A life without Alison

Chapter One: Fresh start

I gathered my stuff up quickly before I left my house to go meet up with Mona for us to do some back to school shopping before the first day. It had officially been a year since the disappearance of Alison Dilaurentes, I thought about everything that had changed since then, as I started my car: Aria had moved to Iceland, me, Spencer and Emily were'nt at all that close anymore other than the occasional 'Hi's' when we passed each other in the hallway, me and Mona had become the best of friends and the most popular girls in school and lastly of all I had a boyfriend.
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I stared in the mirror as I tried on a pair of sunglasses smiling at myself and fluffing up my blond curls. I turned to the shopkeeper with a seducing smile on my face 'Can I see the Prada's in the front?' I asked 'We had to put them in the back' replied the shopkeeper 'But these are all maybe's' I said removing the pink sunglasses from my face staring up at him persuasively until he took them from my hand and searched for another pair. 'Hey, is this me?' I heard Mona ask from behind me, I turned around to see her wearing a hideous purple and pink striped scarf 'Or is it a little too much you're mother' I replied with a cringe and then I giggled, Mona frowned in frustration and turned to pick out another scarf. I turned back to see the shopkeeper holding out the pair of black sunglasses I had asked for, I smiled a thank you and took them from his hand. Once I was done checking out the sunglasses in the mirror I turned to face Mona who was now standing beside me, she gasped ' I am loving those glasses, how much?' she said knowing that we wouldn't actually be paying for this stuff 'three fifty' I said, smiling cunningly and cocking my head to the side innocently, Mona made her 'ooh' face and then turned once again to the scarves. I looked around and spotted a face I knew, it was Spencer, Spencer Hastings. I turned to the cashier/shopkeeper again and said 'I'll be right back' and flashing a smile before walking away. As I reached the top of the escalators I started walking towards where Spencer was looking through some clothes on a rack ' I cannot believe Spencer Hastings actually has time to shop' I said genuinely as I approached her she turned to me surprised and then rolled her eyes with a smile and then turned back to what she was doing ' I mean you're interning for the mayor, taking classes at Hollis and re-doing the barn' I sighed ' and you're still finding time to Facebook and tweet' I was still smiling, she turned her head to look at me again 'You know me, I like to stay busy' she stated before turning back to what she was doing. It was true though Spencer never really relaxed at all, she was always doing something, sometimes I wondered if she even sleeps. 'It's called a summer vacay, Spence' I said 'Yeah, and you spent yours tanning and shopping' she replied wow, this girl even has time to read tweets I thought 'tweet, tweet' I said with a chuckle, she smiled too. ' Did you see the paper today?' she asked, her face serious now, changing the subject, I instantly knew what she was referring too 'yeah' I said weakly nodding and the smile on my face turned to a grimace 'She's gone but, she's everywhere' Spencer said, quieter this time, I shook my head slightly before speaking 'I can't believe it's really been a year'. Spencer looked at the ground, thinking, and then she looked up at me again and asked ' Do you remember what Ali said that night?' I frowned , Ali had said a lot of things that night I had no idea what exactly Spencer was referring to 'About our secrets keeping us close?' Spencer spoke again noticing my reaction to her last question , I nodded slightly for her to continue ' I think it was the opposite ' she said. I thought about that for a moment and then we both grimaced. I turned to see the piece of clothing she was holding ' So, whats the occasion?' I asked, lightening the mood ' Family dinner ' she replied grabbing something from the clothing rack ' We're meeting melissa's fiance ' she said with sarcastic enthusiasm, Spencer never really liked her sister much. ' Did Mrs perfect find Mr perfect ?' I asked, tagging along beside Spence as she walked towards the paying counter 'He's a med student, so everyone's thrilled ' she said rolling her eyes. I glanced down at the top she had just placed on the counter and then looked over to the clothing rack closest to me 'then that's not the right top, you need to turn heads' I said already scrambling through the rack 'away from Melissa? Please' replied Spencer. I pulled out a purple ish burgundy halter top and held it in front of me as I turned to face Spencer 'She doesn't always have to win' I sighed before handing her the top 'See you on the playground' I said, as I smiled, pleased with myself 'see you' replied Spence as I walked off. Time to put my plan into action I thought to myself as I eyed the security guard for any trace of suspicion of me, nailed it, I passed the security guard without getting busted. I lifted the stolen sunglasses from my head and placed them over my eyes as I smiled 'miss?' Oh crap 'miss?' A deep voice came from behind me, I felt a firm grip on my arm as I was turned to face the Bulky security guard 'you forgot you're bag' he said holding my rose-gold handbag 'thank you' I sighed with relief as I took the bag and continued to walk. I saw Mona coming my way from around the corner 'ugh I so thought you were busted' she said, how long had she been round that corner? I thought. I turned to her to analyze her little stolen good 'nice scarf' I smiled 'nice glasses' she smiled in response as we went up the escalators of the exit of Rosewood mall.
