Chapter 2

4 HOURS EARLIER

Alison balanced a shopping bag on her hip as she unlocked her front door. She dropped the bag on the bench before switching the light on. She begun unloading her groceries, pausing only to uncork her bottle of wine and pour herself a glass.

"Got another glass?"

Alison spun around and felt the glass of wine slip out of her fingers. It shattered on the tiles, surrounded by red wine.

"Don't be so dramatic, Ali," Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"You're not real," Alison said shakily, taking a step backwards.

Charlotte sighed, "Of course I'm not. I'm a ghost. A twin. Maybe a really good, creepy mask of your dead sister," she smirked and held out her arms to her sides, "Sorry, sis. No strings. The trick was in the death not in the resurrection."

"I don't understand," Alison shook her head.

"Oh come on, you were dead once too," Charlotte grinned.

"How… you've been alive this whole time? The board game…"

Charlotte beamed proudly, "That was a good one, huh? I don't know about you but I really enjoyed playing that one."

Alison looked towards her front door before looking back to her sister, "What do you want, Charlotte?"

"That's not the nicest way to greet your long lost dead sister," Charlotte pouted, "I just want to bond, baby sister."

"Well, I'm really not in the mood for any more of your games," Alison took a step backwards, casting a look towards the door again.

"It's already been locked," Charlotte nodded at the door, "from the outside."

Alison swallowed tightly, looking back at her sister, "I tried to help you. I spent five years visiting you every single day… I grieved for you. I cared."

"I thought so," Charlotte nodded, "but then you let her get away with it."

Alison frowned, "Let who… you mean Mona?"

"Of course I mean Mona," Charlotte said coldly, "You thought she killed me. She confessed to you all. Now Hanna, I get, they were friends, whatever but you… You were meant to care. To love me. And you let her just walk away."

"It's not that simple – "

"Not only that," Charlotte said loudly, "Now you're here with her. Halfway across the country. And all of a sudden the bully and the loser are best friends? Gotta say, that hurts, Ali."

Alison scoffed, "Yeah, well… things between you and I changed after you… died," she surveyed the woman before her, still almost expecting to wake up from this scene at some point, "More of your lies, your masks. I don't even know who you are. Other than a liar. A manipulator."

"Takes one to know one," Charlotte laughed, "Maybe I'm just complex. I am a Dilaurentis after all."

"You sure about that?" Alison sniped back, "I thought you knew everything."

Charlotte bounced her eyebrows with a knowing smile, "Look, Mary's sweet… but mom raised me. She'll always be my mom and that means I'll always be a Dilaurentis. I'll always be your big sister, Alison. No escaping," she winked.

Alison just stared, trying to figure out the woman before her. Every time she thought she sensed something genuine she was reminded of every lie, of every scheme, of everything she had found out since Charlotte's reveal and then again, since her death.

"We found this lair at Aunt Carol's… made it look like mom knew I was alive… "

Charlotte nodded, "She knew," she confirmed, "It was a pity… she was looking, I was looking, we just weren't looking together. Not for a long time anyway."

Alison studied the other woman's face, searching for the grains of truth, "If mom was looking for me, it meant she wanted me alive. She cared. She wouldn't want me hurt," she looked at her sister evenly, "So, if you really did love mom – "

"I'm not here to hurt you, Ali. Jeez. We are family, remember?" Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Charlotte?"

Charlotte smiled sadly, "I just want a second chance."

Then she moved quickly.