𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 || "secrets can be a bitch."
~~~
in which Aria Montgomery's sister, Valerie returns to Rosewood only to be placed in a small town of chaos all because their friend decided that Secrets were what kept friends close and throughout this...
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Aria and her friends walked into Valerie's fake bedroom, Aria holding her stuff animal from when she was a kid, the others following behind her holding their own stuff from childhood. "You got a box too" Emily commented noticing the items spread across the girls bed. "A is making this house our home," Aria continued in disgust. "This house will never be our home." Valerie spat under her breathe as she angrily wiped her tears away without the camera in her room seeing, causing Emily to sit on her bed and pull the girl closer in sympathy. "You guys, Charles took our stuff before he took us. I thought that I lost this ages ago." Spencer said gesturing to the item she was holding in her hand
"A planned on bringin' us here the whole time." Emily concluded "To live like his dolls." "This article is about our families." Valerie gestured to the newspaper on the bed, "all of them."
Hanna grabbed the paper, glancing over it as she muttered, "They're barely hanging on to hope." "I don't want to hear that. Like you said that's probably not even real." Emily snapped upset as she stood up from the bed with her arms folded against her chest. "Well, real or not. They don't know where we are or even if we are alive." Aria exasperated. "Can you just imagine what they're going through?" "Plays in my head on a loop. Day after day, night after night." Spencer sighed causing Valerie to slam the necklace she was holding onto the bed as she jumped up furiously turning on her heels to face the camera as she spat, "I will kill you for what you're doing to our families! Do you hear me?" "Val, stop." Emily informed the girl pulling her away from the cameras view, calming her down. "Calm down." Aria muttered as she grabbed her sisters hand comfortingly.
"Not knowing that if we're okay has made my mom physically sick. They took her to the hospital." Hanna informed the girls, tears building up in her eyes as Aria placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hanna..." Spencer trailed off sympathetically looking around before turning towards Valerie's box of stuff and grabbing stuff out. "let's just all help Valerie unpack." Spencer ordered hopefully handing the girls items. "Val, i'm gonna help you unpack."
Going into a hushed voice the brunette informed the girls, "we're gonna find Mona and we're gonna get out of here tonight." "How?" Emily asked as Spencer grabbed an etch a sketch from Valerie's items making the girl furrow her eyebrows as she watched her friends moves trying to figure out her next move. "Did you guys know that, I won an Etch A Sketch contest when I was in the third grade?" Spencer informed messing with the toy. "Of course you did." Aria glanced at the camera and back at spencer discreetly. "I can draw some really, really pretty pictures." Spencer continued before drawing her voice down to a whisper once again "The generator still shuts down with the switch over."
"I heard it too but I was too scared to leave my room." Emily whispered back "See?" Spencer noted turning the toy around to display a note written in etch a sketch, 'Charles is a DiLaurentis'
The girls eyes widened at this news as they all exchanged looks before looking at the camera and to the ground, not knowing what to think. ~~ After the generator shut down and Spencer gathered all the girls with Valerie's help, the group of them walked down the hallway at fast pace as Spencer spat out facts, "Chandelier's rituals. Sister launched lair A ruler's list chained. They're all anagrams." "For Charles DiLaurentis." Valerie concluded as Spencer nodded in confirmation. "Some of the toys in Ali's room were hers and some were his." Spencer continued "I feel like they grew up together." Aria spoke up "If I'm right everything that matters to Charles is in this vault." Spencer told the girls as they approached the door turning around to face the girls "If we get in, we can use what's inside to bargain our way out." "But Mona said we won't make it to the vault before the power comes on." Emily reminded the girls "Okay, if i'm right, this is as far as we need to go. I counted the steps to the vault from the prom room." Spencer elaborated as they walked into the room grabbing stuff down to see a wall behind some shelves. "Of course you did."
