Thank you to RHatch89, Pinkpoodle8, Diane 61, Fun With Typing, and nick2951 for reviewing the last chapter, and to Queen24824 for the favorite! I appreciate the feedback guys! Please let me know what you think about this chapter.

Chapter 58

I thought when they carted us all to the hospital that we'd be there for weeks. I mean, it's not every day that seven teenage girls – yes, seven, there was another girl down there. Sara Harvey, the girl abducted a few towns over the day after Ali disappeared – get kidnapped and held for weeks/months/years in an underground bunker dollhouse.

But it only takes a few days for them to pump some nutrients into me via IV and decide that I'm rested enough to leave. Even Sara, who was held in that horrible place for years, was released when the rest of us were.

The first thing I notice when I walk through the front door of my house is the smell. It's something I never noticed when I lived here, when I was so used to it, but I inhale and can't help but smile. I'm home.

I walk inside and pause in front of the mirror in the entrance, beaming at myself. We were released from the hospital three hours ago, but made a pit stop before coming home. Mona stops beside me and we smile at our brown-haired reflections. Finally. Bethany Young is officially out of my life.

"I can't wait to see my room," I announce, and dash up the stairs and down the hallway.

I stop in the doorway to my bedroom, and the relief and joy hits me so hard that I nearly fall over. It looks exactly the same as it did two months ago. The light blue walls. The black and white bedspread. The white dresser and desk. And the best part is the large window that practically covers an entire wall. I walk over and pull aside the curtains, reveling in the sunlight. I haven't been in a room with natural light, not counting the hospital, in months.

I sit on the edge of my bed and hold my arm out in front of my face. It's still as skinny as a stick. But I guess that's only natural when you've been practically starved for two months.

I feel healthier though. I'm not hit by dizziness every time I move, and I'm just starting to get used to the feeling of being full instead of starving.

Even mentally, I'm starting to feel better. I still jump at loud sounds and I don't think that school is going to be on the table for another week or so, but surprisingly, I haven't had even one nightmare – my sleep has generally been dreamless – and even over just a few days, I've found myself thinking less and less of my horrible experiences.

I wonder as I climb into bed that night if I'll be able to sleep. In the hospital, it was easy, knowing that so many people were always around. And I was usually on a few painkillers or sedatives, which helped. But I barely slept fully at all during those two months in the dollhouse. I wonder if my body even knows how to fall asleep on its own.

But I'm out almost as soon as I hit the pillow. I'd forgotten how it feels to sleep on a real bed, not a dingy wrought-iron one or a cot in the hospital.

It's the best sleep I've had in months, but it only lasts a few hours. I jolt awake at three in the morning to the sound of a scream. For a second I think it came from some dream that I don't remember having, but the muffled sobs coming from the other side of the wall seem to prove otherwise.

Nauseous from being woken so quickly, I groan and hop out of bed, bracing myself for the dizziness that doesn't come. I smile despite myself. I've gotten so used to being constantly in pain or off balance from lack of food that it's always a surprise when I realize that I'm healthy again.

I pad softly down the hall and push into my sister's room. Mona is sitting up in bed, tears shining on her face. "Whoa," I say in alarm, closing the door quietly and rushing over. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"How do you deal with it?" she gasps between sobs, pressing a hand to her chest. "The nightmares?"

I wince. Oh. "Um," I mutter, feeling guilty even though there's no reason to, "actually, I haven't really been having nightmares. I haven't really dreamed at all since I got out of there."

"I have them every night. And they're getting worse. Sometimes I know that I'm dreaming but I can't move, can't do anything to wake up." Her voice cracks, leading into a fresh burst of tears.

I stare for a long moment, completely perplexed. I have never seen my sister like this, so totally unraveled. Usually I'm the one freaking out or panicking while she keeps it together, like always.

This is very unsettling.

