THANK YOU for the five reviews so quickly! You guys are brilliant, and I wish I could have gotten this up yesterday like planned...unfortunately FanFiction's issues prevented that. Anyway, I think that's going to be my general plan for now. Five reviews and a quick update (quicker than this one, hopefully). So let me know what you think!

Chapter 16

A week has passed since the Halloween train incident, and I am just beginning to get over it, which is not easy considering Garrett's face is all over the news. For a while, I seriously considered going to the police, giving up my part in this mess and confessing that the "A" game is still going on.

But my fear of that stupid picture getting out stopped me, once again. Because that wasn't an empty threat. There is no doubt in my mind that Mona would absolutely sell me out and find a way to put that picture in the newspaper if she felt I betrayed her.

And my fear of Red Coat goes even farther. I'm scared enough of my own sister, and she isn't even in charge of the game anymore. I don't even want to think about what Red Coat could do to me if I got on her bad side.

So I'm going to keep quiet. At least until I can figure out Red Coat's identity.

I hear mention of Garrett Reynolds and pick up the remote, flicking off the television in the kitchen. I fill a glass with water and sit back down at the table just as my phone chimes with a text from Justin: Hey. Are you around?

I'm free right now, I type back, smiling. What do you have in mind?

Finally, I have a free afternoon, with no tests to study for or "A" missions to worry about. Everything has been pretty quiet on that front since Garrett was murdered and Alison's body was discovered in the ice chest, actually. Part of me wants to believe that this is all that "A" wanted, and that this is all finally going to be over.

But I know better. Something big is going to happen soon. I can feel it.

I shake my head, pushing that thought out of my mind. I glance down at my outfit as I wait for Justin to reply. Lately, I've taken to wearing the brightest, flashiest, most colorful outfits I can, whenever I'm not in the black hoodie. It's almost like I'm trying to convince the world that I can't possibly be bad…because no one who's really bad wears bright colors. Recently, I almost feel like I have two different personalities living inside of me, and it's starting to scare me.

Dropping something off in Rosewood for my mom, Justin texts back, breaking me out of my thoughts. Meet in half an hour on Main Street?

I answer with an enthusiastic "yes" and send the message, just as the doorbell rings. I set my phone down, grab my glass of water, and go to answer it, confused. It's nearly four in the afternoon, not usually a time when salesmen come around.

I open the door cautiously, and the glass nearly falls out of my hand. "What – what are you doing here?"
Mona smiles sweetly at me, turning around and waving at the white car parked outside of our house, marked with the words Radley Sanitarium. "My doctors released me," she says, picking up the duffel bag on the ground.

I can think of many reasons why that statement is alarming, but I am too stunned to do anything besides try and scrape my jaw off of the ground as my sister walks around me into the house.

"What do you mean," I finally ask, getting my bearings and shutting the front door behind me, "your doctors released you? No mental institution would release a minor patient without their parent being there."

She smirks at me, rolling her eyes. "Viola, I was sneaking in and out of that place for months. It really wasn't that difficult to convince them that I'm 'all better now.'"

I am suddenly very nervous. "So you're home now? For good?"

"Isn't it great?" She smiles widely, suddenly hugging me tightly. "It's like we can really be sisters again."

There is a note of fakeness in her tone that is not lost on me. Something is going on here. I know this, but I take a breath, cautiously raise my arms around her shoulders, and say, "Yeah. Great."

"I'm going to go unpack," Mona calls, already heading up the stairs.

I nod faintly, just as my phone chimes, once again from Justin. Hey. I'm here. Where are you?

I wince. I'd completely forgotten about our plans. I glance at the front door, tempted to run right out and possibly not even come back, but I shake my head, knowing how badly my mother would react if she found out that I ditched my sister to go hang out with some guy.

So, with much hesitation, I send a text back, making sure to keep it vague: Something just came up. I can't meet today – I'm sorry! Talk to you later.

…

I am woken at midnight by my sister kneeling beside my bed. I jump a little, not just from surprise, but also from the immense amount of déjà vu that I am experiencing. But I am happy to say that she is at least wearing pajamas, not a black hoodie.

"What do you want?" I groan, not sitting up, because I have a Spanish test first period tomorrow and I was really counting on getting a good night of sleep.

Judging by her expression, Mona is either very nervous or very good at faking it. "Can I sleep in here tonight?"

I sigh dramatically but flip over, pushing a few pillows off of the other side of the bed. "Sure. Fine." She gets in beside me, and I roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. "What are you so worried about, anyway?"

There is a long pause before she says quietly, "I'm scared to go back to school tomorrow."

I'm not so sure that I believe this. "Oh, come on," I mutter, rolling my eyes. "You can break into people's houses, send threats by text, and run someone over with a car without any problem, but you can't go back to school?"

"I don't want to go back," she insists, and I glance over. "Mom and Dad are forcing me. I wanted to go to a different school."

