Trigger warnings for the rape of a child, drugging, child abuse, murder, plans of torturing someone to death and trauma. Also for crude language surrounding the mentally ill, because Courtney's in this chapter.
Again, I'm not kidding. There is the explicit mention of a child being raped in this chapter. Repeatedly. If this is a particular trigger at all for you, do not read this chapter.
Chapter 32:
The Sisters' Wrath-Part one
Rosewood High
Having been driven to Rosewood High and dropped off a block from there, so that no one would see her and Maya getting out of Cece's car, Spencer and Maya both thanked the blonde and Cece smiled, reminding Spencer and Maya that if they needed or wanted to? They could contact the redcoats, including Alison and Cece herself, through Noel.
Maya nodded smiling and Spencer answered her confirmation, not appearing very enthusiastic. Whether it was the idea of talking to Noel or because Spencer didn't trust Alison or what, Spencer just looked unsettled.
However, Spencer surprised Cece, when she said, "And what am I supposed to do when I see Toby again?"
Cece tightened her hands on the wheel of her car. That was, admittedly, a good question.
She nodded as she answered, "Noe will be there at the school. So will Shana. Whenever he tries to get you alone or Mona tries to get you alone, avoid them. And Spencer? Mona isn't the one in charge. That appears to be clear. She's a lacky. Like Toby is."
And like Lucas was, but they'd get to that later.
Spencer shrugged, but started walking to the school, as did Maya. Cece called to them and promised them they'd be okay, and that if they were worried? They'd just need to contact Noel or Shana.
As they walked away, Cece began driving, thinking about what they needed to do next. Alison made the decision to store away the footage from the recording box from Wilden's car. As well as the USB drive with the information on it.
What worried her was if Ali saw what was on that recording. If she saw Charles and saw that Cece had made contact with Charles.
Then she'd start asking questions, wouldn't she?
Cece tried not to feel disturbed as she drove off to go meet Ali.
They'd discuss it later.
Spencer and Maya walked up the steps of the school, occasionally both feeling like they needed to say something surrounding the issue of -A, of Alison, of Toby, of all of this. But they both weren't sure how to start talking about it.
When Spencer entered the building, she knew that she couldn't tell any of her friends about what she had learned. And -A had put a gag order on her about Hanna. Best she not say anything.
Yet.
As was the case with anything she learned about anything revolving around -A? She felt the strong need to tell all three Hanna, Aria and Emily. But knew she couldn't.
Not unless she wanted to put them in further danger from -A. Not unless she wanted them to know more than they should. Not unless she wanted them to have to mentally deal with knowing that Alison was still alive and involved in an entirely different life now, and acted almost like an entirely different person now.
That part? That part made Spencer question her senses more than anything.
Just how different Alison was now.
Spencer honestly wasn't sure she even could recognize Alison now.
Maya stopped next to Spencer as she said, "I'm going to go see if I can find Emily, alright?" Spencer nodded and they both knew they shouldn't say anything to the others.
They parted ways and Spencer braced herself for both when she would see her friends eventually and when she would see either Mona or Toby eventually. Lucas, too.
(Page break)
Alison waited by the safehouse she had gone through the woods to get to. It wasn't that far from where she, Spencer, Cece and Maya had stayed last night. Easy to get to. It was just one of the many safehouses she'd stay at. She knew that right now, Noel and Shana were at their posts, in Rosewood High, watching over the girls.
Shana had been patrolling last night before, Cece knew. But right now, Shana would be at the school, as was expected.
And Sam and Kira were at their posts. She had told Cece through text, which safehouse she was going to, so that Cece could join her. And yes, Alison had checked every inch of this safehouse for cameras and microphones with gloves on, just to make sure that the -A Team wasn't listening or watching.
There was nothing. So, she and Cece were in the clear. For now.
Alison checked the time on her phone. Her phone which had duct tape over the cameras and had its chip removed and the "tracking" parts of whatever apps were on here, were all deactivated.
The time read that it was almost 11. Cece would be here in a few minutes.
Alison put her phone away, then stiffened when she felt a presence next to her.
She heard Courtney's mocking voice in her left ear. "Still so delusional that you're a hero or something?"
Alison rolled her eyes. "I've never said I was a hero in my entire life, Courtney," she said.
