You Are Not Alone

Cassandra and Jane clear out the last of Amanda’s belongings from her studio and ask Valerie to list the apartment online the next day. They recall their first meeting with Amanda. Valerie had been the first to talk with her: She hurt her ankle and Amanda was her ER nurse. Amanda had told a story about a young man who was kicked out of his parents’ house after coming out as gay. On the street he’d been badly beaten. Amanda was livid and told Valerie that she wished the parents could be punished somehow. Valerie then introduced her to the rest of the group, and after speaking with her, they voted to give her a trial run.

Shay stumbles across Amanda’s apartment listing. She feels a little weird about living in Amanda’s old place, but it is so difficult to find housing in Manhattan. She calls Cassandra and Jane to see how they would feel about it, and after some hesitation, they urge her to take it.

Shay also gets a surprise job offer from a firm that found her through LinkedIn. She’ll be paid on a freelance basis, but the hours are full-time and the hiring manager “strongly” hints that the position could become permanent.

Seven Months Ago

Seven months prior, Cassandra, Jane, Valerie, Stacey, Daphne, and Beth meet Amanda at her apartment. Amanda has baked an impressive spread of sweet treats, and the women enjoy them with plenty of wine.

Beth shares her story with Amanda, explaining that her ex-husband abandoned her when she had cancer, that she still has to pay him alimony, and that she’s angry that his poetry career seems to be taking off. She expresses a desire to punish him and Amanda suggests giving him syrup of ipecac before his next poetry reading. She explains that it will induce uncontrollable vomiting. She offers to pick some up from the drug store. The rest of the women smile to themselves. They know that Amanda belongs in their group.

Shay settles into Amanda’s old apartment, still feeling the happy glow of her new life. She meets one of her neighbors, Mary, a woman who was also friendly with Amanda. Shay learns that Mary has a cat, but that Amanda did not. She realizes that Jane and Cassandra must certainly know this key fact about their close friend, and that they also knew that Shay was lying when she said that she and Amanda had the same vet. She wonders why they allowed her to keep telling the story.

Shay and Jane have plans to meet at Shay’s regular CrossFit class, and Shay is excited for Jane to see her in her element. The sisters might have given her a makeover and helped her take some flattering photos for dating sites, but Shay is a devoted CrossFit regular, capable of lifting heavy weights and performing a variety of endurance exercises with ease. At the last moment though, Jane cancels.

After class, Shay sees a woman she thinks she recognizes from Amanda’s memorial, but she isn’t sure. Not wanting to approach her, she heads to the subway. She is no longer afraid to take the train.

Cassandra and Jane look at Shay’s new dating profile. The pictures they helped her take are similar to photos they’d taken of Amanda and then posted on her Facebook page. They are still unsure of Shay’s relationship with Amanda and are doing their best to make it appear as though Shay is dangerously obsessed with Amanda. The two look alike, and their makeover only heightened the resemblance.

They also discuss subtly hinting to the rest of the group that Shay is obsessed with Amanda. They sent Beth to CrossFit, hoping that she would recognize Shay, but she did not text back about seeing her. They worry that the police are moving in on Daphne and that all of their work will be destroyed. They agree that Shay’s wardrobe is nothing like Amanda’s, and decide to send her to Daphne’s shop for new clothes.

Shay begins her new job. She loves the work and the hours fly by. One of the men who responded to her dating profile, Ted, seems perfect. He’s a mechanical engineer who loves pizza, is active, and just moved to New York from Colorado. He’s looking for a serious relationship. They agree to meet for a drink the following Friday.

Two Months Ago

Two months prior, Amanda gets ready for her night. She doesn’t style her hair in the usual manner, wears large, cat-eye glasses with fake lenses, and does her makeup. She heads to a local bar. Beth is there and sees her, but says nothing. She takes a deep breath, approaches a man at the bar, and asks what he’s having. She pushes the v-neck of her dress in his face, he tells her what he’s drinking, and introduces himself as James.

Shay heads to Daphne’s boutique. Once inside, she is immediately intimidated: The clothes are chic and expensive, totally unlike anything she is used to wearing. She tells Daphne that Jane and Cassandra are mutual friends and they sent her. Daphne seems unfazed and helps her find a few options to try on. Taking note of the price tags, Shay selects only one top. She pays for it, wincing at the cost, and leaves.

Cassandra and Jane gather all of the women except Valerie at the bar. Valerie, who created Ted’s fake dating profile, is elsewhere. Cassandra and Jane share their suspicion that Shay is unhinged and trying to impersonate Amanda. Daphne asks them if they sent Shay to her shop, and both Jane and Cassandra deny it. They feel bad lying to their friends, but it is necessary. They plan to sacrifice Shay to save the group.

