It's Not Over

The kettle whistles loudly in Spencer’s mostly marble kitchen and all the girls are sitting around with mugs in front of them looking tired and drained. Spencer brings the kettle over to the other girls and begins pouring the boiling hot coffee into the mugs. Hanna is the first to start sucking down on hers. “Oh that is so good.” She compliments. Aria sits twirling her mug around in circles and in deep thought. “Aria? Are you okay?” Asks Emily.

 

Aria looks up from her mug and directly at her friends. “No. How could this happen? We ended this six months ago. We were all there when I shot her.” Tells Aria in an almost tearful voice. “We all saw Cece Drake die that night in Ravenswood.” She continues. Spencer leans on her counter after a few sips of her coffee. “Maybe she didn’t.” Adds Spencer and perhaps only trying to make Aria feel better. “She got shot in the head. What are the chances of surviving that?” Asks Hanna who seems to be seeing things from Aria’s point of view.

 

Emily looks to Aria then to Spencer as if waiting for an answer. “It’s not impossible. It just doesn’t happen often but on the chance that it did.” Spencer answers and before she can finish Emily cuts in. “Cece would be pretty pissed at us. All of us.” Emily adds. “Especially me.” Says a now even more concerned Aria. Hanna looks down past Emily into Aria’s eyes. “Aria. What exactly do you remember from that night?” I didn’t say anything at first because it was mostly a blur but A was back and I needed the closure and so did my friends. I have to remember what happened in Ravenswood with Cece Drake. “We followed A’s message to Ravenswood cemetery and when we got there it was empty. We split up to look for clues and that’s when we found Mrs Dilaurentis’s body in the open grave.” Aria explains. She sips her coffee several times before pressing on. “I remember Cece showing up wearing the black hood and holding that pistol at Hanna’s head. I saw red when I got there and knew I had to do something.” Aria’s face turns pale as she completely flashes back to the night and it’s events.

 

Cece Drake the blonde bombshell struts around in front of a scared Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Alison. She holds a silver pistol to their heads and they all bunch together like a group of terrified mice. Cece begins yelling and shouting at the girls until she becomes red in the face. “How dare you!” She shouts at them, putting Alison in tears. “Cece stop please.” Begs a vulnerable Ali. “Why? Why should I stop Alison? What have you ever done to deserve the love and devotion of these girls?” Cece asks her with a serious tone to her voice. Spencer steps forward with her hands raised. “Get back!” Cece yells. “Okay Cece listen to me. I know how Ali has made some people feel in their lives but shooting anybody isn’t going solve anything.” Spencer says to her trying to help her see reason.

 

Cece begins breathing harder as she walks over to Spencer and hits her in the face with the gun, knocking her out. The other girls scream out “SPENCER!” “Shut up all of you!” Screams Cece. Hanna, Emily and Alison all stop in their screaming as Cece draws nearer to them. “Your all so pathetic. Look at you standing there like you need people to actually care about you. I bet you’re all so happy that this has happened to you.” Cece lectures. Alison shakes her head at her in disbelief. “How could you even say that.?” asks a distraught Ali. “Cece we know what Mona went through and we can help you. Radley can help you.” Reasons Emily. Cece just smirks then begins to laugh out loud. “Radley! That place can’t even help itself. Radley is a farce of an asylum just squeezing the money and life out of the patients who they are supposed to care about.” Explains Cece with a certain amount of passion in her voice. Spencer starts to stir and Hanna bends down to help her up. “Hey! Make one more move Hanna Marin and I will blow your head clean off.” Warns Cece. Hanna goes to stand up but Cece puts the gun right in her face.

 

“No. You can stay on your knees like the dog you are.” Continues Cece. “Cece please you can let us go now and it won’t be to late.” Ali bargains. “Oh you know what Alison I’ve heard enough out of your stupid mouth. Get on your knees now. You and lady lover let’s go!” Order Cece as she sticks the gun closer to Alison’s eyeball. “Cece.” Emil asks before she cut off by a banshee like scream from Cece in her face that causes Emily to break down into tears. “What the hell is wrong with you.”? Asks a frustrated Hanna. “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with YOU! For the first time in a long time I see things clearly. I see you all for what you really are. A hazard to the people of this town and a threat to people like me.” Cece explains.

 

Cece begins pacing again and Emily looks over at Hanna and signals down at Spencer’s pocket. Hanna notices Spencer’s phone is just popping out. “Cece is somebody making you do this.” Asks Ali. “Making me. Nobody makes me do anything.” Replies Cece. “It’s okay. You can tell us because we know about A. We know what she does to people.” Ali continues her distracting speech but it fails, as Cece grows impatient again. “Just shut up Alison! A has nothing to do with this. This is all about me and you and what your little group of compulsive liars does to people.” Elaborates Cece. Suddenly a rustle in the bushes behind them gets Cece’s attention and whips around with the gun. As soon as her eyes are off them, Hanna reaches into Spencer’s pocket and takes her phone then gets up and runs off up the road. “HANNA!” Emily and Alison shout.

 

Cece turns back around to them and is infuriated when she sees Hanna is gone. “Where did she go!” screams Cece. “To call for help. You’re going away Cece. For a very long time.” Warns Emily. “Oh yeah. Then I’m taking you all with me.” Replies an angry Cece. She c***s the gun and puts it on Alison’s head. “Any last words Ali.” Asks Cece. Ali and Emily both close their eyes and a voice from behind Cece shouts. “Hey!” She turns to see Aria standing there with a pistol of her own. Cece raises her gun to Aria and then BANG! BANG! Emily and Alison scream and Cece drops her gun then falls down dead at Alison’s feet. Aria is trembling as she tosses her gun into the bushes and starts to cry. Spencer slowly wakes up to see a dead Cece on the ground in front of her. “Oh my god.” Spencer whispers. The girls rush over to Aria who is in complete turmoil.

She just steps back from them and repeats to herself “I shot her, I shot her, I shot her.” Over and over like a broken record.

 

Back in the kitchen Aria is the last to finish off her coffee and she does so in a final gulp. She pushes her mug away and heads over to the couches where the other girls are now seated, covering their cold bodies with blankets. “Are you okay?” Asks a concerned Emily. “I really thought Cece was A. I thought it was over and that we had our lives back.” Explains an upset Aria. Hanna rests her hand on Aria’s knee attempting to comfort her. “You did what you had to that night. If you hadn’t come along who knows what Cece would have done.”? Says Hanna reassuringly. Aria just looks around the room at the other girls who look back her with their beady eyes. “We have to tell Ali it’s not over.”