She turned to face the presence she knew only she would be able to see.
She looked into excited, vicious pale blue eyes.
Alison leaned back against the wooden wall of the safehouse, feeling strangely comforted by the dark clothing she had on, even if the sun was shining right now. She figured that was what came with speaking to one's deranged twin, who only you could see.
"No?" Courtney asked grinning as she dropped herself down onto a log to sit down and honestly, Alison wasn't sure how that worked if Courtney wasn't physically here. She'd have to ask Kala, Wolfgang, Riley, Sun, Lito, Nomi and the others how that worked eventually.
Courtney continued, "You sure act like it. But never mind. Not my problem. I got a question for you. What do you get when you put a dingo in a cage with four helpless kittens?"
Alison eyed Courtney. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like the punchline of whatever it was her sister was saying. But she decided to play, anyway. She said, "I have no idea. But I'm sure you'll tell me."
"Well," Courtney said, grinning even wider now, "You should get a bunch of dead kittens. Because a dingo's a dingo. And it's always hungry. But instead, in some cases," Courtney was grinning still, but she stared at Alison as if Ali was supposed to get some twisted joke, automatically, "But instead? What do we have here? A dingo that doesn't have its teeth and claws anymore. And a bunch of flourishing kittens."
Alison glared at Courtney. "Really?" She asked, "That's the analogy you're going with? Spencer, Emily, Aria and Hanna aren't kittens. And neither you nor I are dingoes, toothless or otherwise."
Courtney shook her head, her grin softening into an evil smirk. "Now, did I say anything about you or me, or about the girls?" She asked playfully, even if both she and Alison knew that that was what Courtney was talking about.
Alison scowled at Courtney. (We both know that you were talking about the girls just now with that analogy), she practically threw that mental thought at Courtney and she wondered if Courtney heard it or not.
Courtney, instead of responding to any catapulting thought, said, "But even if I was talking about them, doesn't it just drive you nuts?" She paused and added, "Then again, I probably am not one to be asking if they're being driven nuts or not."
Alison chose not to dig too much into that "nuts" comment and asked, "What do you mean? What drives me nuts?"
Courtney said, "Seeing Spencer all the time, but never being able to touch her? I mean, now she even knows that you're alive. And that you want to protect her. How are you able to stop yourself from pinning her up against a wall, and shoving your hand between her le-"
"Enough!" Alison spat, practically jumping off from the wall and stepping closer to where Courtney sat on the log threateningly, trying to ignore how Courtney's suggestive words affected her, ignoring the tempting mental image of Spencer almost entirely naked and Alison closing in on her and pulling what small shreds of clothing the brunette had on off of her, pinning Spencer to the wall, then slipping her hand between Spencer's legs and pushing her fingers into….
The point was, Alison needed to ignore that specifically animalistic fantasy.
Alison glared down at the smirking Courtney, "You will not talk about her that way."
"But you'll think about her that way, won't you?" Courtney asked, grinning now up at her sister, "Don't think I don't see that fantasy in your head, Ali. I see it. And trust me, I want that too. She belongs to us. Not to Toby. Or to anyone else."
Alison ground her teeth together. So, Courtney could see her thoughts. Or her mental images, anyway.
"Spencer isn't some possession," Alison warned Courtney, "Not yours or mine or Toby's or anyone's. She's her own person. She's not some possession to own."
Courtney snorted, unaffected by Alison's impassioned statement. "And you're going to tell me that you're not jealous of Toby?" She asked, watching Alison expectantly.
Alison glared harder at Courtney. "Yes," she said, "I was. Back when they were together. But if they chose to stay together? That was their choice. And as long as Toby didn't hurt Spencer, I was happy for them. But that's not an option now. Toby has hurt her. So, I'll stop him from hurting her more. However, even if they've split up? Spencer still isn't our possession. She's not anyone's possession."
"Hmm," Courtney said, nodding, but didn't look convinced, "That's what you say, because you think it's the right thing to say. But that's not how you feel, is it, sister?"
Alison felt like every muscle in her body was tense, hearing that. Unfortunately, Courtney was right.
She and Courtney were twins. In every aspect of the word.
Including in their twisted and possessive desires.