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The next day
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'Ugh, the first day of school, what a joy' I said sarcastically as I applied a thick coat of mascara to my lashes. Me and Mona decided to meet up at my house before school today so that we could help each other with outfits and that sort of stuff. I had chosen to wear a knee-length strappy pink dress along with some necklaces and hoop earrings. I reached out for a bright pink lipstick on my vanity and started applying it to my lips 'honey, that shade, really?' said Mona in her usual high-pitched voice, I looked at my reflection in the mirror 'yeah, you're right I should go for a more neutral shade' I giggled at how stupid the bright lipstick looked. Thank god I had Mona or I might just have walked into school with that on 'what's the time?' asked Mona walking towards me 'um..' I checked my phone 'oh crap, we should go' I said jumping up. I walked over to my desk and shoved some textbooks and my laptop into my handbag and walked to the door where, miraculously, Mona was already waiting with all her stuff.
--
We had gotten to school just on time, well in fact we were quite early but the halls were almost empty since everyone was already waiting for class to start in the class rooms. Me and Mona split up to go to our lockers and then agreed to find each other in 1st period English. Once I got to my locker it took me a few moments to remember the code and when I eventually did I was shocked at how empty my locker was, I was so used to having loads of things in it. I made a quick mental note to do some locker decorating soon as I shoved my UN-needed textbooks into it. I walked slowly to class, the hallway filled with the sound of my heels against the floor. As I got closer my phone buzzed and I stopped to fish for it through my purse, I had various texts from people I barely knew but they knew me I read the first two , the first one said 'you're old friends back' old friend? Alison? I read the next one 'Hey, the girl who used to have a pink stripe in her hair is bak, wht was her name again? Ariane or something' oh Aria, I realized meh I thought and continued walking. As I turned the corner into class I scanned the room to see if Aria was in my first class and there she was sitting next to Emily, I pretended to ignore her at first and decided to turn my head to face the door which Mona came in through just at that moment and we both smiled at each other. I looked over to where Aria was sitting and waggled my fingers and smiled glumly at her before turning back to face Mona who was going on about what we should do after school. I saw Spencer walk in as I looked over Mona's shoulder we both smiled a quick 'hello' sorta smile at each other, I scanned her face to see if she had noticed Aria yet, but nothing. Suddenly the bell went, cutting Mona off mid-sentence and we all took our seats.
--
Me and Mona had decided to go get some coffee together after school before going home 'So what do you think of the new teacher, Han?' Asked Mona 'he is hot!!' I exclaimed 'tell me about it!' Mona said her eyes widening.
'Hanna & Mona you're coffees are ready' said a woman from behind the counter said in a bored tone.
'It was so freaking hilarious though when Aria's phone went off at the beginning of class' laughed Mona as we picked up our coffees, I just simply laughed with her . 'Mr Harkly gave us so much homework for the first day, I hate him already' I said changing the subject 'he's been my maths teacher for 2 years in row, I've suffered' replied Mona, we both laughed and giggled to on our way to the car 'So have you spoken to Aria yet?' Asked Mona genuinely curious 'No, I'll probably say hi too her soon or something' I shrugged as we got in the car 'Oh OK' Mona started the car 'if you do ever say more than hi to her though, ask if she's seen Mr Fitz before, they seemed to know each other' I thought about the way he looked at her in class again 'HM yeah maybe I will' I replied.
--
It was dinner time when I had finally gotten out of my long, hot shower I assumed my mom would be home by now so I put on a new pair of clothes and went downstairs to help with dinner.
