She shouldn't have told her so soon. Alison cursed herself mentally. Charlotte had just gotten out of the hospital. Ali should've known how Charlotte would take the news about her and Elliot's relationship. It took so long to convince Charlotte she was her friend, to gain her trust. Now she had put all of that in jeopardy. And now, Charlotte was gone. She was probably feeling betrayed and alone. A new wave of guilt crashed over Alison. She walked quickly in the night past the Apple Rose Grille, peering in the windows, checking for Charlotte. Where would Charlotte have gone? Suddenly, the answer was looming over her. Alison stood in front of the tall, white church that stood proudly in the center of Rosewood. She took a deep breath before slowly walking up the steps and into the church. The night reminded her eerily of another night where she had stood in the same place. Spencer was inside with Ian. I had to protect her. Alison reminded herself, while walking into the church. "Charlotte?" She called uneasily. Maybe she'd been wrong. "Are you here? I just want to talk." Ali decided to follow her instincts and began climbing the stairs to the top of the bell tower. "Charlotte?" She called again, hoping to hear an answer.
"Go away!" A voice exclaimed.
Alison breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank god you're okay. Where are you?"
"I said go away!" The amount of pain in Charlotte's voice startled Alison.
"Charlotte," Ali began uncertainly, as she came to the top of the stairs and saw Charlotte sitting on the floor. The blonde had obviously been crying, her nose and eyes were pink. "I'm sorry. I know it was wrong. It's just- The feelings kept building. We both cared for you so, so much." She placed a hand on Charlotte's shoulder.
Alison flinched as Charlotte jerked away and stood up. "If you had cared about me, you wouldn't have gone behind my back!" Tears ran down Charlotte's cheeks.
"I do care about you, and I'm sorry!" Ali took her sister's hand. "Please, just come home." She pleaded.
"Home?" Charlotte choked out. "I don't even know where that is. How do I know you're not keeping other things from me?" She looked broken.
Alison felt her eyes grow wet. "You don't, but can you please just trust me?"
"Trust you," The other blonde scoffed and turned her back to Alison, facing the window. "You don't have the right to my trust." Charlotte's voice shook.
Rage suddenly engulfed Alison. She clenched her fists. "Fine, that's fine! You don't trust me, that's your choice!"
Charlotte turned to Alison, a calm expression on her face. "No, Ali. It was your's."
Alison nearly screamed, she ran down the stairs of the church before she said something else she'd regret. As she stormed out of the church, a single angry tear escaped her eye. Ali was begging Charlotte, Charlotte standing on the ledge, it felt like when Charlotte was -A. That night when all the pieces finally came together and Charlotte was standing on the ledge of a building, like she was now. Alison got into her car. Charlotte had been ready to jump when- Alison gasped in shock. No. She pushed open the car door, not bothering to close it as she ran up the steps and into the church. "Charlotte!" She screamed over and over as she ran up the stairs. Her lungs burned. "Charlotte, no! Don't!" She yelled up. Alison finally reached the top, panting. She scanned the small landing frantically searching for her sister. There Charlotte stood. Her blonde hair swayed slightly in the breeze, her blue dress blew up slightly. On Charlotte's face was an expression of absolute peace. A lump formed in Alison's throat. "Charlotte, please, stop." The moonlight reflected the tears spilling out of her blue eyes. Charlotte didn't move. "I need you, Charlotte. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Alison didn't think she'd ever been so sincere in her life. She took a careful step towards Charlotte. "Please, please, just come down. We can be a family."
"You mean you and Elliot can be a family?" Charlotte's voice was flat and devoid of emotion. Her lips curved into a twisted smirk. "I know what'll happen, Ali. You and Elliot will go get your happy ever after, and I'll be in that big house. All alone."
"No. No, you won't! I'll be there, I promise!" Alison pleaded.
Charlotte didn't seem to hear her. "Or you would send me back to Welby." She rolled her eyes, "But then I'd still be around Elliot." Charlotte glanced at Alison over her shoulder. "Sometimes there's no way to win, Ali. That's what you learn when you play the game as long as I have." Then she turned back to the ledge and Alison saw her loosen her grip.
"No!" She screamed, and grabbed Charlotte's arm and yanked her back.
"Let go of me!" Charlotte demanded.
The girls fought in the darkness, neither seeing what they were doing. Finally, Charlotte had Alison pinned on the ground. "Sorry, Ali." She told the younger girl and got off her before walking back to the window. Alison didn't know what she doing. All she wanted was to stop Charlotte from jumping. Ali reached for the nearest thing, a broken post and held it incase she needed to knock Charlotte out, or she needed it as defense. Alison crept silently towards Charlotte. Ali heard Cece take a deep, last breath. Then she grabbed Cece's shoulders. Charlotte shrieked and her hands fastened around Ali's neck. Ali instinctively hit her, wanting the pain of Cece's nails on her throat gone. Cece's mouth fell open in surprise. Alison dropped the post in shock. What've I done? It took Charlotte an eternity to fall, yet less than an instant. Ali heard screaming, but she didn't know who it was. She stood there, at thee top of the belltower looking down, staring at Charlotte's lifeless body on the grass below. Slowly, Ali sank to her knees and an awful sound escaped her mouth. She didn't know how long she sat there, but her brain eventually began functioning again. They'll think I murdered her. The thought hit her hard. Alison stood and wiped a trail of blood off her chin. I wasn't here. I was at home with her, then I fell asleep. Ali thought to herself as she walked slowly down the staircase, then down the aisle. Once outside, she planned on going to her car, but her feet carried her to the base of the bell tower. Cece's eyes were closed peacefully, she could have been sleeping. There was only a few specks of blood that Ali could see. Alison's mind was blank as she carried out a series of actions. She walked to her car and got a water bottle and washed the blood off of Charlotte. She laid Charlotte's favorite flowers around her body. Ali felt numb. Maybe humans could only experience so much grief until their bodies shut down or something. Alison had seen her mother's funeral, soon her sister's, and even her own. She got into her car without making a sound and drove off into the night. No one could ever find out what happened that night.