"And what would you suggest doing with Toby then?" Alison asked, more than sure that Courtney had an opinion about what to do with him, since he was a threat to Spencer.
This time, to Alison's surprise, it was Courtney's turn to look uncomfortable.
The younger DiLaurentis twin lost her haughty face and shifted on the log. "I don't know," she confessed, "I mean, I'm pissed that the two of them were ever together and even more pissed that Toby would join -A and hurt Spencer, but I don't know."
Alison narrowed her eyes at Courtney. This was an odd response. She'd have thought that Courtney would have claimed that she orchestrated Toby joining the -A Team, in order to get Toby and Spencer to split up. But that didn't look to be the case.
Alison confessed, "I would have thought you'd want to kill him."
To Alison's growing surprise, Courtney looked up at her with shock, then outrage, "No, I'd never want to hurt Toby!"
Alison actually stepped back, hearing such strong words. Courtney's expression was actually genuine.
"Why?" Alison couldn't help the question that came out, "Why wouldn't you want to hurt Toby? I thought since Spencer…"
Alison watched as Courtney looked away and Alison knew that she was getting to a subject that was important.
"Courtney," she said gently, "Talk to me. Aren't we supposed to tell each other everything?"
She knew that hitting the twins subject was a low blow, since they were separated so young. But she knew she needed to know what Courtney knew.
Courtney just snorted again, but this time, she looked helpless.
She said, finally looking at Alison again, "I could never hurt Toby. Because of his mother."
Alison blinked in surprise. Toby's mother? Marion Cavanaugh?
"Marion?" Alison asked and was surprised when Courtney flinched from the name as if Alison had just struck her.
"What about Toby's mother?" Alison asked, "How did you know her?"
Courtney said quietly, staring at the ground, as if she was hoping it would open up and swallow her, "She was mentally ill, Alison. I think you knew that. But what you didn't know was that she was sent to Radley for treatment. A fuck load of good that did her."
Alison considered that, startled. She felt that same painful guilt, whenever she thought about her time around Toby and his mother as well. Remembering the terrible things she'd said about Toby's mother.
She, needless to say, was far from decent around Toby or his mother. Or Jenna, either. Then again, Jenna always was a monster.
Jenna had forced herself on Toby again and again. So, out of the three of them, Jenna unfortunately, arguably had deserved what Alison had done. And even that, Alison regretted.
However, what Courtney said about Marion being sent to Radley, caught Alison's attention.
"You knew her," Alison said, and it wasn't a question.
Courtney nodded, looking like she was in so much pain.
Alison had heard that Toby's mother had died. She hadn't known what the specifics were, but she had heard it was an accident.
Alison couldn't help the question that she asked, even if she knew that it would probably upset Courtney, "Do you know how she died?"
Courtney almost shuddered and Alison regretted her question.
But Alison took in the sight of Courtney like this. Courtney…she actually looked like a real person right now. Not like she was some growling grinning animal or sadist. Now she looked like an actual human being. A sad one, yes, but a human being.
And honestly, seeing this, Alison had to wonder how much of Courtney's mocking and comments were part of an act. After all, Alison knew that she herself, had used so many insults and threats and almost all of them were an act, a persona she put up to pretend that she didn't care about the four girls that were with her at the time.
And to hide that she was in pain all the time because of how her family treated her.
"Yes," Courtney said, "I know. And it wasn't an accident."
The anger on Courtney's face made Alison sure of one thing. Marion's death hadn't just been not an accident, but it was intentional.
"Not suicide?" Alison asked.
Courtney glared at Alison and Alison was startled by how honest Courtney looked just now. "Marion wasn't suicidal," Courtney snapped, "She didn't have depression. I don't have a very high opinion of nut bags, okay? Being one myself? I don't care. But I know the difference between Marion's mental illness and depression. And Marion wasn't suicidal. She was murdered."
Alison was positive that there were a lot of things they'd need to discuss about how Courtney talked about the mentally ill. About how Courtney talked about herself and about how she talked about those that were clinically depressed, however, what Courtney said about Marion being murdered? That was rather vital, she was sure.
"You know this for sure?" Alison asked Courtney.
Courtney nodded. "I do," she said, "I saw it happen."
Alison gasped. Okay, that she hadn't been expecting.
Courtney saw Toby's mother get murdered? How? Who did it?
