"Run."

One word. That's all it took.

The last word I heard, before my world was shattered…

"Run."

Eight years, I lived here in Rosewood. From the age of seven, until I was fifteen years old. The same scene each and every day. It's a quiet town. It's not like LA or New York City. It always seemed peaceful. We all knew each other. There were never any threats. It was almost perfect. Like a utopia, in a way. The city of Rosewood was basically obsolete. Outside of our border cities, nobody knew of us. The people of Rosewood got along. I feel safe. Well…I did.

In theory, I lived a good life. I lived in a beautiful house. I had two loving parents and a brother. I had friends who WORSHIPPED me. I was the Queen Bee at school and ran my house. Everyone wanted to be Alison DiLaurentis. But there was a part of me that nobody knew about, outside of my family. An actual part of me…my sister. She was a part of my life that I never wanted to be uncovered. It was safer that way. Safer for all of us.

My sister's name was Courtney. We were twins. We looked the same, but we were nothing alike. At the tender age of six, Courtney became erratic and wild. At first, my parents thought she had a behavioural disorder, like ADD or ADHD. I had no idea what was going on. I was six too, after all. But I knew…that something was wrong. I heard doctors use words like 'bipolar' and 'adolescent schizophrenia'. Being a child, I hadn't had a clue what those words meant. They stuck with me because that's the first time I remember seeing my mother cry.

Doctor after doctor, misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis. What was wrong with my sister? After a year of dealing with my sister's numerous doctor visits and hospital stays after she hurt herself, my parents couldn't deal with it anymore. They were worn out, they couldn't handle her. I remember being SO angry at them. They shipped her off to some place called Radley Sanatorium in Pennsylvania. Shortly after, we moved to Rosewood.

It wasn't until I was thirteen years old, that I learned the truth. Radley was a place for the mentally unstable. My own sister, was insane. What is 'sane' anyway? She was SEVEN. How is a seven year old insane? Nothing seemed the same anymore. I no longer had my other half sleeping next to me. At the breakfast table. Anywhere. Poof. She was gone. For some reason, I wasn't allowed to bring her up. My parents would get upset. They told me if anyone found out about her, we'd have to move again. So I couldn't talk about her. Neither could my brother, Jason. It was like she never existed.

Life went on. My family adjusted well to the move. Some of us more than others. My parents found really amazing jobs that paid very well. My brother on the other hand, got into drugs and alcohol well into his teenage years. And me, I was popular. I just coasted on through the years, becoming more and more popular. I let this get to my head. I gained all of this power, for what? I was nothing special, yet I was the topic of discussion at school. I don't think I really had friends. Just people who wanted to be me.

I then plucked four girls out of obscurity. Hanna Marin, Emily Fields, Aria Montgomery and Spencer Hastings. Hanna was easy. She was so insecure and desperate for some to follow, a leader. Emily seemed to cling to me like a little puppy dog. She was beautiful. She definitely could have held her own. She just seemed so unsure of herself. Aria, now Aria was different. She had an unconventional type of beauty and was very eclectic. She needed someone to, spruce her up a bit. Spencer was a tough girl to gain as a follower. She was already known. She was a Hastings, so she had a social standing. We were neighbours. She was the only person that I knew, that wasn't afraid to challenge me. I liked that. I don't know what made her join the group. I feel like she saw the power I possessed, and wanted a bit of her own. She wanted to stop living under her sister's shadow and essentially, join forces with me.

Being the leader of a group, definitely made me a little high on power. The girls wanted to be like me, and the boys wanted to date me. I'm sure people hated me, I know I did. If they did, nobody had the guts to say it. I think they were afraid of me. Of what I could do to their reputations. I could do anything I wanted to do, and still be praised. I was untouchable. I thought of the effects that my actions could have on people, but yet I still treated people like dirt. I just did it because I could.

"Who would do anything to stop me?"

That is one question I should have never asked.

"Run."

One word. That's all it took.

The last word I heard, before my world was shattered…

"Run."