

Emily lingered around the couch. "What are you gonna do when Toby realizes the drive is gone?"

Spencer shrugged. "Lie. Tell him I don't have it. I don't know. I'll do whatever I have to."

"Well, good luck with that." Alison grabbed her things. "I'm just ready for this to be over."

Emily watched Alison give her one last glance before turning away and heading out the barn. She tried not to dwell on the fact that Alison hadn't reached out to her since the doctor's appointment this morning, but she was starting to believe the ultimatum was setting in. Had she made a mistake?

"Is everything okay between you two?" Spencer wondered.

Emily looked down. "It's that obvious?"

Spencer just gave Emily a sad nod.

"She's just being typical Ali." Emily swung her purse over her shoulder. "The usual push and pull."

"It's not fair that she does that to you, Em," Spencer said.

"Yeah, well, I think my ultimatum today scared her away completely," Emily admitted. "So that's that."

Spencer reached out and touched Emily's shoulder. for comfort.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Emily finished. "Call me if anything happens."

"Yeah," Spencer said.

Then Emily left and prayed that they could navigate the next twenty-four hours successfully.

* * *

Alison had fallen asleep on her couch with a stack of essays next to her. The closing of the front door pulled her out of her dream as she slowly began to wake up.

But when she opened her eyes Paige was standing above her.

She gasped.

"I knocked," Paige said. "The door was open. You should watch that."

Alison sat up and moved away from Paige. Why the hell would she just let herself into someone's house? Why not knock louder?

"And you should learn boundaries," Alison responded.

"I figured since you didn't have any, why should I?" Paige folded her arms. "Can I sit?"

Alison hesitantly nodded.

Paige took a seat across from Alison, but didn't make any sudden moves to initiate conversation.

"Why are you here?" Alison asked.

Paige sighed. "I wanted to talk to you without Emily around."

"About?"

"I got offered an assistant coaching job at Iowa State," Paige revealed. "I got the email earlier this evening. I'm thinking about taking it, but I haven't told Emily."

"Why not?" Alison asked.

"Because I still don't know where she and I stand." Paige looked at Alison. "Or where you and her stand."

Alison felt her skin heat up.

"Emily told me about the pregnancy."

Now Alison was angry.

"Don't be upset with her," Paige said. "She was hurting when she told me, and I haven't told anyone." She let out a deep sigh. "But I can see she wants to be there for you. She's always been that way, and I don't know if I can hang around a watch."

Alison tilted her head. "You don't have to leave Rosewood."

"That's what I keep hanging onto, but it's time to go," Paige answered. "It's time to do something else."

Alison didn't know what to say.

"I got what I came for. Not what I thought I was gonna get but... it's what I was supposed to have." Paige looked up from her hands. "I'm sorry you're going through a hard time."

Alison nodded. "Thanks."

"I don't want to make this any tougher, but before I go, there's something I need to know."

The air in the room was still. Alison tried her best to keep a strong demeanor as she prepared for the worst.

"What?"

"Do you love her?" Paige whispered.

Alison shook her head. "Do I love-?"

"Emily," Paige said. "Do you love her?"

The question seemed to knock the wind out of Alison. No one had ever asked her that outright. She didn't know how to respond. She didn't even know what she felt.

"I'm the last person you should ask about love," Alison jabbed. Then she stood from the couch in an attempt to escape.

"Maybe." Paige remained on her couch. "But you're the only one who can answer the question."

Alison could feel the adrenaline racing through her veins. She was scared. She was absolutely terrified of facing the truth, and Paige seemed determined on getting it out of her.

"You know Emily loves you," Paige continued. "Maybe you've known all along and that scares you. That's what made you scared and such a terrible person." Paige paused. "Sorry. A person who sometimes did terrible things."

"I was terrible," Alison admitted. "Sometimes I still am. That's why you can't ask me that. About Emily."

Alison was now trying to stall and discourage Paige from furthering this conversation. She couldn't answer that question. She wasn't ready.

"You find it so hard to be honest with yourself," Paige said. "I guess you don't have a lot of practice with that."

"Not really," Alison agreed. "People don't like the truth. The truth is slippery. Can't depend on it."

"Try it," Paige suggested. "Just for a minute."

Alison could hear her heart in her head. The more the thought about the truth, the more she envisioned losing Emily because of her stubbornness to admit it. That image alone scared her enough to realize maybe telling the truth wasn't the worst option.

"I know how I feel when she looks at me," Alison started. "I've never felt that with anyone before. It's like... she sees who you really are. Maybe that's the scariest part."

Alison took a moment to realize where she was. She could see Emily, like she was standing in front of her, looking at her with those warm brown eyes she loved so much. Emily had never abandoned her. Not even when Hanna, Spencer and Aria had. She had always seen the best in Ali.

Suddenly Alison couldn't stop. "You look at her... and you look at her eyes... And you wanna be worth the effort."

Alison tried envisioning her life without Emily, but it pained her to do so.

"You wanna be the person she sees," Alison finished.

All this time, Alison had just been avoiding the inevitable truth. That she loved Emily. Her best friend. She had loved her for a long time, but had been too afraid to admit it. Why had she been afraid?

Was it because she believed Emily deserved so much better? That Alison would only meet half of Emily's expectations? Was it because she was terrified of Emily seeing Ali for the screwed-up woman she was and leaving her in the end? Just like everyone else?

It took Paige's response to pull Alison out of her moment.

Paige stood. "Thank you."

Alison looked at Paige. Were those tears in her eyes?

"I didn't answer your question," she said.

"But you didn't lie to me," Paige said. "The old Ali might have just to get me out of the house."

Alison watched Paige walk past her but didn't bother to watch her leave. All she could think about was how hard and easy admitting that had felt. Like the tears were some sort of release she had needed for a long time.

"Ali," Paige called.

Alison turned around.

"Tell her the truth." Paige smiled sadly. "Before it's too late."

Then Paige left the DiLaurentis household.

Alison glanced over to her phone and wondered what Emily was doing, and if calling her would be a good idea. She had just admitted some very personal stuff to Paige, of all people, and knew she was right.

Emily deserved to hear the truth. She deserved to hear it from Alison, and no one else.