Alison doubted that Courtney was the one to have done it. She remembered what Courtney had said to her about murder last night. Courtney hadn't committed any murders yet. Of that, Alison was sure.
Courtney clearly was curious about murder and was interested in committing one. But she hadn't done one yet.
"And you wouldn't hurt Toby, because of Marion?" Alison asked.
Courtney nodded again. "Marion," she said, her eyes sad, "She was kind to me."
Alison was startled. Courtney and Marion had known each other. And Marion had been kind to Courtney. Was it possible that Courtney was remembering things wrong because of her condition? Maybe. But what Alison knew was that Courtney certainly believed what she said.
Which led Alison to a decision. She would need to go back to Radley, or send someone there again. Find out what they could about Marion Cavanaugh.
And about Wren.
And Spencer.
Alison ignored her unease. She knew she'd need to Ask Courtney about Spencer and Wren soon. But right now? She'd have to stay on the path where this information about Marion Cavanaugh might lead her.
"Courtney," Alison said, keeping her tone low now, "Who killed Toby's mother?"
That was, assuming that Marion was even murdered and Courtney wasn't actually remembering things wrong.
Courtney's face twisted, as if remembering whatever it was she remembered was painful for her. Immensely painful. She then pushed the words out, "I…I can't," she shook her head, "It'll hurt her if I say it."
Alison frowned. "Hurt who?" She asked, "Marion?"
Marion was dead, but Alison had to wonder if Courtney fully understood what "dead" meant or if Courtney believed that Marion had faked her death like Alison had.
"No," Courtney said, shaking her head, "Not Marion. Nothing can hurt her now. She's dead. I mean Spencer."
Alison froze. Why would telling anyone who had killed Marion hurt Spencer?
Alison's mind went to a troubled place.
Why would Courtney saying anything about how Marion, Toby's mother, hurt Spencer, unless Marion was killed by someone Spencer cared about?
"Who was it, Courtney?" Alison asked, "Wren?"
Courtney looked at Alison, startled and Alison smiled sadly. "It's not that hard to assume," she said, "You don't want Spencer to get hurt? It was someone that Spencer cares about, right?"
Courtney nodded. "Yeah," she said, "But it wasn't Wren."
Alison tried not to shudder. Shit. It was like she thought. She had hoped that the person that had killed Marion was Wren. Because while Spencer might have cared about Wren? It was still just an infatuation.
The only other option? Was assuming that the person that had killed Marion, the person that Spencer cared about, was a member of Spencer's family.
Deciding to go with the person the least tied to Spencer, Alison asked, "Jason? Was it him?"
Courtney laughed, "You kidding me?" She asked, "The only time Jason has ever had the balls to do anything, was when he bashed your head in with a rock and let our whore of a mother bury you alive."
Alison almost fell over from that. It just came right out of left field for her.
She gaped down at Courtney. Jason had….?
Courtney stared at Alison, actually looking honestly surprised. "You didn't know?" She asked, "You didn't even suspect?"
"I…," Alison said, shaking her head, "You…you know that it was Jason? You're certain?"
Courtney nodded.
She said, "I didn't find out until after you were pulled out of the ground. But that night, I stumbled onto the whole that you were dug out of and I was trying to figure out what happened. I saw the blood on the rock and I saw the hole, but that was it. But I saw Jason and our mother arguing through the window of the house. And I moved closer and leaned against the glass and listened in. The window was open somewhat, so I heard what they were saying. Jason was drunk, as always. And he said that he was glad he had hit you with that rock and that you deserved to be buried alive and our mother snapped at him and told him he wasn't to tell anyone what he did and that she was going to save him if she had to."
Alison stepped back, feeling like Courtney had just tossed an actual bomb out and let it blow up in front of them both.
Was Courtney making this up?
Or had Jason actually tried to kill Alison? Like Courtney claimed?
Alison knew that Jessica DiLaurentis had protected whoever had tried to kill her. But she hadn't realized that it was Jason who had hit her with the rock.
But it made sense, didn't it?
If Alison had died that night, Jason would have been one of Jessica's only two children left.
And one of those children, as far as Jessica likely had known at the time, was locked away in Radley, considered an unsafe mental patient.
