Disclaimer: Still don't own it
It was a little disturbing.
It also made me wonder if the girls had been creeped out by the shrine that I had created to Alison when they first saw it.
While it was not a full on shrine like I had created in my own lair, it was still a monument to me; though in a better light than the one of Alison. The base of the shrine was a tall standing mirror which was filled with pictures of me in various poses; in the middle was the picture of me that had been in front of the church at my funeral. In fact, it almost looked like the same picture given the wear of it from the elements outside.
His room was a slight mess with some clothing scattered around as well as some other stuff. Some of the posters that had been on his walls were gone and replaced with a few maps of Rosewood; there were scrawls and writing on these maps which appeared to be some sort of code. Since I didn't presently have a sense of smell, I couldn't tell what the odor of his room was, but the trash bucket in the corner next to the window was full of old food as well as a full dirty clothes hamper next to it.
Mike threw the paper bag on the bed and took off his shirt, dropping it onto the floor. Looking at his body and at the various weight lifting equipment spread though out the room, I concluded that has been working out lately. After closing the drapes to his room, Mike got on his hands and knees. I was confused by his behavior until I watched him reach underneath his bed and grab a small box that had been stuck by tape to the bed frame. He then went to his computer and unhooked the phone line, thus making sure his computer was offline.
It was a good way to prevent someone from hacking his computer.
Opening the box, Mike pulled out a small thumb drive which he stuck in the free slot on his computer. The computer in his room must have been a recent edition since he had always used the one in the family room downstairs for homework assignments; which always struck me as a curious thing since Aria had her own computer. I don't remember ever asking him about that but knew that he wasn't always a tech savvy person before my death. In fact, he had me teach him out to use photo shop once.
I got as close to him as possible without making him uncomfortable since my presence tended to cause a chill when there was physical contact. Looking over his shoulder, I watched him bring up the thumb drive on his computer and saw various folders all labeled with different names. It was then that I realized that what I was seeing was parts of my diaries that I must have hidden somewhere before I died. Mike must have found them somehow and used them for his little secret operation.
"What are you looking for?" I asked my former boyfriend out loud, hoping that maybe he still talked to himself when he thought no one was looking. During our time together, I had noticed that little habit but kept quiet about it since I thought it was rather cute.
"She had to mention this "Abyss" somewhere," Mike muttered as he scrolled through the files. I was a little concerned that he was straining his eyes with him putting his face a little too close to the computer screen.
"You're going back too early; try the later files when I was still in Radley," I told him, wishing that he could hear me.
Then again, maybe it would be a good thing if he didn't find out where the Abyss was given his possible behavior. Right now, I could picture Mike charging off to its location to possibly tackle Alison and her sister alone; probably getting himself killed in the process. While Cece and the other victims of A's aggressions weren't technically my fault, Mike's sudden death would be since he was following my diaries. That would ride on my conscious for eternity and I couldn't have that since I wanted Mike to get out of this town to have a full life.
Come to think of it, if Mike did have my diaries and read through them; why was he still dedicated to avenging me? I had written down every bad thing I had done to his family and sister as well as the others connected to this mess. It was because of me that his parents had the problems they did after the family had gotten back from Iceland; not to mention the Hell I had put Aria though when I had still been A. By simple logic, Mike should be angry and hate me; not going after my murderers.
There was also the chance that he sympathized more with me than his sister given what had happened to me before I had become A. As well as my secrets and schemes, I had also written down all the horrible things that Alison had put me through so it could that he understood why I had done what I done. When we had been dating, Mike had always seemed like he understood me and what I was; even though I had lied to him a few times. I became saddened suddenly because it seemed that I had truly found my soul mate; only to be ripped from him and a possible future by A.
There was a light at the window and while Mike was still focused on the computer screen, I went to see what it was. Looking down at the street below, I saw that Aria was home after being dropped off by Ezra. Since she didn't have the car, I assumed that Byron had it or Ella; maybe both though there was a chance that she and her husband were still divorced. Given what had happened with Zack, I suspected that Ella might want to stay single for a while; especially since her former fiancé had been a pervert.
