The Secet Life of Alison DiLaurentis

Chapter 3: Finding Connections

Returning to Ravenswood was one of the hardest things I could ever do. I decided in the hour-long car ride that I had to do everything in my power to find the identity of A and to protect my friends, because apparently, A's not playing games.

When I moved to Ravenswood, I got a job to save money. The owner of the apartment was letting me stay for free - only because he had a major crush on me, though a relationship would never happen in a million years. He's bald, in his forties, about as tall as me - I'm not even that tall - and has a grayish five o'clock shadow. He's always holding a beer, which explains the beer belly he has, and also smells like booze. Overall he's repulsive but he's letting me stay for free so I can't say anything.

I have money in Rosewood, but there's no way to get it, as it's all in my house - well, the new girl's house - which I can't get into. So, I have to work for money, and I've now got three thousand dollars saved up as a result.

I had no worries about working in Ravenswood, because no-one comes here, and that's a fact I thought I knew for sure. I wasn't entirely correct though. Today I went to work and had to lie more than I've ever done in over a year.

A man was sitting at a table, looking like he waiting for his order to be taken. I wasn't supposed to be serving, but all of the other waitresses were busy, so I went and talked to him.

"Hello, my name is Vivian and I'll be your waitress. What can I get for you?" I asked politely.

He kept on looking at the menu. "Yes, I'd like some eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, a water and a coffee," he piled on me all at once.

"Do you want your eggs scrambled or soft-boiled?"

"Soft-boiled," he quickly responded. He was in his sixties and was clean shaved, having grey hair. He smelt like cigarettes and was wearing a plaid shirt, jeans with a belt, and sneakers.

"Is that all for you?" I inquired, holding my pen up to my notepad.

He continued to look at the menu for a minute before shaking his head. "No, I think that will be all, Miss," he said, closing it. He looked up, intending to hand me the menu, until he saw my face. His jaw nearly hit my feet that were on the floor.

"Sir?" I wondered why he looked stunned.

"You look awfully familiar," he muttered. As soon as he said this, a thousand thoughts started to race through my head. 'You're so busted! What do I say? Do I just laugh it off? Do I just stand there and let him realize he made a mistake?' I just didn't know.

"W-What do you mean?" I stuttered slightly.

"You look like someone I've seen before," he stated. "What's your name again?"

"Al - Vivian Darkbloom. My name's Vivian Darkbloom." I couldn't believe that I could have almost slipped up. The words just ran out of my mouth!

He made a grunting noise followed by a little cough, which oddly sounded like clearing his throat. "I know who you look like now..." he said as if he had just thought long and hard about it.

"W-Who would that be?" I stuttered even more.

"Her name's Alison DiLaurentis. She's a girl that went missing in Rosewood, not too far from here. Did you hear about that?" he questioned as if he were a detective.

"Uh, I did, Sir. It was headline news. What a tragic thing," I tried to say sincerely.

"It sure was. Anyway, that will be all."

I nodded and quickly walked away, posting the note in the kitchen and going out of the back to sit down. My heart was racing so much that I thought it was going to burst out of my chest, and my mouth was very dry. I was trying to collect as much saliva as I could so I didn't feel dehydrated, but I was slightly sweating, it looked as if I had a shine to me, and I felt as if I were going to faint. My head was spinning.

That had to be the scariest moment of the entire year so far. Nobody else recognized or even questioned who I was, but I kept having to tell myself that I had to act normal, and that I was not Alison DiLaurentis in Ravenswood, I was Vivian Darkbloom. 'Just be casual and brush it off.' I took in a deep breath and exhaled. "You can do this," I whispered to myself.

"Do what?"

The voice scared me so much, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I smiled at Patty, another waitress working here. "Oh, you know us girls, sometimes we mean to say something in our head and it just slips out!"

I began to walk away, and when I got back inside the man's food was cooked so I picked it up and took it over. "Sorry it took so long. I'll bring your coffee and water over as soon as possible," I promised. Going over to the counter, I started pouring his water and his coffee before immediately bringing them back to him. "I'll be back in a little bit to check on you," I stated, before I exited his sight.

I had never been so scared in my life to be at work. I let a bit of time pass, and checked that he was done eating, before I went back with a smile.

"Was everything good?" I asked brightly.

"It was delicious," the man responded.

"That's excellent. Is there anything else you'd like?" I asked, hoping he would say no and leave.

"I don't think so. Except for my check," he joked.

"I already have that with me," I giggled. "The total is eleven dollars and twenty nine cents."

He situated himself so he could pull his wallet out of his back pocket and opened it, starting to browse through it for money. Pulling the money out, he handed it to me.

"Thank you. Have a good day, Sir," I said cheerfully.

He stood up and started going through his wallet again. I began to walk away from him, letting out a breath of relief.

"You have a good day too, Alison," he said.

I froze where I was standing, stiff and speechless. I couldn't move, speak or even think. It felt like every single little fiber of emotion - joy, fear, sadness, anger - all just left my body at once. I didn't know what to do. I could feel my body lightly shaking and a nervous sweat began to break out. I turned around to look at the table where he had been sitting, noticing something sticking out from under the plate. I scanned the room, making sure no-one was watching.

Walking over, I put the money back on the table and grabbed what seemed to be a note under the plate. I opened it and was surprised by what I found - three one hundred dollar bills, the biggest tip I had ever received. Hurriedly, I placed the tip and note in my pocket, collected the plates, glasses, and dishes he used, and seized the money. Going over to the counter, I put the money in the register and the dishes in the sink before I leapt outside, pulling the note out my pocket. This time, I actually started to read it. I was trying to decide if what this man had to say was important or not, but because he knew exactly who I was, I decided that it was, so I started to read.

Dear Alison,  

You are probably wondering how I knew who you were and everything. Well, to start off, I am a private detective. I was hired by Peter Hastings to see if Spencer Hastings was the one who murdered you. I came across some crucial evidence that made me suspect that you were still alive. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I was not hired to figure out if you were still alive, so I will not put that in any of my reports. I gave you three hundred dollars to leave Ravenswood. I don't care where you go, just leave.  

Sincerely, 

Detective Corals

In a sense, I was very surprised that Mr. Hastings believed Spencer would do something like that. To him, that family was perfect and there could be no wrongdoing. If there was a wrongdoing he would do everything in his power to make sure it was covered up so it wouldn't ruin his reputation. I didn't ignore his advice, though. I would come back to Rosewood, but I did leave. I left to New York.