The Secet Life of Alison DiLaurentis

Chapter 4: Hunting Down -A

After the detective gave me the money I finished my shift and went home. I pulled all my clothes out of my closet and dressers and started to pack. I was keeping some things here because I would eventually come back and I would need a place. I went downstairs and knocked on the landlord's door, hearing things moving and falling over - and burping; I was disgusted by the entire thing. He opened the door and gave me a half-crooked smile.

"Well hello there, beautiful," he murmured.

"Hello Rick. I wanted to tell you I got a place up in New York, I'm keeping some stuff here, and I'll be back to stay," I quickly explained.

"You're always welcome here. Just let me know when you're back, sweet pea," he said, shaking his head.

I smiled and turned around, walking out of the front door and crossing the street to the payphone. Throwing some change into it, I dialed the number and waited for it to start ringing.

"Hello?" Noel asked curiously.

"It's Alison," I answered.

"Oh. Hey. What do you want?"

"I need a ride to the airport."

"Like, right now?"

"Not exactly at this moment, like in an hour," I said cautiously.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"New York. Someone here recognized me," I confessed.

"Who?" he questioned with a worried tone.

I looked around for a moment. "I'm not sure. He didn't tell me anything about himself," I lied, "he just called me by my actual name." At least that part was the truth.

"What time's your flight?"

"At seven o'clock tonight," I replied.

"I'll be there at half past five to pick you up," Noel told me.

I hung up the phone and viewed my surroundings before leaving again. I crossed the street once more, entering my apartment. I had everything that I needed packed apart from one thing: my diary. I grabbed it and sat down at my kitchen table. Yes, I still use a diary; I track everything in it, but now it's going to be converted to something else. It's going to become the A Diary, and I'm going to use it to track down who they are.

I made a list of suspects, called the 'A List', and another of people that weren't. I had to make a 'maybe' column too. The people who definitely aren't are Jenna, Bryan, Toby, Ezra, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer. The only person who went into the 'maybe' column was Ian. Ian was pretty scared the night I went missing - because I had his home movies - but being scared wasn't enough to cross him off the A List. There were a whole lot of people that I put on the 'A List'. I mean, so many people have wanted me dead or have hurt me, so the list went on and on.

At five o'clock, I put the diary in my bag and waited for Noel outside the apartment. He picked me up and drove me to the airport as fast as he could.

"Now are you sure this is what you want?" he asked me politely.

"Yeah. I'm positive," I assured him. "I'm coming back soon. I just need to get out of sight, but I'll be back in a month."

We smiled at each other. I hugged him and looked into his eyes. "Keep my girls safe while I'm gone," I warned. I took my hand off his shoulder and walked towards the airport.

I got on the plane and stared out of the window, and within forty five minutes I was in New York. I knew a guy over there who owned a place, so he was where I went first.

I got into a taxi. "Take me to 224 North Rear Boulevard," I said. "Go fast," I quickly added.

The driver sped to the address I gave him, and I paid and walked inside. The place looked about the same as the last time I visited, just with the addition of a couple of upgrades. The walls were made of a dark mahogany - one of them had a TV on - and the tables and bar were similar in color, only the bar was a light brown apart from its edges. There was liquor hung up on the wall and there were clean, huge, sparkling glass windows that had the bar's name on them. Red velvet curtains hung on either side of the windows. It was marvellous.

"We're closed. Come back later," the man said as he walked out from a back room. I simply turned to face him and smiled. His face automatically fell before lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Alison, it's you," he spat out, "but you're supposed to be dead!"

"Yeah. I heard that too, but here I am in the flesh." I raised my head and walked towards him. "I need a place to stay."

"How is this real?"

"Look, it's a really complicated situation. Can you give me a place to stay or something?" I asked, exasperated.

"Y-Yeah, of course. I've had a lot of business in and out of state lately. You can stay upstairs; just watch the place while I'm gone."

I smiled at him. "That's what I thought. Thanks."

"Apartment Twelve is yours," he told me.

I picked up my bags and went to Apartment Twelve. I only had one thing to do now: to get to the bottom of A.