"What?" I whisper, shooting a look over my shoulder to make sure that the door is closed.

"Everyone knows what I did," Mona whispers, her voice shaking. "No one's going to be on my side. Even Hanna."

I close my eyes and take a breath, knowing that I am going to have to be supportive. "Um, hello? I will be. And most people don't even remember what happened." Lie. Everyone very much remembers how one of the most popular girls in school ended up being a crazy stalker.

And even worse, everyone very much remembers that I am her sister.

I still can't figure out if Mona is faking this whole scared to death act or not, but just in case, I reach over and grab her hand. "It'll be fine. Don't worry."

When I wake up two hours later, I am shivering. "Hey," I mutter, sitting up and pushing my hair out of my face. "Do you want me to turn up the – " I stop speaking abruptly when I turn to find the other side of the bed empty.

And I am freezing because the window is wide open.

I groan and fall back on the pillow, rubbing my eyes. I am so used to this that I am not surprised anymore, and to be honest, I don't even care.

…

It is not fine.

People start to stare pretty much the second we get out of the car. Whispers of "She shouldn't be here" and "What is she doing here?" follow us all the way to the bottom of the steps. I am actually feeling pretty empathetic toward my sister, to the point that I don't even want to bring up her whole disappearing act last night.

Mona looks over at me, her face reddening. I link my arm through hers just as I hear a friendly voice break through the murmurs. "Hey!"

I turn, smiling as Macy waves, walking toward me. Over the past few months, she has finally started coming around, even sleeping over at my house a few times. I think she's finally starting to move past the whole "my best friend's sister was institutionalized" thing.

That is, until she comes closer and spots Mona standing beside me. The smile slips off of her face and she goes pale. "Viola," she says quietly, grabbing my free arm. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Um," I say, and turn back to my sister, pulling my arm out of hers. "I'll be right back. Wait here."

"Okay," she says quietly, clutching her books to her chest and staring down at the ground.

I can't help but feel bad as I follow Macy a few yards away, unable to stop myself from knocking my shoulder into a staring, gaping freshman boy, shoving him right against the wall.

"What's up?" I ask nervously, leaning against the bike rack. I shouldn't have asked. I know what this is about.

Macy glances behind us, then leans closer and says, "You didn't tell me she was coming back."

I roll my eyes at her theatrics. "I didn't know until yesterday," I explain, making sure to keep my voice down, because my sister isn't the only one people are looking at. "But come on, Mace. It's not a big deal."

Her mouth falls open. She chokes out a laugh, shaking her head at me. "Not a big deal? Um, Viola, she hit someone with a car last year. She's been locked up in the loony bin for months! How can you say that this isn't a big deal?"

I open my mouth to speak, but she's still talking, almost rambling at this point. "I mean, crazy doesn't go away, right? You'd better be careful, Vi. Any one of us might get slammed down by a car next. Even you."

None of this is necessarily untrue, but I am suddenly very annoyed. "Mona would never hurt me." Then she'd be down one team member, I add silently.

Macy looks incredulous. Her eyes grow wide. "She almost killed her own best friend. You shouldn't let your guard down."

I hesitate as I think about this, glancing over at the front steps. Mona is standing in the same spot, looking tiny among the sneering crowd. I frown, confused by my own empathy. Either my sister really does have multiple personalities, or she is excellent at faking at least one of them.

Either way, I turn back to my former best friend with a smile. "I know, Macy. I get it." I lean a little closer. "And you know what else I know? That you cheated your way through the second semester of chem last year."

She pulls away from me, her expression of worry switching to one of shock. "What?"

I fold my arms across my chest. "I know that you were buying test answers from Lucas," I tell her, my voice low.

Macy grabs my arm, shaking her head hard. "You can't tell anyone that, Viola. I'll get expelled."

I smile at her, a plan beginning to form. "I won't. I'd never do that you to. Unless, of course, you try and do anything to my sister. Family before friends, you know?"

The words come out with a little more venom than I intended, but Macy looks adequately freaked out. "I won't do anything," she insists. "I promise. Just…don't tell anyone about the test answers. Anyone."

"I promise," I repeat back to her, smiling. The first bell rings, and she squeezes my arm, running off. I watch her for a moment, pressing my lips together carefully. I haven't gotten an assignment from "A" in a while. I wonder if team members are allowed to carry out their own plans.

Still thinking about this, I head back to the steps, almost bumping into Aria on my way. "Hey," I say cheerfully, but she doesn't even appear to have heard me.

"Hello, Aria," Mona says in response to Aria's panic-stricken expression.

When Aria does not respond, looking very much like a deer in headlights, I walk over and grab my sister's arm, tugging her toward the doors. "Come on," I say, shooting a nasty look at a group of whispering, pointing girls. "We're gonna be late."

...

Yikes. Looks like Viola's "A" side is really kicking in. And next up, Viola's dark side takes over when she carries out an "A" plan all of her own thinking.