[M] My Deadly Secret [Etoile&Shades of Grey]

Alice was just walking along the side streets on her way home from work, it was around midnight as she walked. After all she tended to work nights for the twenty four hour coffee shop in the city. She liked it she guessed, some of her co-workers were pretty cool and her manager was very relaxed about everything. The discount on coffee was fabulous as well. She loved the stuff, she could live off of it if it was humanly possible.

She sighed softly though as she walked looking up at the moon. "Seems like a good night for the monsters and demons to be lurking about." She muttered looking back to the ground, a full moon? How ironic. She ran a hand through her ebony hair. Her skin was fairly pale, her blue eyes like an ocean of sky blue in the middle of a white bliss. She would probably be considered vampire like to small children who didn't know any better. She was thin and somewhat small.

She continued to walk for awhile looking at the ground. She was unsure of what to do when she got home. Should she just call it a night or actually do something? She sighed. Alice was never good at making decisions, she didn't really make them often, it was either is this a good thing or not? Like when she left her home for good. Well, it didn't matter. She was 20 and free to be on her own, her father in prison for abuse charges. He was proven not guilty for murder sadly though, which meant less safe time for Alice. He would come back for her she knew it.

She ran a hand over her neck as she walked feeling where her tattoo was, she had two. One on the back of her neck and the other in between her back shoulder blades. Both of them were somewhat significant to her. One of them more deep than the other. She sighed softly as she finally reached her apartment. She was glad to be home, she lived in a somewhat rundown one, it was big though. She only got it though because the landlord had known her mother. Sympathy deals were somewhat annoying though. Alice hated getting what she wanted because of what had happened to her when she was just a little girl.

She walked inside and dropped her bag aside and crouched down to the floor with a small smile on her face. "Mimi~ Sebastian~" She called sweetly in a childish voice. Two little cats came running purring and rubbed themselves against her. She laughed a little as they did so. "I missed you guys." She said quietly as she picked up Mimi and walked up the stairs, Sebastian right behind her. She decided that she was just going to take a shower and call it good. So she did that and then went down to sit in her main room and read for awhile while drinking some tea.

((I don't know how you want them to meet, but I was thinking that he could have seen her and followed her and then meets her somehow in the morning?))

He stared down at his hands, completely covered in blood. There wasn't a single spot of his skin until his elbows. "No," he whispered as he saw the body. His eyes were wide with fear. Why did I do this?
He dropped to his knees and placed a bloodied finger to his brother's neck. "Kristian!" he yelled. "Kris get up!"
Beside him lay the murder weapon, a 6-inch blade that was too long to be legal. His finger prints were all over it.
No, he told himself, over and over. I'll have to change my name. I'll have to move far away. Oh my God my brother is dead.

Ashley and Kristian were always pretty close. Their mother had wanted girls, so she gave them both feminine names. Ashley would go by Ash and Kristian would make sure everyone called him that. Being the older of the two, Kris was used to watching his little brother when their mom went to her night clubs. Kris would take care of his little brother better than he'd care for himself, which is why Ash always loved him.

Kristian was a 26-year-old attorney now. He took things seriously when they needed to be, but he enjoyed a good laugh. He goes out of his way to find a way to make a judge laugh, or to soothe his clients. Everyone loved Kristian. He was just a likable guy.

Now, Ash stared down at the attorney. His neck had a giant gash from where the knife had sliced him. The moments before his death kept replaying in Ash's mind, over and over.
"Ash, you've been drinking again, haven't you? I keep telling you to stop. We made a promise that we wouldn't turn out like Mom, remember?"
"I'm prefectly sober. Stop worrying about me."
"Ash, you aren't sober. You reek of alcohol."
"Shut up. Don't you have better things to do? You have a huge case that starts in six hours. Why aren't you asleep?"
"Ash. You just told me six hours from midnight is eight o'clock."
"I don't care, dammit. Leave me alone!"
Kris tried to touch his brother, to comfort him, and that's when everything started to blur.

Ash lifted his brother's eyelids. He had to see those beautiful eyes one last time.
Kris's eyes had been petrified, shock and horror forever glued to their irises. They were blue, a completely different shade of Ash's almost green eyes. Kris's hair, a dirty blonde, was now red with his own blood.

I can't stay here.
Ash grabbed the knife he had used to kill his brother. He started to run, pounding his feet onto the floor. He ran until the stars gave way to the sun; he ran until he couldn't see his brother's face staring back at him.

Alice had woken up as the sun rose. She sighed softly. She never was able to get much sleep, it was her curse, well, she could be considered to have her life as a curse. She sat up in the bed with a grim expression. She managed to get out of the bed at least and got dressed. She had showered the night before so she was pretty good. She had her own little daily routine she guessed, It just kept her busy and entertained and looking forward to some things rather than nothing all day long.

She stretched a little more as she was dressed. She wore dark skinny jeans with boots and a loose white tank top covered up by a sweater and beanie over the tops of her dark hair. She smiled a little as she walked outside and was on her way to get her daily coffee. The shop wasn't too far, but she got her exercise every day by walking to and from work throughout the day. It gave her time to think about whatever rather than driving everywhere.