When I got downstairs there was my mom placing food from a take out box onto a plate I didn't think she had seen me until she said 'I ran into Ella Montgomery today' I ignored her for a bit and concentrated on taking the cutlery out of the draw 'why didn't you tell me Aria was back?' She eventually asked 'it's not like we're still friends' I murmured in response 'she didn't know you're farther left' she sighed 'I hate telling that story'
'So change the story' I said as I sat down 'I did, you grew up, you grew apart, It was mutual and honestly you're much happier without him'
She looked at me and rolled her eyes 'hanna'
'Say it enough and you'll actually start to believe it' was all I replied. I started cutting up the food on my plate and my mum sighed again 'well I have to admit, it does sound a lot better than the truth' I looked up at her again 'nobody needs to know that we got dumped' I said, shaking my head
'We didn't get dumped' she said slamming her glass of water down on the table 'I did'
'He left both of us' I said defensively, suddenly my phone rang and I reached to my back pocket to get it 'if that's Mona I'm staging an intervention' my mom said but I ignored her I unlocked my phone to read the text 'WE NEED TO TALK!!! - Spencer' it read 'Hanna?!' My mom said, I looked up at her 'it's dinner time'. Then her phone rang and she picked it up smiling at me 'it's Ashley' she said down the phone, I just rolled my eyes at her and looked back down at my phone but before I even had time to think the doorbell rang. My mom sighed and gestured with her hand for me to go open it. there were two guys standing outside my door, one in a police officer uniform and one in a suit 'hanna Marin?' Asked the guy in the suit 'yeah, why?' I replied confused 'you're mother home?' He said, holding up his police badge. Right at that moment my my mom came to stand next to me 'let me call you back' she said down the phone before hanging up. 'Whats this about?' She asked the police 'We received a call from Rosewood mall security' - I flinched - 'they have you're daughter on tape, shoplifting a pair of sunglasses' he said nodding toward me. a surge of shock rushed through me, followed by fear and a whole lot of other emotions. 'I'm sure there's been some kind of mistake' stuttered my mom ' I don't think so' he replied 'could you turn around?' He asked me, I did as he said 'mom?' I whispered, my voice dry from shock.
--
I had been sitting there for about half an hour, my mom was in the Office taking with the officers. I had a billion things running through my head at that moment. I glanced round the corner to see my mum talking to the officers and then leaned against the back of the chair again. I looked around me and then saw something colourful from the corner of my eye, I reached out to take a skittle from the bowl on the table next to me but just then my phone went off. I dropped them back and took my phone out of my bag. There was a text on it which read 'Be careful, Hanna. I hear prison food makes you fat. -A' the message had been sent anonymously. Alison?? I looked around but there was no one but police officers. Who the hell had sent that text?? Suddenly I was sidetracked as the officer my mom had been talking to walked out into the main hallway and my mom followed, I quickly stuffed my phone into my bag and got up to follow 'what's going on?' I asked 'let's go' was all she said. We walked together out into the coldness of the night and into the car, I could feel the tension between us but I ignored it. Finally my mom spoke 'in a small town like this, what people think about you matters' she scolded 'I know' I replied in a small voice, fighting back the tears 'Then why would you risk it all to steal a pair if sunglasses?' I didn't answer, I didn't even look at her, I was to ashamed. 'Hanna, I buy you everything you need to be popular' '-that's not why I do it' I cut her off sharply 'then why... w..wait.. This is something DO?' She scrambled for words 'a few times' I said quietly yet more controlled now. She sighed 'this is about you're farther, isn't it?' I kept silent and still 'you think this is going to get his attention?' 'I made a mistake' I said weakly again 'In Rosewood you don't have room for mistakes' she said, her tone softer now
'neither do I'
'I'm sorry, I'll fix it somehow'
'you will deny you did anything wrong' I looked at her, puzzled
'it was a Mis-understanding'
'but..'
'I'm taking care of it' she said sternly, before driving off.