If only to protect her image? Jessica would have protected Jason from being locked up.
And if Jason was arrested, it was inevitable that Peter and Jessica's affair would have come out.
Jessica would never have allowed that.
So, yes, Alison could believe that something like this had happened.
But it didn't make it hurt any less.
Jason, the young man who had supposed to be Alison's older protective brother, had tried to kill her. And her mother had buried her alive.
Courtney, seeing Alison's anguish said, "We don't need them, Ali. We're better off without them."
Alison nodded, trying to keep her pain contained.
But her mind went to the girls as it always did. That decided it, didn't it? She couldn't allow Jason anywhere close to any of the girls, could she?
But she'd do that later.
She grated the words out, pushing her pain aside, "If it wasn't Jason that killed Marion, then who was it? Someone Spencer loves, right?"
Again, Courtney looked like she would rather do anything else but speak. But she finally answered, "You have three guesses."
Alison nodded. She was going to have to assume that amongst those three guesses, Veronica was at the bottom of the list.
"Peter," she said, "Peter was the one to do it, right?"
Courtney shook her head. "No," she said, "Not Peter."
Alison's eyes widened. Not Peter Hastings?
Of all people, she would have assumed he was the most likely in the Hastings family to commit murder.
And before Courtney even tried to elaborate, Alison said the next name, "Melissa Hastings."
Courtney smirked. "Ding, ding, ding," she said, "We have a winner."
Alison's mouth dropped. "Why would Melissa want to kill Marion?" She asked.
"Why wouldn't she?" Courtney asked, "Think about it. What club was Jenna Marshall a part of? Marion was married to Jenna's father. Jenna met Wilden and the rest of the NAT club almost as soon as she and Toby and their parents moved here. Toby was too timid at the time to ask questions about it. And Marion wasn't exactly tough, but she was mentally ill, so, she wasn't as aware of the danger, like Toby was. So, she asked too many questions and she saw things she wasn't supposed to. And Melissa? She was involved with both Garrett, and Ian, before you were declared missing. If anyone had a motive to kill Marion Cavanaugh and silence her? It was Melissa Hastings. Going to Radley to do it, would have meant nothing to her."
Alison felt like an entire ocean's worth of cold water had just been spilled all over her.
Jason. Her mother. Marion. Melissa. Radley. Courtney. All of it was tied together.
Jason had tried to kill her. And high and drunk or not, Jason likely hadn't cared all that much. And even if he did, years later, whether he remembered it or not? He clearly was arrogant enough, regardless of all his predatory actions, taking advantage of young girls, to believe that he got to lecture people about "doing the right thing."
Jessica DiLaurentis had kept so much a secret, letting Courtney be locked away and erased from the family and not letting anyone, probably including Jason himself know that Jason had almost killed Jessica's older daughter.
Marion Cavanaugh had been murdered. Killed for what she knew and it was made to look like an accident. And it was easily made to look like an accident, because it was done by someone from one of the most prominent families in Rosewood.
And Melissa Hastings had killed Marion. All to protect the two men she was involved with. Melissa, someone Alison was sure, was a sociopath.
"You're not lying about any of this?" Alison asked, staring down at Courtney.
Courtney shook her head. "No way," she said, "I'm not lying about it. I wouldn't. I want that bitch, Melissa and Jessica and Jason all to die for what they did."
Alison breathed in, then pushed a deep breath out. They'd get to the "die thing," later.
But Alison had a new question.
She tried to ignore all the thoughts this new information caused her. She asked, "Courtney, as long as you're being this open with me? Can you tell me what happened between you, Spencer and Wren?"
As soon as she asked that question, she knew she had touched as sensitive issue.
Courtney again almost shrank back, looking worried.
"That," Courtney said, glaring at Alison now, a hiss coming out of her, "After I tell you," she snickered, "You'll want to kill Wren when you hear it."
Alison shifted, hearing this. "What is it that will make me want to kill him?" Alison asked, thinking about what Wren might have done to Spencer in Radley, "Courtney, did Wren attack Spencer at Radley? When they were younger?"
Courtney laughed, and this time, Alison was sure she heard the brokenness in the laugh.
"If by attacked," Courtney said, staring at Alison sadly, "You mean he got into her cell regularly and raped her? Yes."
