I wasn't going to update this until tomorrow, but since I got a fourth review this morning I figured I'd stick to the schedule. Thanks to Fun With Typing, Mr Tea The Dino, RHatch89, and Pinkpoodle8 for reviewing! This is a pretty big one, so please remember to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you guys.

Chapter 42

I've finally accepted that gymnastics has officially lost its place in my life. But that doesn't mean I can't stay in shape.

I turn the music up on my iPod, concentrating on running as I round the perimeter of the gym for the sixth time. It's empty after school, for once, with no basketball practice going on, so I'm taking advantage by running laps. It's kind of nice being able to focus on something other than Alison and "A."

Over the past few days, I've been thinking long and hard about whether or not I should confide my suspicions to Hanna, Emily, Spencer, and Aria. I still can't shake the strange thought that Alison is up to something. But just the other day a man was arrested after being found lurking around in her yard, and he confessed to her abduction.

So who knows.

I try to put it all out of my mind and focus on my breathing. I used to be able to run several miles without even breaking a sweat, but I'm so out of practice that I need to stop and bend over at the waist to catch my breath.

The gym doors burst open before I can put my ear buds back in, and a younger girl who must be a freshman runs in, panting almost as badly as I am. "V-Viola?" she stammers.

I frown at her alarmed look and nod, shoving my iPod into my pocket. "Yeah."

"You need to come to the music room," she says, out of breath. "Mona just fainted."

"What?" My heart jumps in alarm and I push right past her, rushing down the hallway even though my side feels like it's going to split open from so much activity. I skid into the music room with the little freshman at my heels.

Mona is sitting up on the floor, looking dazed and confused but physically okay, thank god. Hanna is kneeling beside her, and a music stand lays overturned nearby. I run over and drop down onto my knees. "Holy crap," I gasp, placing my hand on my sister's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I – I think so," she mumbles, moving her hand to rest on her purse. "Just a little tired."

Hanna shifts uncomfortably, her eyes flicking down to the purse. She looks up and seems to notice me looking. "Um, does your head hurt at all?" she asks, her brow furrowing.

"Maybe a little," Mona says, pressing her hand to her temple and wincing. "But I'll be fine."

"I called your mother, dear," the music teacher calls, appearing from the little office across the room. She spots me and visibly relaxes. "Oh, Viola, good. I'm glad you're still here. Your mother's not at home, but she asked me to see if you could drive Mona home."

"Yeah, of course," I say immediately, nodding and getting to my feet. "My car's right over in the parking lot."

"I'm fine, really," Mona insists as Hanna and I help her stand.

"You go home and rest," the music teacher, whose name is eluding me, says with a kind smile. "I'll postpone my decision on the solo until you're able to audition."

Hanna folds her arms, looking concerned. I notice that she's holding a few sheets of music in her hand. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," I say, smiling. "Stay here and sing. We're good."

But it's more than that. There's something strange about this, I decide, looping my arm around Mona's shoulders as we walk out to my car. I've known her for literally all of my life, and she has never once passed out before, for any reason. I don't think that she faked it, but I do think that there's a reason behind it, and I need to talk to her alone.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask once we're in the car and pulling out of the school's parking lot. "Should I be, like, taking you to the doctor or something?"

Mona sighs and leans her head back against the seat, staring straight ahead. "I told you, I'm fine. I was only out for a few seconds."

"Yeah," I say slowly, stopping at a red light and turning to look at her. "It's kind of weird, though, right? I mean, just passing out, out of nowhere. What do you think caused it?"

"I had a panic attack," she says immediately, glancing at me.

"You had a panic attack," I repeat flatly. I do not buy this one bit. "Really. Over what?"

Once again, my sister does not even hesitate. "Alison," she insists, with such certainty that I'm not even sure why I'm still having a hard time believing this, just that I really am. "I've been having them since she's been back in school, just…never that badly."

I frown ahead at the road in front of me, biting my lip. I shake my head, deciding that I'll let it go for now, at least, and change the subject. "You could have split your head open on that music stand. God, you're lucky." I pull up to a stop sign and turn my head, looking her up and down for any sign of injuries.

I don't see any bruises, but I notice something else, something that gives me pause. There's a bandage on her arm, right on the inside of her elbow, with what looks like a small piece of gauze underneath it.

I focus my eyes on it and frown. "What's that?"

"What?"

"What happened to your arm?" I clarify, tearing my gaze away to focus on driving. "The bandage."

Mona pauses, then laughs a little. "Oh, right. That."

I raise my eyebrows when she doesn't offer more of an explanation, my curiosity growing. She's doing what she always does when she doesn't want to give a real answer – avoiding the question altogether. "That looks like the same place where you'd give blood," I comment.

"Uh, yeah," Mona says after a moment, but there is a definite edge to her voice. "I went to a blood drive the other day."

I can't think of a good argument for this, until a realization practically slams into me. "No, you didn't," I burst out, a memory coming back to me. "We both went with Mom to one just last month. And you have to wait eight weeks before donating again."

I pull the car into the driveway but don't turn it off. Instead, I undo my seatbelt and turn fully in my seat, crossing my arms and raising my eyebrows at my sister.

She is staring at me, looking shocked that I've actually managed to outsmart her. This should be the best day of my life, but I'm too busy putting the pieces together. The band-aid on her arm. Fainting and constantly being tired.

"You're taking your own blood." I don't know this for sure, obviously, but somehow it all makes sense. I haven't been this certain of something in a long time.

"Don't be ridiculous, Viola," Mona snaps and jumps out of the car. She shuts the door behind her but leans against it for a moment, looking dazed.