Shay enters the bar. She stays only for a few minutes and then leaves after looking at her phone. The women notice and, sure that she is stalking them, become alarmed.

Shay waits for Ted at the bar where they have agreed to meet, but he does not show up. After what seems like an eternity, he texts to tell her that he’s stuck at work and will have to reschedule. Dejected, she heads home.

She finds that the landlord has finally given her a key to her mailbox, and she goes downstairs to get her mail. Much of it is for Amanda; only some is for Shay. At the very back there is an unlabeled envelope. Since only Amanda and the super had keys, Amanda must have put it there herself. Inside it, Shay finds a bloody scalpel wrapped in a blue towel.

Two Months Ago

Two months prior, Amanda and James are talking. Beth approaches and calls James “Doug.” She tells him that she knew they’d met before. He denies it, but while he is talking to Beth and distracted, Amanda slips morphine into his drink.

About 20 minutes later, she can tell that the drug is taking effect and asks to go somewhere quieter. She leads him into Central Park, deposits him on a bench just as he passes out, and leaves. Just then, Stacey calls to tell her that something is wrong.

Cassandra and Jane meet Shay at her apartment for drinks. They give her an expensive new handbag that is full of other, smaller gifts: a candle, a scarf, and a pair of sunglasses. Shay is stunned: The bag is elegant and nicer than anything she’s ever owned. She tells them that she’ll carry it every day. They’re grateful for that because they’ve inserted a small tracking device into the handbag’s lining.

Cassandra asks to use the bathroom and runs the water to disguise her snooping. She pockets several of Shay’s Ambien and then notices the envelope hidden beneath the sink. Inside it, she sees a bloody scalpel. She is horrified, wondering how Shay got the envelope. They’d searched the entire apartment after Amanda died. Rattled, she fakes a work emergency and whisks her sister away.

Detective Williams calls Shay. She asks if Shay went to the hospital where Amanda worked, and Shay knows that she cannot lie. She also asks if Shay is still spending time with Cassandra and Jane. Again, Shay tells the truth. Frustrated, Detective Williams tells her to leave Amanda in the past, not to contact her mother, and to stop hanging out with her friends. Shay considers seeing a lawyer to ask about the scalpel, but decides against it. She runs into Mary again, and Mary is stunned at how much Shay resembles Amanda. Shay had also had this thought about herself, but at that moment she realizes how much the makeover brought out the resemblance. Cassandra and Jane had chosen Amanda’s hairstyle for Shay. They’d encouraged her to get contacts. The scarf they gave her was Amanda’s favorite color. Shay wonders what is going on.

Two Years Ago

The narrative moves to a flashback about Valerie. Valerie grew up with Cassandra and Jane but moved to LA to try to make it as an actress after years of being bullied in high school. She managed to secure a few roles, but was just about to call it quits and move home when she got a promising audition. Her roommate Ashley stole the role from her by silencing and then hiding her phone on the morning of the audition. Ashley went to the audition in her place and got the role.

After that experience, Valerie moved to New York, told Cassandra and Jane everything, and happily sat back as they ruined Ashley’s career. By that time they’d been in PR for a while and had quite a few Hollywood contacts. After that, Valerie knew that she’d be loyal to the sisters for life.

Cassandra and Jane are on their way over to Shay’s apartment. The three women are going to have drinks before Shay’s date with Ted. They bring an expensive bottle of champagne, and Shay pushes aside any doubts she had about her makeover: She believes it is impossible that they knew they were making her look like Amanda; it was just a coincidence.

Shay is aware that, after their second glass, Cassandra and Jane pour another round but hand her a glass she wasn’t drinking from before. She tries to take back her own glass, but Cassandra says that it doesn’t matter. They tell her how happy they are that she is in Amanda’s apartment and how much they miss her. Jane mentions that she can’t stop picturing Amanda walking to the subway in her green, polka-dot dress. As Shay begins to feel overpoweringly sleepy, she wonders how Jane could have known that detail, as she was not there when Amanda died.

Valerie stands over Shay’s inert body. Cassandra and Jane drugged her with her own Ambien, and she is out cold. Valerie then leaves behind the clothes that Amanda wore on the night she lured James into Central Park, as well as James’s wallet and watch. She takes the bloody towel and scalpel out of their hiding place and leaves them in plain sight. She takes note of the purse, scarf, and sunglasses that are duplicates of items Amanda owned. She leaves, satisfied that her work is done.