--
On our way home we passed by Alison's old house which was now surrounded with people and ambulances and detectives 'what the..?' Said my mom pulling over ' I think Aria and Spencer are over there go see if they know what's going on ' I got out the car and approached them from behind 'the cops took Hanna to the police station today' I heard Aria say, I was now standing behind them, still unnoticed 'you don't think she'd ever talk about..' Asked Spencer ' the Jenna thing? ' I said, making myself known 'never, we made a promise'
--
It was currently 11:38pm and my mom was still down at the police department sorting things out of the mess I made. I sat on my couch with all the lights off but the TV on, I was seeing if there was anything about about what had happened outside Ali's house and there was. 'The residents were in the process of demolishing the structure to make room for a renovation project while the workers made the gruesome discovery, the parents of the ceased were in unavailable for comment but a family spokesperson has confirmed that the gazebo was under construction, the summer 15 year old Alison Dilaurentes disappeared. Tonight the family has asked for privacy as they come to terms with the sad ending to a year-long mystery and local authorities are coming to terms with the fact a killer is at large in Rosewood'. I stabbed the metal spoon into the tub of Ben & Jerry's on my lap, nervously. suddenly there was a loud bang which made me jump, I scrambled for the remote to mute the TV and I clutched my blanket tightly. I saw my mom and the officer wildly kissing as they came in through the door I stared for a moment, shocked and trying to let what was happening sink in. Eventually they broke apart and before I knew it, he was leading my mom up the stairs.
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Ali's funeral. I didn't know about the others but I was still trying to let the fact that she was dead altogether sink in, I was neither mentally or physically prepared for this day to come so soon. I was sitting with Spencer and Emily at the front since Ali's mom told us it's what she would have wanted. I heard footsteps approaching us from behind, Aria was there, she stood next to where we were sitting yet she was oblivious that we were there. She stared at the black shiny coffin covered in flowers and a picture of Alison, looking beautiful as always, next to it. I reached out and took her hand and smiled up at her, she grimaced back and sat down next to me. We all sat silently just staring for a while until Emily broke it 'poor Ali' she sighed 'Can you believe what a scene this is' I said, my voice scratchy 'Alison would have loved it' Aria added on and Spencer spoke 'Popular in life, and death'. None of us moved our gaze from the coffin until I glanced over at Emily's pained face and Spencer's blank stare. I opened up my black clutch purse and pulled out a metal flask and offered it to Emily 'No thanks I don't...' She scrambled for words 'today, I think you do' I said quietly and she took it from my hand. I heard Aria's phone ring was she getting these 'A' messages too? I wandered it was only then I realised I wasn't the only one that was staring at Aria intensely 'Anyone we know?' I asked 'No, it's just my mum sending me a text'. We all stared at each other with uncertainty 'Emily and I aren't the only ones who got messages from A are we?' Asked Aria rhetorically, since we all knew the answer. 'Oh my god' Spencer breathed 'it's Jenna' we all turned to see where she was looking, and there she was Jenna Marshal , her dark hair curled and black sunshades covering her blinded eyes. We all turned back around to face the front at the same time, as Alison's parents sat down next to us 'did you see that Jenna Marshal was here?, I didn't know she and Ali were friends' said Mrs D to Aria 'They weren't' replied Spencer, leaning forewords to look at her, just then the service started.
--
After the service we all hurried to get out, I walked linked arms with Aria while Spencer and Emily walked behind us. I let out a frustrated sigh as we moved forewords. suddenly an unknown mans voice came from our right 'Emily, Spencer, Aria and Hanna' suddenly I realized he was the guy who had been with my mom last night and surely he must have recognized me to. 'Do we know you?' asked Spencer 'I'm detective Wilden' he said while he scrambled for something in his pocket 'I understand that you were all good friends with the victim' he handed Spencer the thing he had taken from his pocket, it was a picture of Ali. 'yeah, we were' said Aria 'I'm gonna need to talk to each one of you' he said getting to the point 'We talked to the Police when Alison went missing' stated Spencer 'and I intend to go over every one of you're statements because this is no longer a missing person investigation it's a murder and rest assured I will find out what happened' he said before walking off. We all stared him off until we were sidetracked by Jenna being helped into a car in front of the church, I glanced over at Wilden again who was still watching us. We all turned to face each other in a circle 'do you think he knows about...' Asked Aria 'no' we all said at the same time 'how could he?' I said. suddenly all our phones went off at the same time and we all exchanged a look before taking out our cell phones 'oh my god' breathed Aria 'it's from..' I started '- I got one too' Emily cut me off 'I'm still here bitches' started Spencer, reading the text 'and I know everything -A' we read all together.