She was humming a little to herself as she walked down the street. She wasn't really paying any attention to anything but she thought she heard a whimpering from an alleyway, it was almost human sounding. She tried to ignore it though. She was known to pick up stray cats and take them to the shelter, she had actually been thinking about getting another cat, but then again she didn't want to seem like the stereotypical crazy single cat lady. She would probably go through with it though. They were good company and were okay if you left them alone for awhile, after all they were rather lazy anyway unless they were in the mood for fun and games. She managed to get herself to the coffee shop and was just walking back with her morning frappe.

Ash was on the ground; his legs had finally given way underneath of him. Where am I? he asked himself when once he really meant was, Am I far enough away?
His fingers were covered with a mixture of blood and dirt, his knife was tucked into his pocket. He needed to clean himself up.

Ash found a house that didn't look like it had a vicious guard dog and stared at the window. It didn't look like anyone was home. That could be used to his advantage.
Ash made his way to the backdoor and took out his knife. He jimmied the lock until the door opened. "Hello?" he called, his rough voice echoing off the walls. When no one answered him he closed the door behind him and walked around, leaving trails of blood through the house. He came across what he assumed to be the living room. Two cats lay side-by-side, sleeping. He crepped up the stairs until he found the bathroom. There we go.

Once Ash was showered he got a towel and cleaned all of the bloodstains he had left. When he was done he threw the towel as well as his T-shirt in a garbade can outside. Ash stared down at his pants. They still had blood running down one of his legs. With a sigh, he located the laundry room and threw his jeans in the washer.

Alice walked into her house. Mimi and Sebastian seemed to be a little frightened. "What's wrong you guys?" She asked quietly as she set her purse down in the house and knelt down. That was when she thought she heard something, the washer running. She couldn't remember turning it on... "Um. Hello?" She called. She was a little nervous so she picked up Sebastian, her black cat hoping that he would offer some protection as she nervously walked down the hall towards the laundry room. "Is there someone there?" She asked weakly.

She was shaking horribly and Sebastian jumped down running into the laundry room and started to hiss. Right before Alice reached the door way she took a deep breath and peered in. She looked terrified most likely. "Um... hello?" She asked quietly looking for something in the room. She hoped it wasn't some axe murderer... otherwise she was an easy target, young girl, unarmed and small enough to be taken down in one blow.

Ash was just waiting for the washer to finish when he heard someone upstairs. "Shit," he murmured, looking for a hiding spot. One of the cats ran down and started to hiss at him. "Shh kitty, shh," he whispered. There were no hiding spots in the room and worry crossed his face.
What would someone think when they saw a stranger in their laundry room, naked nonetheless?
Ash stopped the washer and put his soaking wet jeans on. They rubbed uncomfortably against his legs, but now was no time to complain.
"Hello?" he called back and took a big breath. Ash walked out of the darkness, looking at the door. A girl stood there, alone. She was terrified, shaking visibly.
"Um," he said slowly, "well this is awkward." He was hoping to ease her with a simple joke, but he knew that would probably scare her even more.

Alice jumped when she heard the voice. She nearly screamed a little,"Who are you... and why are you in my house." She asked, her voice shaking in her speech. She wasn't liking the fact that someone was in her house without her knowledge, actually it scared her more than anything. She turned the light on in the room so she could look at whoever it was. It made her vulnerability more obvious though, She really was tiny at just about under a 100 or so pounds. She picked Sebastian up as she saw him. He seemed... handsome at least but still. He could be some... drunkard asshole that was going to rape her right then and there and leave her dead.

"Why are you in my house," Ash repeated. "That's a wonderful question."
Ash looked down at his chest, entirely visible due to the lack of his shirt. His muscles bulged out which probably was scaring her. His face was covered in brown stubble-When was the last time he had shaved?
"A question that requires an even more wonderful answer," he said, his eyes grazing her body. Look how small she is.
Ash needed a lie, and he needed one quick. His mind was swimming, he felt drunk. Maybe he was. He couldn't smell any alcohol on him, but maybe that was because he was so used to the smell.
"I am..." Ash started, his eyes darting around the room. "Here... to sell you some...cookies?"
You're pathetic.

Alice frowned,"And cookie salesmen hide in houses and use laundry machines. I don't think so. Look, I'll make you a deal here. You can finish washing your pants or whatever and I'll give you some slacks or something to wear while you wait. I can get you some tea or whatever as well, You look terrible. Oh, but you can only do those things if you promise not to rape me or kill me. She couldn't really tell if he was sober or not, He looked totally out of it and like he hadn't been sleeping at all. She was a little confused to be honest. I don't even know if I can trust this guy and I'm offering him tea? Jesus I have no confidence with myself. But then again, I've got nothing to live for. She sighed.
"So um. You going to take me up on my offer?" She asked quietly.

You have to promis not to kill me.
Ash gave a huge headache just thinking about his brother. His eyes went to the knife he had put next to the washing machine, thankfully out of view.
"How do I know you won't rape and kill me first?" Ash said, feigning suspicion. He gave a smirk, then nodded. "Deal."
He hoped the girl couldn't see his hands shaking, his eyes darting. There was no way he could be sober, not while he was acting like this.
He stumbled to her, staying a good foot away. "I'm a rare kind of cookie salesman," he said. "The limited eddition Halloween kind."
It's not even October you idiot.