Since I didn't get much feedback at all on the last chapter, I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow (thanks to RHatch89 and Guest!). But I've had an absolutely horrible day and figured that getting this up is a better alternative to continuing to cry. So here we go. I was pretty disappointed with only two reviews on the last chapter, though - hopefully just a result of the holiday break. I'm really hoping to get some more feedback on this chapter - your reviews would really turn this awful day around.

This is a sweet chapter, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 46

We had a motion-activated porch light.

That was my main concern, the only thing really on my mind as I snuck across the yard, the damp grass brushing against my ankles. I kept my eyes focused on the door, squinting through the pitch-black darkness.

I was only several yards away when I tripped on a root and pitched forward, gasping and stopping myself just before I tumbled right onto my face. Then I froze, staring up at the front porch with bated breath.

Nothing.

I exhaled in relief and kept going, not stopping until I reached the front door. I was in the clear. Maybe Macy was right. Maybe I shouldn't worry so much…after all, sneaking out really wasn't that hard.

Then I eased open the front door and slipped inside, and as I closed it, the creak resonated through the house.

I swore I could actually feel my heart stop beating. The front door creaked. The freaking front door creaked. How did I not remember that?

But maybe no one heard. Maybe it was too late, everyone was asleep and it wasn't loud enough to –

"Viola?"

"Shit," I whispered, a word that Macy had recently started using, so I'd picked it up, too. Around my friends it made me sound mature, like I really was about to start high school in just a few short months.

But in the silence of my house, I felt like a little kid playing dress up.

Frantically, I yanked the sweater draped over my arm on over my crop top just as my sister walked around the corner, wearing pajamas and pushing up her glasses. "What are you doing?"

I just about jumped out of my skin. "Nothing!" I said, although it came out more like a scream. I glanced at the stairs and clapped my hand over my mouth.

Mona's eyes widened, and I knew it was over. I was caught. "Where were you? Why are you sneaking out?"

I rolled my eyes, despite myself, and looked over at the clock above the television. It was after two-thirty in the morning. "I'm not sneaking out. I'm sneaking back in."

"Where were you?" she asked, watching me curiously. "Were you at a party?"

I folded my arms and sighed. Sometimes I felt like I was about ten years older than my older sister. "Yes, Mona. I was at a party."

"Whose party?"

"God, would you quit acting like Mom?" I snapped under my breath, hopping up onto the first stair. "Some kid in your class. Me and Macy and a couple others got invited. Noel somebody?"

"You were invited to Noel Kahn's party?" she said, and I hesitated, taken aback by the hurt look on her face. "Really?"

I shrugged, brushing my hair out of my face. "I guess. It was mostly ninth graders, though, I didn't really know anyone else." I left out the fact that Alison and her posse had been there as well. Actually, I'd spent most of the night dragging Macy from room to room, trying to avoid them. As much as I hated to admit it, Alison still scared the crap out of me.

"I heard about the party," Mona said softly, not meeting my eyes. "I wasn't invited."

I winced, my stomach dropping. Oh. In one short conversation, I'd gone from feeling on top of the world to feeling like the worst sister ever. "We could've gone together. I didn't think you were into parties."

"I would be," she mumbled, tugging on one of her pigtails. "If I ever got to go to any."

I bit my lip, watching my sister play with her hair. And then, all at once, an idea hit me. "Come on," I hissed, grabbing her hand and pulling her up the stairs. "I'll make you a deal. If you promise not to tell Mom about me sneaking out, I'll help you get invited to the next big party."

"What does that mean?" Mona whispered, following me into my room. I shut the door quietly and flicked on the light.

"Sit down," I ordered, gesturing to the stool in front of my vanity. She did as I said, and I moved to stand behind her, smiling into the mirror. "You need a new look," I declared, nodding to myself, "I think, now that you're in high school. The pigtails just aren't cutting it."

"I'm not sure – " Mona protested, but I leaned down and quickly pulled the hair ties out of her hair, which fell in waves down her shoulders.

I stepped back, a bit stunned. "See? I forgot how pretty your hair is."

She ran a hand through her hair, her brow furrowed. "I don't know, Viola…"

"You need new glasses, too," I continued, on a roll now. I bounced a little on my heels, excited. A few months ago, Macy had let me redo her makeup. I'd forgotten how much I liked giving people makeovers. "Or contacts, or something. No offense, but those kind of make you look too young. And here." I ran over to my closet and rifled through it, pulling out a dark purple spaghetti strap top. "Wear this next time you go out. To the store, to the mall, anywhere you might see kids from school. Wear it."

Mona turned away from the mirror, already tying her hair back again. "I don't think I can do this."

Deflated, I sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled my knees up to my chest. "Sure you can. You just said you wanted to start getting invited to parties. This is what you have to do."

"I want to be popular," my sister said, standing and turning back to look at herself in the mirror again. "But not as badly as I used to. Not badly enough to change who I am to make it happen."

