Lucky Thirteen

Charlotte

"She agreed to come down here. Either that means she's not who we think she is OR she is who we think she is, but she's only coming here, so she doesn't look (even more) suspicious," said Hanna. "She probably has some ulterior motive for coming. Because she's 'A,' she probably already knows that you're here, Mom and has something up her sleeve planned," she rambled on.

"Hanna honey, calm down. She can't do anything while she's here. When she signs in at the visitor's desk, security is going to pat her down to make sure she doesn't have any weapons. If she asks why she's getting a pat-down, we'll say it's because we want to make sure there's nothing in her possession that might trigger you," explained Dr. Sullivan.

"Okay, but I'm sure she's NOT going to freak out when you ask her to take a DNA test," Hanna said sarcastically.

"We can do a DNA test on her without her even knowing."

"How?" asked Hanna.

"With a strand of her hair, saliva, a fingernail, etc.," answered Dr. Sullivan.

"That doesn't sound like it will be easy," said Ashley.

"Nobody said it would be easy," replied Dr. Sullivan.

Before anyone knew it, 20 minutes had passed, and the three women were anxiously waiting for their next visitor. Dr. Sullivan stood up from her chair and headed towards her door. "I'm going to meet Cece at the visitor's desk and walk her down here."

Hanna and Ashley nodded absentmindedly. About two (long) minutes later, Dr. Sullivan returned with Cece in tow. When Cece entered the therapist's office, her eyes immediately widened when they landed on Ashley.

"I thought you said this session would be between just you, me, and Hanna," Cece said nervously, as she made her way to the chair next to Dr. Sullivan's.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Dr. Sullivan asked coolly.

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just..." she was at a loss for words.

"You just didn't think that your mom would be here too, Charlotte?" interjected Ashley.

"What? I, uh, don't know what you're talking about," Cece said unconvincingly.

"Stop playing dumb Cece, we know who you are, and we know you're 'A,'" Hanna retorted.

"Fine. Cece Drake is an alias, and I'm not 23. My real name is Charlotte Marin, and I'm 17 years old. Happy?" Charlotte said, sounding annoyed.

"Yes. That means we don't have to do a DNA test," answered Dr. Sullivan.

"Why did you ask me to come here? And how did you figure out that I was/am 'A'?" asked Charlotte.

"For the reason, I told you on the phone and because we want to hear your side of the story. This isn't just a therapy session for Hanna, this is a therapy session for you too. It's for you to vent your thoughts and frustrations in a non-threatening way. Hanna saw the message you left on her desk and put the pieces together."

"So are you going to have me arrested then?" she asked with no emotion.

"I don't know. We'll hear what you have to say, and I'll decide what to do with you then," replied Dr. Sullivan. "But for now, why don't we go back to the beginning? Tell your mom and your sister why you did what you did on that infamous day."

"I was just mad at Hanna because she took my doll," Charlotte answered nonchalantly.

"You tried to kill me just because I took your doll?" asked Hanna in disbelief.

"Yeah. What's your point?"

"Charlotte, we didn't send you to Radley because of that incident. We sent you here because of the multiple instances where you tried hurting Hanna over the smallest of things. We had to keep her safe. And if keeping her safe meant sending you here, then that's what had to be done," Ashley said softly.

"I couldn't help being aggressive. The doctors here told me I had Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED)," replied Charlotte.

"It was an accurate diagnosis... I guess. For the next couple of years, they doped me up on tranquilizers until I almost drowned in my drool. But nobody ever understood how much I loved you, Hanna. And from the moment when you were born, I never left your side. Even though we're the same age, you were my living doll, and when my doll was sad, it made me sad. I never meant to hurt you, Hanna. I couldn't control the impulses. But that's all mom and dad needed to get rid of me. Nobody ever visited me here. I was completely alone and forgotten about. I can understand 'Dad' not visiting me seeing as he wasn't even my real father, but you, Mom? You've always preferred Hanna over me," she said sadly. She continued before Ashley could say anything.

"Before I became 'A,' the craziest girl showed up at Radley: Mona. She was awesome, and she thought I was Ali. Mona told me that she did everything I asked her to, and I said I was proud of her. I then told her that she was getting better, she just needed to keep taking her meds, and Mona said 'I will, Ali. I promise'. I told Mona that I needed to know everything about you and the girls. That was the only thing I looked forward to, after Mona got weaned off her medication, was hearing about what Mona did to you and your friends. But I could never trust Mona. She was your legit friend, Hanna and she ran you over with a car. Where's the loyalty in that? Anyway, Mona wasn't ready to end the game, so I made a deal with her: if she helped me to get out of Radley, I would play the game with her because I needed her help to stay gone."

"Why would you keep playing the game if you cared about me? Why did you go after my friends? And what did they ever do to deserve all that torture?" asked Hanna.

"When your friends thought they killed 'A' in New York, it was the perfect time to end it. I left the country thinking it was over, but the game is like a drug, and I was really good at playing it. It felt good to succeed at something," Charlotte paused. "I'm not a bad person," she said sincerely.

"You almost froze Spencer and Aria to death!" exclaimed Hanna.

"Almost," said Charlotte.

"And you drove a car through Emily's house!"

"Yeah, and I almost cut her in half too. But is she hurt? No. Is her mommy hurt? No. I only got mad when you didn't listen".

"You can't play with people like they're your toys," said Hanna, more calmly.

"Yes, I can. I know you won't believe me, but I love all of my dolls. That's why you're still alive."

She didn't have anything to do with my suicide, right? I mean other than the obvious. She didn't save my life just so she could continue torturing me, did she? Caleb never actually said he was the one to find me in the tub and Cece/Charlotte did leave that message saying: "where's the fun in playing cat and mouse if the mouse is dead?" No. I don't believe that. Caleb was the one to save me. Not her.

"Why? Why did you do all of this?" asked Hanna.

"I was mad that I was sent away to (and forgotten about at) Radley and jealous because you got to live a normal life. But at the same time, I hated Ali for bullying you and the other girls for not doing anything about it. That's why," answered Charlotte, with venom.

"Charlotte, I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I didn't mean to forget about you, but after that horrific day, I guess all of us just repressed the memory of it all. And I don't prefer Hanna to you. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I love you both equally," said Ashley emotionally. "I don't want you to get arrested, I want you to come live with us and be the family that we're supposed to be. Enough of all this 'A' business."

"I'm sorry too, Charlotte," said Hanna.

"Game over," Charlotte said after hearing her sister call her "Charlotte," finally accepting her.