"Hey," I stutter after an awkward amount of time, reaching out to smooth back her hair. "It's alright. You've been in hell for four months, of course you're having nightmares. But it's over. We're all safe now." She leans against my shoulder and I hesitate, battling between curiosity and sympathy.

As usual when it comes to me, the desire to pry wins out. "What are your nightmares about?" I ask quietly.

Mona reaches up to wipe at her eyes. Her face has gone completely pale. "If you don't want to tell me," I offer, feeling bad for even asking, "it's okay."

"Viola," she bursts out suddenly, sitting up. "I have to tell you something."

I shrug. "Okay."

"No. This is serious." Her voice is trembling. "You're going to really freak."

I feel myself begin to get a little nervous, and roll my eyes to hide it, internally bracing myself, because I know that whatever is coming, I have to be the strong one for once. "Sis. I just spent two months being tortured to my limits in an underground dollhouse. I think I can handle whatever it is."

"Fine." Mona takes in a breath, then grabs my hands, holding on so tightly that I wince. "I hit Alison that night."

I hear the words, but they don't make any sense in that order. "What? What night? What are you talking about?"

"The night she…went missing. I hit her. I didn't mean to, I was in her yard, and the shovel was just lying there, and everything she'd ever said and done to me just wouldn't leave my head and I…snapped."

Black dots have appeared in my vision. I'm barely listening, that horrible repressed memory from all those months ago rushing back to me, blocking out everything else.

I've known it was true, all this time, it was too vivid not to be. But I was always able to deny it…until now.

The sound of my sister's sobs brings me back to reality, and I shake my head. My chest is so tight that I can barely breathe, but I gasp out the words anyway. "I saw you. That night. I saw you with the shovel, I saw you hit Alison…and I pushed it down, up until a few months ago, I didn't even remember."

"I convinced her to run away," Mona says quietly, almost like I never spoke at all. "I found her on the side of the road later that night, and I panicked. So I drove her to that motel and convinced her to leave, that someone was out to get her. I'd wanted Alison out of my life for so long…and it finally happened."

I open and close my mouth for a moment, at a complete loss for words. "I didn't want to hurt her," Mona sobs, grabbing my arm even though I still haven't said anything. "I just wanted to scare her."

That seems like a stretch considering she hit her over the head with a shovel – I'm not sure how that could not hurt someone – but I pry my arm out of her tight grip and reach over to grab a tissue from the box beside the bed. "Hey, I get it, okay?" I say gently, leaning forward to try and wipe her tears, but my hand is shaking. "She was horrible to you. I probably would have done the same thing. But she's fine, she's still alive. No one has to know. It's okay."

"No it's not," my sister says tearfully. "I have nightmares about it every night. And they've gotten worse since we got out of that place." She looks at me in sudden fear. "Alison knows that I framed her for my death. This gives her even more reason to hate me."

I sit back, shocked by this vulnerability that I have never seen before. I pull my knees under myself and sit up, putting my hands on her shoulders firmly. "Mona, listen to me," I say intently. "You are my sister, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you, alright? You've spent months trying to keep me safe. Now I'm going to make sure that you're safe. You're going to be fine." I lean forward, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"Thank you," Mona says quietly, hugging me back. "Can you stay in here tonight? I…don't want to sleep alone."

"Of course," I say, pulling away and smiling cautiously. "You know, I don't really like being alone either, anymore."

I scoot over to the other side of the bed and turn out the light, rolling over to lie on my back. "Viola," Mona says after a long silence. "I'm sorry."

I yawn. "For what?"

"If it wasn't for me, none of this would've happened to you. The only thing you'd be worried about right now is junior year."

"No," I say quickly, frowning up at the ceiling. "Don't say that. There's only one person who's ruined my life, and that's 'A.'" I reach out blindly, grasping my sister's hand and laughing a little. "And honestly? If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't even be alive right now."

...

So it turns out that Viola's worst memory really is true. Next, Viola receives a very unexpected visitor. Please review and tell me what you think!