Alison felt like she was hit with a sharp blade, coated in ice. She stared at Courtney with wide eyes. She knew it was something bad, but that bad?
Courtney stared up at Alison with such pain and conviction and rage, that Alison knew that she had to believe it.
Either Courtney was so convinced that it had happened that she was able to convey that it was true, or it actually had happened and Courtney was simply telling the ugliest truth there was.
"Wren," Alison almost whispered, "He raped Spencer. More than once?"
Courtney nodded, that pained look still all over her face. "Do you have any idea how many times I tried to stop it?" She asked, "Many times," she reached up to her face, and pressed gloved fingers against the scar across her face. "And every time I tried?" she said, "I'd get beaten up by his father's guards, and I'd get my face slashed by Wren's knife. A knife I now have. But by the knife that Wren used, anyway. Wren's father eventually died. I had nothing to do with that, but I bet that Wren did. And now Wren has his daddy's position."
Alison felt sick. She thought she might vomit, knowing all this.
She then asked, "How has Spencer not remembered any of this?"
Courtney laughed again, this time it was lighter than before, but not by much, "Memory suppressants. They're a real bitch. You know why Spencer has a drug problem, even if she doesn't remember that she does? It's because Wren had her on those drugs for years while she was at Radley. And when she's on those drugs? She doesn't remember anything afterwards. Whenever Wren chose a time to get into her cell and attack her, he'd always conveniently give Spencer some drug that would make her go into a state where she wouldn't remember anything later, so he could do what he wanted with her when she was on the drugs."
Alison could feel bile just beginning to rise inside her. Courtney knew that Spencer had a drug problem.
Maybe it was because Courtney had been watching Spencer for so long, but she knew.
And something about that, just made Courtney's claims, as insane as they sounded, seem so genuine.
Horrifying, but genuine.
And somehow, Alison knew in her gut with growing, cold conviction, that Courtney was telling the truth.
Spencer had been drugged several times by Wren, then raped by him.
In Radley, when Spencer had just been a child. And when Wren had been a teenager, and almost an adult by that time.
"If what you say is true," Alison said, "I'm going to kill him."
Courtney got up, now looking more in control than ever, grinning, "Wanna see how true what I'm saying is? Here. I'll show you."
Courtney tensed up, and it looked like she was actively focusing on Alison, suddenly, a blast of images hit Alison's mind.
And when it did? Alison screamed.
When Cece reached the safehouse, only fifteen minutes after Courtney DiLaurentis sent the most horrifying images into her twin's head, and Cece parked and got out of her car, she didn't even get the chance to lock the car up when she heard crying from some part of the property next to the safehouse.
She turned, looking for the source of the crying and her eyes widened when she saw Alison crouched down by a log, shaking her face in her hands, weeping.
"Ali?" Cece asked, running over.
She leaned down and hugged Alison to her. "Ali," she said, pain ripping into her heart, "What happened? What is it, baby?"
She held Ali to her, hugging her as Alison cried against Cece, her hands leaving her face, allowing Cece to see the tears streaming down the young girl's cheeks.
But what hit Cece so much worse than the tears, was the absolute broken expression on the younger blonde's face.
Cece felt cold all over. "God, Ali," she whispered, "What happened?"
Alison sniffled, then to Cece's growing fear, she started giggling and a strained smile crossed her face. "What happened?" Alison asked back, "Oh, Cece…..what happened, happened long before I even met Spencer and the other girls. I thought I could protect them. But it turns out, I was never able to protect them. Certainly not Spencer. She was hurt even before I came into the picture. And I couldn't do anything about it. Neither could Courtney."
Cece tried to ignore the cold nausea that was building up inside her.
What the hell was this?
"Ali," Cece said, slowly standing them both up, never letting Alison go as she did, "Please just tell me what happened."
Alison stared at Cece and Cece suddenly was terrified of whatever Alison had learned that had gotten her this way.
"Cece," Alison said, "He raped her."
"What?" Cece asked, alarmed. Who? What?
"Wren," Alison said, growling the name out, before her voice became broken again and she said the next words out, words that were watery and weak, "He raped her. So many times. He raped Spencer so many times. And he drugged her before he did it so that she wouldn't remember. When Spencer was very young and Wren was a teenager. In Radley."