"It's 84." Spencer concluded "And that's just one hallway over. Coming back this way, it's 81 steps. I think the vault is on the other side of this wall." "Yeah, but how does that help us? We can't bust through there." Emily noted as Valerie went to help Spencer move items out of the way. "Charles disappeared like Houdini when Mona came into the room." Spencer continued "So that means that the only logical answer is that there's like a secret passage way or a trapped door." "Exactly," Spencer strained pushing on the wall as a whirling noise erupted
"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Hanna asked "It's the generator, he knows we are out, just help us move this!" Valerie exclaimed as the alarm blared through the building causing the girls to place their hands over their ears to attempt to block the noise before the rushed over to help the two girls. Emily however, noted a shelf across the room, causing her eyes to widen as she rushed over to move it. "There's something behind this. Come on! There could be a passage way or something." Emily exclaimed as Aria rushed over to help her friend and the two moved it over to reveal a vent type passage which they were able to open and then the siren turned off and as they crawled through the tunnel the managed to get to a movie theater type room, which had a bunch of photos and a movie projector which Spencer turned on as Emily muttered, "A does have a soul."
The sound from the tape echoed through the room, it was a video of Allison's mom who was holding a baby girl, a younger Jason and an unknown boy who could only be assumed as Charles. "Wanna say goodnight to your sister... and give a little kiss?"
The boys leaned over and kissed Allison on the head, "What a good boy you are. Oh good boys, good boys."
As they watched the short film they exchanged looks as Spencer walked over to the camera and spat, "Game on Charles."
She unwinded the tape and let it burn as she held it up to the camera a stern expression on her face "we want Mona back."
Spencer glanced at the girls while Aria and Valerie exchanged looks and nodded in agreement thinking the exact same thing, "Let's torch this place."
And so that's exactly what the group did second by second they burned items that held memories to Charles stating a point but soon the fire began to spread too fast. "Guys what if A's not watching us, what if we're the only ones here?" Aria questioned nervously as the watched the carpet begin the burn. "What do we do? It's spreading to fast!" Emily exclaimed "There is no way I am dying in this hell hole." Spencer spat "We are not giving up." Hanna huffed "Okay we- we need to find a blanket or something." Aria stuttered out as Valerie reached for the curtains pulling on it. "Someone help me get this down!" she exclaimed as Aria rushed over to help her sister and the two girls yanked it down only to reveal A staring back at them causing them to gasp. "Oh my god." Emily muttered
"Okay grab everything." Emily ordered "The pictures, the baby clothes and throw them in the fire." As the girls did as they were told. Throwing important things to A in the fire Aria spoke to A, "Say goodbye to your soul."
They turned back around to where A was to see no one then suddenly the fire alarm began to blare. "Let's go. Let's go!"
The girls exclaimed frantically as they rushed out of the burning room and the sprinkles became activated. The girls ran down the hallway coughing and yelling for Mona desperately. Spencer pushed open a door to a room with a well in it. "I'm down here. Help me please." Mona begged as the girls ran up to it. "Mona are you okay? Hold on we are going to get you out of here!" Valerie exclaimed as the girls agreed. Eventually using a rope they managed to get the girl out and rushed to the ladder, climbing up it to reveal the outside with panicked, Ezra, Caleb and Allison. They all hugged each other as the police showed up. "Hey, there's another girl down here!" a man shouted from the tunnels, they carried her out on a stretcher to take to the hospital. She was dressed like Ali, wearing same clothes and wig like Mona was. "I met Sarah's friends, remember?" Emily recalled "She lived in Courtland, she went missing around the same time Ali did."
"Has she been down there that whole time?" Hanna asked "I don't know but it looks like it." Valerie noted as she hugged her body with her arms glancing over at Allison who was talking to a cop causing her to walk over as tears built up in the girls eyes but she inhaled trying to control it. "Toby told us what you did to save us. I -- I wanted to thank you."
And not being able to hold it in anymore the girl broke down with a sob causing Allison to pull her into a hug, muttering 'I know, you're safe.' Over and over again into the crook of her neck and all that she could think about at that very moment, was how glad she was to be out of that hell hole and back to her normal life - not thinking about the fact that A was still out there and there wasn't any chance of the cops catching them soon enough leaving Valerie's life to be in a reluctant cycle of pain and suffering for who knows how long, but I guess that's what happens when your life turns upside down and there is nothing you can do about it.