I winced, suddenly feeling bad. I hadn't thought that was what I'd been trying to make her do. But I guess in a way, it had been. Guiltily, I fiddled with my opal ring. "You're right. I'm sorry. And you shouldn't feel bad about yourself. You look fine. And parties are pretty lame, anyway."

Mona smiled, putting her hand on the doorknob. "Don't worry about it, Viola. One day people will see me for who I really am."

…

"It's weird." I laugh a little, leaning back against a tree and folding my arms over my legs. "She spent so long worrying about what Alison and everyone else thought of her. But starting that night…it was like she suddenly had this new confidence. It was amazing. But then Alison went missing and…" I trail off, shrugging.

Mike glances over at me. He's been sitting on a rock a few feet away, listening silently to my whole story, and when he speaks, his voice is quiet and a little raspy. "She got what she always wanted."

I whip my head up, recalling that awful memory from the night of Alison's disappearance and feeling my heart begin to race. "What?"

"Popularity," he clarifies, holding out his hands, and I breathe out, relaxing back against the bark.

"Right." I smile as my heart rate slows back to normal. "God, I remember the day that Mona and Hanna first showed up at school with their new makeovers. I lost count of how many people came up to me and said, 'Is that your sister?' But she seemed happy, finally. I was really proud."

"I remember that day, too," Mike says, looking up at the tops of the trees, which are mostly bare. It's early December and it's freezing, but we still come here almost every day, to sit by this stupid tree even though there's never anything in the knothole. It feels wrong not to. "I was standing with a bunch of my buddies when they walked down the hall, and I couldn't look away."

I tilt my head, raising an eyebrow. "You had a crush on Mona even back then?"

"No," he says, and for a second turns bright red. But then he grins. "I had a crush on Hanna."

My mouth drops open. "Hanna?" I demand, laughing. "For real? Oh my god."

He nods, looking completely embarrassed but still smiling a little. "Don't tell anyone this, but she was my first kiss. I guess I like girls who are different from the rest."

My laughter subsides and I smile faintly down at my lap, feeling sadness start to creep in once again. Forcing back tears, I chip at my dark red nail polish and mutter, "Well, Mona was definitely different."

After a long moment of silence, I glance up. Mike is staring at the ground, and his face has gone pale. "What?" I ask, startled.

"You know what my biggest regret is? About all of this?" he says quietly, and I lean forward to hear. The wind has picked up a bit, and I raise my hand to press my woolen hat down over my ears. "I never got to tell her that I loved her."

Ouch. I'm pretty sure my heart just cracked down the middle.

"Mike," I sigh, scooting over and putting my hand on his shoulder. "She knew you did. And she loved you, too, I know it. That's why she trusted you to keep this secret."

"Sometimes I wish I didn't know," he says flatly, staring straight ahead. "It might make this easier to accept."

I hesitate, battling with my own indecision. For a moment, I agree, realizing that it would be easier if I didn't know the truth, about Mona's plan with "A" to fake her death. I still would have lost my sister, but then maybe I wouldn't still be sitting below this empty tree, waiting for the hope that's never going to come.

But I ultimately shake my head, closing my eyes. "I'm glad that I know," I announce. "I'm sick of being kept in the dark all the time. The more I know about 'A,' the better, because when I find the person who did this…whether it's Alison or someone I've never even met…" Suddenly furious, I grab a stick from the damp ground and snap it between my hands. "I swear to god, I'm going to kill them."

Mike is watching me a little fearfully. "You're the only person I've got left," he mutters, resting his head back against a tree and closing his eyes. "So don't do anything stupid."

I raise my eyebrows at that. Out of all people, I never would have guessed that Mike Montgomery would become my new best friend. "What about Aria?"

"Aria?" He lets out a harsh laugh, narrowing his eyes at me. "Are you joking? She hasn't cared about me in a long time."

I chew on my thumbnail, unsure how to respond to that. "I'm sure that's not true," I say quietly, but he just snorts, not even bothering to reply.

We sit in silence for another ten minutes. Once I manage to chip the rest of the nail polish off of my thumb, I heave myself off of the wet leaves and brush off my pants. "I have to go," I say, jumping up to check the knothole one last time, even though I checked when I got here. My fingers brush against the bark and I leap down from the branch. "Are you coming?"

Mike looks up at me. His eyes are wet, and he blinks quickly. "I think I'm gonna hang out for a while longer."

I shrug and pick up my bag. "Whatever." I turn to the pathway of now-permanently trampled leaves and push a branch out of my way. Then I glance back and smile, to try and lighten the mood. "You'd better not catch a cold out here, Michelangelo."

...

Again, please let me know what you think! Your reviews brighten my day. Next, two months have passed, and Viola's anger and grief finally bubble over into a major confrontation. Also, "A" is back...with a threat that's bigger than ever.