Cece thought she had just fainted. That she was hallucinating. Because she had to be. Because had she really just heard what she heard?
"Radley…..," Cece said, "Spencer was in Radley? And Wren? He drugged and raped her? Multiple times?"
"Yes…," Alison sobbed, shaking.
Cece shook her head, not entirely able to comprehend this. What the hell?
When Cece heard Ali beginning to gag, the older blonde's eyes widened and she turned Alison to bend slightly at the ground, and grabbed Ali's hair, holding it back and Alison couldn't hold it back anymore and she vomited out all over the ground.
As if Alison was trying to disgorge herself of what she had just learned.
After Alison had emptied everything out of herself, onto the ground, she shook still and even if there was still some liquid on her lips, Cece pulled her again against herself and held Ali as Alison again began to cry.
"Shh, shh," Cece tried to sooth the younger, "Shh. Okay. I believe you. But I don't know how you found this out."
Ali again laughed, but it wasn't as broken sounding as before. It just sounded sad now.
Alison moved herself away from Cece and Cece reluctantly let Alison go.
Alison pulled the small, thin pack off of her back and opened it. She showed it to Cece.
"I guess there's no use hiding it anymore," Alison said, laughing that sad laugh again.
Curious and worried, Cece reached into the pack that Alison had opened up, and pulled out what was in it. It was a file. A document of some type.
Cece looked at the file and her mouth dropped when she saw the name on the file. "Spencer Hastings."
That was the name that was on the file. Spencer Jillian Hastings.
Cece stared at the name, then looked at Alison, who stared sadly at her.
Cece opened up the file and looked at what was inside.
It was a Radley document. On Spencer Jillian Hastings, age 8.
Cece's mouth dropped. 8? Spencer was thrown into Radley at the age of only 8?
And whatever Spencer's condition had been, the reason for why she was sent to Radley? It was classified as "unknown" in the document.
Cece lifted her head to stare at Alison. "My god," she said, "This…and Wren was alone with her?"
Alison nodded. "I know," she said, again sounding broken, "Courtney showed me."
Cece tried to ignore the horror that Alison's words of Courtney "showing" her something, whatever those foreboding words meant, and asked, "Okay, what…..what do you want to do about it?"
Alison's expression turned from pained, broken and sad, to cold and angry.
She said, tears still coming down her face, "Wren. Wren Kingsley. He has to die."
Cece nodded. She had expected that. If Alison was as sure of Wren's evil as she claimed she was, then Wren now had a titanic sized target on his back.
"And Spencer doesn't know any of this?" Cece asked, feeling more confused and horrified by the moment, "Because of the drugs?"
"She doesn't," Alison said, "And it's going to stay that way. Spencer can't find out. If she finds out?" She shuddered, "Fuck, can you imagine, Cece? It'll destroy her. It's bad enough that Courtney told me. It's bad enough that Courtney knows about it. She…she showed me. She can give me images, apparently. And she showed me a bunch of images from when she was a kid, in Radley. Things she saw Wren do to Spencer."
Alison again looked like she might get sick, but nothing happened thankfully.
Cece felt cold horror tear through her stomach. Courtney had actually shown Alison? Had shown Alison with actual images?
Cece wanted to find Courtney and give that unstable, little brat a piece of her mind for doing something like that, but she had a way bigger thing to worry about.
Alison's mental state.
"Ali, sweetie," Cece said softly, "Alright, Wren's dead. But I don't feel good about leaving you alone right now."
Alison gave Cece a cynical look. "What? You think I'll show myself to the other girls if I'm left on my own right now? No. I'm just going to go find Wren, grab him and torture him to death."
Cece shivered at how deadly serious Ali sounded right now.
Shit.
Any mercy? Any belief that Alison previously had that all people deserved a second chance and that killing was only for absolutely necessary things? That very evidently was no longer on the table.
Wren was doomed.
Wren had made his bed. And Alison was going to make sure that he would lie in it.
"Alright," Cece said, trying to keep her voice controlled, "I'll go with you. We'll find him. And you can do what you want with him. And I'll cover for you, make sure no one sees us. But what about this?"
Cece held up Spencer's Radley file.