Funny enough, there seemed to be a theme with this family in regards to dating people vastly older or younger than them.
Deciding that my concern for Mike overran my wanting his escapades to be secret, I phased through the wall and into Aria's room. Unlike her brothers, Aria seemed to keep her room more clean and organized. The bed was made, the floor was free of any clothing or anything else, and the numerous book shelves were clear of dust. The clothes hamper was empty as well as the trash can and there were a few scented candles located at key parts of the room. I also noticed the various pictures of friends and family scattered about; I was surprised when I spotted one of me and Mike even though we were never friends even before I was revealed as A.
Hearing the door close downstairs, I sat on the bed and waited for Aria to show. There was a sudden blast of music that could be faintly heard from Mike's room which told me that he was trying to drown out his sister; which worked out for me since it meant that I could talk to Aria without him listening in. There were things that needed to be revealed and Aria could relay to the others so that we could make our plans. She and I also had to discuss what to do with Mike given the situation he was now in.
Aria came into the room and dropped her stuff once she saw me sitting on her bed. She stood there gaping at me for a minute before coming to her senses and quickly shutting her door, locking it. The lock was a new thing and I wondered if she had gotten it after my death or before since it had been a while since I had last been in here. She stayed silent as she placed her stuff in a corner and went straight to the window in order to close the curtains after making sure that there was no one outside to see into the room.
"You are the only one who can see me here," I told her dryly, bemused by her sudden attitude.
"Shh...keep your voice low," Aria snapped as she went to her cd player and turned on some music to further hide the noise in the room.
"You are also the only one who can hear me too," I stated with obvious annoyance in my tone of voice.
"So Mike can't see you?" she asked, clearly surprised; which was understandable if you think about it.
"No; which is probably a good thing," I said and she seemed confused by that for a minute until she thought she understood what I meant; though only half of it in reality.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to spy on Alison," Aria inquired as she went to her dresser to grab her nightwear. I turned around so that she could change out of the pink dress she was wearing with the tall black boots which was rather stylish in my opinion. I had always liked Aria's taste in clothing and had planned on mimicking it back when I was still alive.
"I got distracted by your brother; we need to talk about him," I said and made sure she knew that I was serious about it.
"I already know he is acting like you by being secretive; I am just not sure what to do about him since he is not listening to me anymore," Aria stated as she got her stuff ready for school tomorrow.
"Well its more than that now; he found my diaries and is using them to blackmail people into helping him take down Alison," I informed her and Aria turned to me and seemed shocked by my news.
"Are you sure?" she asked, bewildered about what I just said and seemed to not believe me given that this was her brother we were talking about.
"Quite; I've been hanging out with him since I left you guys at the cabin; he is blackmailing Noel and Jenna to spy on Alison," I told her.
"I knew Mike was angry but this is something else; what else is he doing?" Aria inquired and I could tell she was worried when she collapsed on her bed, rubbing her temples.
"Working with Lucas and Jason though they don't know about this," I answered, deciding to come clean about the second group given that things needed to be resolved.
"So my brother, Lucas, and Jason are all working together; that's insane," Aria said and I nodded in agreement. I was being a little deceitful by deciding to not say that I had known about the group for a while.
"These are insane times; Alison and her sister started a full on war when they bumped me off and now its consequences are being seen," I pressed; adding a little flare to the situation in order to make the point that the situation is getting serious.
"Is there anything else I should know?" she asked and while I could hear the sarcasm in her voice, I simply dismissed it since she was probably stressed.
"I know where A's Lair is," I answered and that got her full attention as she sat up, staring at me with her eyes bulging.
"Where? We have been trying to find out where Alison's Lair for months," Aria stated.
