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Chapter 40

My leg thumps up and down restlessly as I sit on the cold front steps, fiddling with my phone and already regretting the second cup of coffee that I had this morning.

But I figured that I would need it. Today isn't just another normal Monday, which is bad enough. Today is Alison's first day back at school.

I only know this because Hanna sent me a text last night, warning me. It's the first I've heard from any of the girls since they came back from New York, doing who-knows-what. They only came back to school themselves a few days ago, and I haven't gotten a chance to speak to any of them.

A dark green pickup truck turns onto my street, slowing down in front of my house, and I smile, getting to my feet and pulling my bag over my shoulder. Justin waves out the window, honking the horn.

I glance at my car, sitting in the driveway, as I walk over to the truck. On my way home from the mall yesterday, the power steering completely shut off. Thankfully I only had a few more turns until I got to my house, but after nearly crashing into a tree when I couldn't turn the wheel fast enough, I don't really feel like driving again until it's fixed.

So that was icing on the cake of a terrible week.

"Hey," Justin greets as I climb into the passenger seat, leaning over to hug him.

"Hey," I reply, smiling. "Thanks for the ride. Again."

"No problem," he says, easing the car back out onto the street. "Nobody got mugged this time, right?"

I force a laugh even though that's the last thing I feel like doing. Ever since I skipped out on the anti-Alison meeting, Mona has completely iced me out. This morning she sped off without saying a word to me, knowing full well that I didn't have a ride to school.

Thankfully I have the best boyfriend – we finally cemented our status yesterday, over pizza – in the world. "No one got mugged," I confirm after a moment, shaking my head. "My sister's just acting like a bitch." And you're not acting much better, an annoying little voice in the back of my head taunts.

"Ouch," he groans, laughing, but his face quickly turns serious. "So I heard," he goes on, his voice lower. "About Alison being alive. It's been all over the news."

"Um, yeah," I say, drumming my fingers against my leg and trying to hide my surprise that even neighboring towns have heard the news. But I guess most towns don't have news like a dead girl suddenly reappearing, very much alive.

And then her mother being found, dead and buried.

I flinch involuntarily as this memory comes racing back to me. I'd almost forgotten, among all of my other problems. Right after the girls got back from New York, the DiLaurentis' new dog sniffed out something that was buried in the Hastings' backyard.

And that something was Jessica DiLaurentis.

I feel a surge of sadness for Alison and Jason, thinking of myself in their shoes, especially Alison's. She never got to say goodbye to her mother, I realize with a start. Mrs. DiLaurentis was dead by the time Ali came back to Rosewood.

"What's wrong?" Justin asks, glancing over at me as he pauses at a stop sign, my school coming into view. "You look a little pale."

I hesitate, wondering how much he knows. Mrs. D's death has been all over the Rosewood news stations lately, but I doubt that it's spread to Brookhaven yet, especially since he hasn't brought it up.

I don't think I can handle telling that story – it was hard enough just thinking about it – so I say the next best thing. "I'm fine…it's just that today's Alison's first day back at school. I'm a little nervous, that's all."

"Why are you nervous?" he asks, giving me a strange look. "Isn't she a year older than you?"
And she's probably going to be in all sophomore classes, I think, remembering that she's missed over two years of school. "Yeah, she is, but you never knew Alison. She kind of made a lot of enemies before she went missing. I'm not sure that this is going to go so well."

We pull up in front of the school, and he leans over to kiss me. "I don't care about Alison," he says quietly once he pulls away. "I just hope you have a good day. Want me to pick you up, too?"
I want him too, yes, but falter, already feeling like I've troubled him too much. I can't make him drive out of his way twice in one day. "No," I say with a sigh, shoving open the door. "I'll find a ride. Thanks."

Smiling, he waves and drives away, and I brace myself, turning toward the school. I immediately spot Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily standing a little ways away from the front doors, glancing around nervously, obviously waiting for Alison. I wonder if she'll even show up – it might all be too much for her.

I scan the rest of the crowded area. Alison is nowhere in sight, but I notice my sister standing at the top of the steps, along with several other members of her…group? Army?

I square my shoulders and stand up tall, knowing what I have to do. I've known Mona my whole life, and even from a distance, I recognize the look of forced calmness on her face…she's nervous.