"Burn it," Alison said, staring at the file as if it was a disease, "Spencer can't ever know. I'll kill anyone who had a hand in what happened to Spencer at Radley, so they can never hurt her again. But Spencer can't ever find out. Burn the file."
Cece's eyes widened. Ali was serious. But she nodded and did as Alison said.
She helped Alison inside the safehouse, grabbed the hose from the side of the house, turned it on and blasted water onto the ground, washing the vomit that Alison had spewed out, away. After that, she turned off the hose, put the hose away, went to the kitchen of the safehouse, tossed the file into a big, metal pot, pulled out some matches and lit the file on fire.
As the file burned, Alison went to the bathroom to clean up.
When the file was incredibly charred, Cece grabbed the lid of the pot and placed it on top of the pot, smothering the fire.
Cece then looked at Alison, saw how the younger blonde stood in front of the mirror, her gloved hands grabbing the edge of the sink and staring at herself in the mirror and even from where she stood, Cece could feel Alison's wrath.
All of Alison's mercy and goodwill no longer existed. Not at the moment. Now Alison was all rage and fire.
Alison wanted blood. And she would have blood.
Specifically, Wren's blood.
Cece was fine with that. She had always figured that Wren would be one of the people they would need to put down. Still, she hadn't thought it would be for this specific reason.
Spencer had been raped? As a child? And she didn't remember.
Cece couldn't help but wonder the question to herself-did Charles know?
Cece figured she could put that issue away for now and ask him later. Right now, she needed to help Ali.
Even after Wren was dead, dead by torture, presumably, what then?
How would this impact Alison later?
Knowing that Alison had been forced to see vivid images of the young woman that Alison was in love with, being raped when said young woman had only been a child?
Alison was going to need so much help. All the support she could get, even therapy.
Cece sighed. She knew after this? She'd need to talk to the parents. Alison's mothers and fathers. Miyako, Miyako's sisters, Adriana, the Bakers, the Sense8s, everyone needed to know how much help Alison needed.
The only problem became how she was to do that, when Alison didn't want anyone else knowing what had happened to Spencer, for Spencer's mental wellbeing.
Cece honestly didn't know. But she'd have to figure it out. After she helped Alison kill Wren, anyway.
Cece watched as Alison's face hardened and her teeth clenched and Alison whirled around and left the bathroom, walking to the front door of the safehouse, Cece nodded and after making sure the fire was completely out, grabbed the matches, several containers of gasoline and headed out of the safehouse with Alison.
She knew without a doubt that Alison was going to kill Wren. And she had seen it all over Alison's face just now.
Cece had seen that face on Alison before.
It was a face that Cece had seen during fights between them and gangs and them and that cult they had run into before. And between them and Sensoriums that sided with BPO.
Whenever Cece saw that expression on Alison's face, she knew that there was no reasoning with Alison's desire for an enemy's blood to spill.
And what happened to Spencer was clearly reason enough for Alison to get like that.
They loaded up into Cece's car, and Cece started the car up, checking the rearview mirror, seeing Alison curl up onto the backseat with the seat buckle on, and looking to her right, at the opposite side of the backseat and Cece was positive that the two of them weren't alone. That Courtney had just joined them.
For now, Cece tried to ignore her fear for Alison and backed up out of the driveway.
Alison looked over at where Courtney sat in the back seat to the right of her.
Courtney smirked at Alison.
"Getting ready to kill Wren?" Courtney asked, "Good. It's about time. Finally," Courtney's grin was wide as the hatred that she and Alison shared for Wren became unbearable, "Now he will pay for everything he did to Spencer."
Alison nodded, glad when she felt the car backing out of the uneven driveway. Yes, it was. Soon, the person that had violated Spencer, for years, would know exactly what justice felt like. It would feel like his insides were being removed. Slowly. Very slowly. And without anesthetic.
Author's note
Many revelations, as you can see.
Yes, Marion Cavanaugh was killed by Melissa Hastings, to protect Ian and Garrett, as I said. And yes, Courtney saw it happen. This isn't a red herring.
And yes, Jason was the one that hit Alison in the head with the rock, but he doesn't remember, because alcohol and drugs and all that. This is also not a red herring.
And yes, Wren did rape Spencer several times in Radley, and drug her to make sure she'd forget it. And yes, Courtney saw that too. That wasn't a red herring either.