"It's at Radley; I am also buried there as well," I informed her and she snorted as if it were funny. She looked guilty after I gave her a dry look.
"Sorry; it just seems that everything keeps leading back to that place," Aria said and I nodded in agreement.
"Tell me about it; if there was one place I never wanted to see when I had finally got out of this town was Radley. Now it seems that it might be my eternal resting place," I said and that earned a sympathetic look from her.
"I need to text everyone about this now," Aria said and I nodded for her to continue. I watched as she grabbed her phone and began typing.
"Have I ever told you that love your sense of style compared to the others?" I asked as I saw the dress she was going to wear tomorrow on a hanger in front of her closet. It was a black and blue dress with a very fluffy bottom.
"Really? I thought Alison and Hanna's style was more your thing," Aria said incredulously as she was texting on her phone.
"I did, but I always preferred yours; I even had planned to emulate you if you hadn't come back from Iceland," I told her and she looked up and seemed surprised. After a minute, her phone beeped and she went back to it.
"Spencer wants to know where at Radley is the Lair," Aria told me as she read the text from her phone.
"Ask her if she remembers hearing about the Abyss during her stay there," I said and always enjoyed the fact that I had driven Spencer insane once during the Toby incident. It gave me a sense of pride that I had knocked Spencer off her high horse that she loved being on so much; out of all the girls, Spencer was the most arrogant and sadly continues to be.
"She says no; she never really got involved in the place and its history," the girl in front me said, never looking up.
"Of course she didn't; tell everyone that it's in an abandoned cabin on the edge of the property where no one goes," I said and Aria did what I told her.
"Hanna thinks we should go tonight and storm the place," Aria said and it was I who now snorted.
"Tell Hanna that we need a solid plan now; we can't just go charging in right now and risk A knowing we are coming. If you girls make a move towards Radley, then Courtney might just burn the place down and run; making it hard to find her again," I pressed, making sure Aria and the others got the point.
"Emily wants to know what you have in mind," she said and I smirked since it seemed that the girls were all looking to me in what to do.
The four girls had many weaknesses but there was always one that stood out the most; a lack of coordination when it came to plans. Sure, they could form them and even carry them out but they were always on a small scale. These girls were incapable of coming up with a game changing scheme that could solve everything; thus why they needed to turn to me. After all, it was only because of me that they managed to find out that Alison and her sister A in the first place.
Since the lodge fire, I had a desire to be the new leader of the group and replace Alison; now that was coming to a head even though I was dead. It had been my plan all along when the game had been stolen from me; knowing that the girls would not be able to stand up to this new A who was even more ruthless than I was. Unfortunately, the girls had gone back to old habits and shunned me, preventing me from even helping them when they obviously needed it. I had planned to teach them so much so that they could protect themselves.
"Prom is still in a week right?" I asked her as a scheme began to form in my mind. She nodded and I smiled.
"Then that is when we will strike; while Alison is distracted at the dance," I said and Aria looked confused.
"You really think that Alison will be distracted at Prom?" she inquired and I noticed that she was being a little inquisitive tonight. Then again, I wanted her to learn something meaningful for once.
"We both know that Alison has been preparing for her Prom for a long time so she will definitely be distracted. We just have to make sure that Courtney is distracted as well so we can raid her Lair," I said and Aria leaned in for a closer listen.
"How though? If Courtney is sadistic as we think then I can't see her being sidetracked as her sister will be," Aria said and I had to admit that she had a point.
"Every teen girl wants to go to prom; whether she is nuts or not. Courtney will be there and probably in disguise; that is when we end this for good," I stated, making my point perfectly clear.
"And you have a plan?" she asked while relaying my words to the others.
"Yes, but it's going to need a lot of secrecy and I need every one of you to do exactly what I say," I told her.
"We are all listening; of sorts," Aria said as she held up her phone.
I smiled at that since there was a lot to go over; that is when we heard a sound downstairs.
Please Read and Review; also a big thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read!