I try to look past what happened the other night, reminding myself of the torment that Alison put her through for nearly four years. Cruel nicknames, rumors, exclusion…

Taking in a breath, I hop up the front steps and walk over, pausing beside my sister. "Hey."

She glances over at me, her expression hardening. "Hello."

I shake that off and reach over, squeezing her arm. "I'll talk to you at lunch, okay?"

Mona doesn't smile, but the coldness of her gaze softens a little. She nods and turns away, back to scanning the swarm of students below.

I wait for a moment, then shrug and head inside. I don't need to see Alison's arrival. After all, I'm not fighting on either side of this war.

…

Hey. How'd the big first day go?

Fine. Didn't really see her. Thanks again for the ride.

I set my phone on the table, facedown, and sit up straighter on the couch, trying to focus on my math notes. I have a test tomorrow that I have completely neglected to study for until now, and I refuse to be one of those girls who are constantly distracted by texting their boyfriend. My grades have already started to slip as it is.

I hear the door open and twist around to glance behind me. "Hey," I say as Mona slips inside, "where have you…" My voice trails off as soon as she turns toward me, revealing the angry red scratch on her cheek. "Whoa. What happened?"

She doesn't respond, not looking at me as she starts up the stairs. I scramble off of the couch and rush after her, grabbing her arm. "Seriously. Who did that to you?"

She closes her eyes and whirls around. I take a step back. "I'll give you one guess," she says, her voice shaking.

For once, it doesn't take me more than a few seconds to put the pieces together. "Alison?" I ask, feeling my mouth drop open.

Mona reaches up to touch the cut, then crosses her arms. "I went to the church to drop something off for the clothing drive, and she just appeared out of nowhere, like she was following me or something. I tried to talk to her, but she just…attacked me."

I shake my head, a little suspicious of this. "I don't – "

"If you don't believe me," she interrupts, obviously noticing the hesitation in my voice, "just watch this." She holds out her phone and I take it just as a video starts playing.

It's angled upward, with Alison right in the center of the small screen. "You're scared because you know it's not gonna take me long to win over your army of losers," she's saying, her voice sharp. "I made you 'Loser Mona' once and you know I can do it again."

Then Alison reels her hand back and slaps my sister across the face.

I gape, my eyes widening in shock even as I become aware that there's something strange about this video, the way it's filmed. I can't put my finger on exactly what it is, but I can't shake the feeling that something is off.

Either way, there's no way to fake what I did see. "Oh my god," I mutter, shaking my head. "I can't believe she actually slapped you. That's almost too cliché."

"I didn't believe for a second that Alison's changed," Mona says, setting down the phone and crossing her arms. "She's been trying to get people back on her side from the minute she's been back. Maybe this will make people realize that she's not the victim she's pretending to be."

I don't like the thought of her going around showing that video to everyone in school, but something else has piqued my interest. "Wait. What do you mean, she's not the victim?"

"Alison was never abducted, Viola," she snaps, rolling her eyes. "You really thought her story was true, being kidnapped for two years and conveniently escaping just a few weeks ago?"

I think about this for a moment, not answering. I don't know the details of the two years Alison was missing, only that she was apparently taken that Labor Day night by some man and only managed to get away a few weeks ago, when she jumped, blindfolded, out of his car. Until now, she'd been too afraid to come out of hiding, for fear that he'd find her again.

"No," I say slowly, because truthfully, her story had never seemed completely believable. But I guess I just chalked that up to not having all of the details. "Not really."

"Alison is just as manipulative as ever," Mona insists. "And she's not going to stop until she has the whole school eating out of the palm of her hand."

I sigh and frown, grabbing her arm and pulling her down the stairs. "Come on, I'll help you clean off your cut," I say, because it just occurred to me that I need to stop this conversation before it goes too far.

But I also realize, as I wet a paper towel at the sink, that all of my sympathy for Alison is gone. And I'm totally prepared to let her know that.

...

Uh oh. So Viola has officially changed sides. Next chapter, as she prepares to go and confront Alison, she recalls the memory of their first and only other confrontation. Again, please review! Reading your lovely words just makes me want to update faster. :)