I leap out and run around to the other side, grabbing her arm. "You lied about giving blood, you passed out completely out of the blue, and you've been going to bed earlier than ever. Tell me the truth."

She wrenches her arm out of my grip and shoots me a look that could melt ice. I wonder for a moment if this was a bad idea, but then she relents, shaking her head. "Not here. Come on."

We walk inside and I follow her up to her room. She shuts and locks the door, then turns to face me and crosses her arms. "I have to show you something," she says in a low voice, so intense that I feel myself getting nervous. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not a single person."

"Uh, I promise," I stammer, a lot less sure of myself now.

I watch her walk over to what looks like a tiny little black refrigerator. I squint at it, sure that I've never seen that in all of the times I've snooped through this room, which are more than I'd like to admit. But then she pulls the door open, and it becomes immediately clear that this is not just a normal fridge.

Cold steam bursts out, clearing to reveal a rack filled with little test tubes of some dark red liquid.

Suddenly, I feel a little dizzy myself. I stumble back and land on the bed, my hand flying to my forehead, where a pounding headache is starting to form. "What the hell is – is that your blood?"

"And here I thought you already put all the pieces together," Mona says dryly, shutting the door to the little fridge quickly and folding her arms.

As usual, I am left to beg for information. "Well, obviously not! This is most definitely not what I was expecting. Okay." I take a deep breath and manage to successfully stop the room from spinning. "Are you going to tell me what the hell you're doing?"

"I'll tell you," she confirms, sitting down beside me and grabbing my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. "But you have to promise me again. As crazy as you think this is, you can't tell anyone."

I squirm away, sick of being treated like a narc. "Mona, my whole life pretty much revolves around keeping secrets. What makes this any different?" But even as the words leave my mouth, I know they're not true. There's something very different about this, and I feel a strange sense of dread deep in my stomach.

"I have a plan," my sister says slowly, her eyes lighting up the same way they always did when she was telling me about some new "A" plan. This does not help my nerves. "I'm going to find out who 'A' is, Viola."

"What do you mean? How is your blood going to help you do that?"
She smiles, but I can see about a thousand emotions behind it. "I'm going to fake my death."

I'm leaping up off of the bed before my brain can even comprehend this. I open my mouth to say something in response to what is probably the craziest thing I've ever heard, but I can't even think of any words.

"Listen to me," Mona goes on, obviously noticing my horror. " 'A' came up with this plan, for me to fake my death and leave evidence that will get Alison thrown in jail for my murder."

"Wait," I interrupt, holding up a shaking hand. "How is that going to help you find out – "

"I'm going to gain 'A's' trust, Viola," she cuts me off, glancing at the window as if she's expecting "A" to appear there. "I'm going to gain their trust and find out who they are, and then I'm going to come back to Rosewood and tell everyone. Alison will go free and…" She stops pacing, her smile widening. "And I'll be everyone's hero."

I do not even remotely know how to handle this. Not just the plan, which is completely insane, but her attitude in general. I've never seen her this manic over anything, and that above everything is making me anxious.

I'm aware that the silence has stretched on for too long. I need to say something in response to this, so I settle on, "You're kidding, right?"

Mona's smile fades into a look of disbelief, like she can't believe that I don't see the genius in this idea. "It's going to work, Viola. I'm positive."

I'm not so confident. In fact, I feel a panic attack of my own coming on, a real one. Shaking all over, I wrap my arms around myself and tilt my head to one side. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," I declare, aware that my voice is trembling. "You're going to end up getting killed."

"I'm not," she says insistently, shaking her head. Her eyes are still shining with enthusiasm, which is not helping to calm my nerves. "That's why you have to make sure that you don't tell anyone about this. If 'A' finds out that I'm double-crossing them…" She trails off, shaking her head.

I don't even want to think about that. "Okay," I say slowly, reaching up to chew on my thumbnail, "and what about in between the time you fake your death and find out who 'A' is? Where are you gonna go? How am I going to know that you're alright?"
"I have that all figured out," Mona says, because of course she does. "I was going to make a map for you to find after I left, but I might as well tell you know." She walks over to the window and points in the direction of the woods behind our house. "You know that big tree just a little ways into the woods, the one we used to climb when we were kids?"

I roll my eyes and smile for the first time in this whole conversation. "Yeah, the one I broke my arm falling out of."

"It's got a big knothole in it," she goes on, grinning. "And it's hollow. I can hide letters in there, to let you know that I'm okay. And you can do the same."

That makes me feel a little better, but I still don't think I can remain standing any longer. I sink down into the chair at the desk and press my hand to my chest. "You're giving me heart palpitations."

"Viola. I'm going to be fine." Mona grabs my hand, squeezing it. "I've been saving up money and supplies, enough to last me a few months. There's nothing to worry about."

I bite my lip and stare at the ground, wondering if she really believes that delusion, or if she's just trying to put on an act for my benefit. But one thing is certain – there's nothing I can do to talk her out of it, so I ask the next most pressing question I have. "When are you going to do this?"

She shrugs, nodding at the little refrigerator. "Soon. I still have to save a little more blood to make it look real. I'll probably be ready sometime in December."

I feel my throat constrict. December? It's nearly Thanksgiving. December will be here in only a few short weeks.

The gravity of what is going to happen brings a sudden rush of tears to my eyes. My parents are going to be devastated. For weeks, months even, I am not going to have a sister.

This is too much to bear, and I leap up, wrapping my arms around my sister in a tight hug. "Okay. I know I'm not going to be able to stop you. But please, just…be careful."

...

Instead of a summary, here's an excerpt from the next chapter: "I grin, enthusiasm beginning to replace the dread that has plagued me over the past few days. Finally it seems like we're actually closer to solving this mystery than we ever have been."