*last night I swore to my dad that my dog hates me and I went into my room to see that my dog took a shit in there. IM SO FUCKING PISSED IM LITERALLY CRYING*
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Emily POV:
"A...tape player?" I ask. "Who the hell would have one of those?" I ask.
"I have one." Spencer says out of the blue as she scans over the papers.
"Of course you do." Aria sighs.
"I've just been listening in. Pretty sure we all have." Hanna says from the couch, pointing at Jason, Caleb and Toby. "Toby, go to Spencer's and get the tape recorder or player thingy whatever."
"Please." Spencer chuckles.
"Alright. Where is it?" Toby asks as he gets up.
"In my top desk drawer." Spencer tells him.
"Alright. I'll be back. Bye, babe. See you all soon." Toby says and gives Spencer a chaste kiss before grabbing the keys and leaving.
"Aria, go get the other box from the guest room." Alison tells the short brunette as she looks through the other box she brought.
"What's this box for?" I question as I peek into it.
"Some girl named Bethany Young. Her and Charles were friends." She says like its nothing.
"How are you acting so calm?!" I ask.
"What do you mean?" She asks as she looks up at me.
"You just broke into a mental hospital and stole a bunch of stuff from it! And someone saw you!" I say. "I'm, like...panicking!" I exasperate.
"Well, I had an excuse. My mother used to work at Radley, so..." Alison trails off and shrugs. "I can just have her lie for me."
I nod my head and go sit down on the couch.
What the fuck is wrong with my girlfriend? And her family?
"It says here Charles started improving and had out privileges." Aria says with a confused look. "But then, the file ends. There's nothing left after that."
"They didn't start treatment until he was nine because of the age. And for the first few years, they wound just do simple things. Like identifying emotions and good from bad." Alison tells everyone that's listening. "Use some medications. But it just ends? Like that, there's nothing left to read?"
"Yeah." Aria answers.
Spencer picks up a bag.
"What's this?" She questions.
Alison looks over.
She opens the seal and looks into it and her eyes get glossy.
"It's Charles's clothes from when he got dropped off." She tells us and blinks her tears away.
I stand up and go over and start looking through the box.
I find a small piece of paper that has writing on it.
Charlotte DiLaurentis
I knit my eyebrows in confusion and stuff the paper in my pocket.
Charlotte DiLaurentis is my daughter. But why would her name be in this box?
"Hey, I'm going to go to the store." I tell the girls.
"Okay." Spencer replies.
"Alright."
I start walking towards the door when Alison says something.
"But we just went to the store not that long ago!" She shouts.
I ignore her and run to my car.
---
I manage to sneak into Radley where the files are.
I go to the D section and look through it.
"Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte..." I whisper.
I see an empty spot. That's where the Charles files were.
I look behind it and see another box.
Charlotte DiLaurentis
I pull out my phone and call Spencer.
"Hey." She says.
"Hey, when does it say Charles was released?" I ask as I behind to sift through the Charlotte files.
"We, um...Hold on, let me go somewhere more private." She says.
"Charles wasn't released. He killed himself when he was sixteen." She tells me.
"So, that would've been, what...in 2005?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's when. It happened in March." She tells me.
I nod my head and flip through the papers in the Charlotte files.
I find the day she was admitted.
"This is all so fucking weird." I say into the phone.
"...Where are you?" Spencer asks.
"What do you mean? I told you I was going to the store." I tell her and roll my eyes.
"Yeah, but...it's too quiet for you to be at the store. What are you doing, Emily?" She questions.
"I'm at the strip club!" I blurt out.
"First of all, you're a terrible liar. And second, it's too quiet for that." She says.
I can see her rolling her eyes right now.
"I'm in my car. I stopped at Starbucks." I lie.
"If that were true, you would've told me that sooner." She says in monotone.
"I-" I stole when I hear a noise.
"You what?" Spencer asks.
"Shh...I think there's someone in here." I say.
"In where? Emily, where the hell are you?!" Spencer panics.
"I'm...I'm where they keep the Radley files. Now shut the fuck up!" I whisper yell.
I grab the box and run and hide behind a giant printer.
I peek out and see a blonde girl walking through the shelves.
I put the box down and run to the opposite side where they keep the tapes.
I quickly look through them and find Charlotte DiLaurentis and stuff the envelope in my jacket and then grab a tape player.
I run back to where I was hiding and start breathing normal again.
Of course when I'm hidden well enough, I have to pee.
The girl makes her way to the D section and punches the shelf after looking for a few minutes.
"Fuck!" She yells. She pulls out her phone and calls someone. "They're both gone. Did you see the brunette run out?"
Fuck. She's looking for me.
I clasp my hand over my mouth as tears form in my eyes.
"What do you mean no? Did she go out the back?" The girl asks.
I still haven't seen her face.
"Whatever. They're gone. It's no use." The girl sighs. "I'm getting out of here."
She leaves and I wait another five minutes before getting up.
I leave Radley through the side door and run to my car.
I take the tapes and the tape player out of my jacket and put them in the box.
---
"I'm home!" I shout.
"Emily, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Spencer yells as she comes into view.
"Not now. I peed my pants while I was hiding and need to shower." I tell her.
"Who's box did you steal?" She asks.
I look at her and sprint to the bathroom, locking it behind me.
---
"Okay, so...I went to Radley." I say while standing in the bathroom.
I'm scared to leave here.
Spencer or Alison might punch me.
"You what?!" Alison shrieks.
"While you were looking through Charles' box, I found a paper. It said Charlotte DiLaurentis." I tell them.
"Yeah. Our daughter!" Alison says.
"No, it was in the Charles' box." I say.
"It probably fell in there." Spencer says.
"But how? How would that have happened?"
"I don't know." Aria answers.
"Exactly. And it's obvious none of us wrote it." I say.
I open the door.
"See?" I hand them the paper and they all look at it confused.
"The t's are curved at the end. None of us do that." I say.
"So...I went to Radley and found this." I give them the box. "Alison, what is this?" I ask.