1st thing 1st, I finally have a poster and bg for this story (phew!) so... Poster Credits to K @ http://midnight-illusionsx.blogspot.com/

do leave comment, readers *puppy eyes with hands holding a plate of double chocolate chips with chocolate ice cream on top and some whipped cream, cherries and chocolate sauce too*

~Fifie~

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Her hand unlocked the door and she pulled it open. Then, she took off her shoes and placed them in the shoe cabinet before switched on the light.

“Grandma, I’m home,” she whispered to an empty house. It was a routine now after seven years. She walked first to the living room and looked at the picture of her grandma. She smiled.

“I’ve gotten the job, grandma,” she announced rather proudly before sighed heavily. Still until now she was known as Kiss Su, not Vicki Zhao. It was as if Vicki Zhao had never existed before. Until now, she had to keep the identity to hide herself from the murderer.

“Tomorrow I will start working. Wish me luck. Tonight I’m going out for the celebration with the girls,” she said. Even until now, Mary, Marion, Jenny and Tracy still her friends, her best friends and all of them were still together, even in the university. Although Mary and Marion were already working while Jenny and Tracy were still looking for job, they were still hanging out together on weekends or nights like this just for chat.

She went into the kitchen and took out a bottle of water. She unscrewed the top and poured the drink into a glass.

“I’m a working woman now,” she murmured to herself as she ran her finger around the glass. Seven years now she lived alone. Just her and her grandma’s picture. But it was alright. As long as her grandma’s picture with her, waiting for her at home, she would be alright.

She ran the water to wash the glass before moved to her bedroom. She looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. Truthfully, she was tired. When would she be able to introduce herself as Vicki Zhao, no longer Kiss Su? When would she be able to be her old self and visit her grandma’s graveyard? Even until now she never even once stepped there. She did not have the chance to place flowers at her grandma’s. She had been such an ungrateful granddaughter but hopefully her grandma understood her situation.

She took off her jacket and hung it in the wardrobe; leaving her in black camisole. Her left hand rubbed her sore neck as she let out a sigh. Finally, after years sponging on the government for her living, she could finally be independent. She hated depending on someone else for living and had to swallow her pride in order for her to live. But now, now she could finally be...

 Her eyes widened when the bell rang. Who could that be? Her friends did not know where she lived. Those officers told her many times when she was just starting her new life to keep her home a secret in case the bad person would come searching for her. As if that person dared to come. Every few hours there would be patrol car around the area. Even there were surveillance cameras around her home, even at the stairs to her home so if there was something suspicious, help would come. Even she was wearing a necklace around her neck, the necklace actually an emergency button if anything went wrong.

“Feel like a bird trapped in a cage,” she murmured to herself as she walked back to the front door to check who her visitor was.

She re-tied back her long hair into a messy ponytail and pinched her cheeks to give the glow to her face. Then, she opened the door.

“I heard you’ve gotten a job now. Congratulation,” Raymond said cheerfully as he showed a basket of fruit and a bottle of champagne.

Vicki sighed. This officer treated her like a little sister and always came anytime he wanted just to check on her. Sometimes she felt glad for the familiar face but most of the time, she wanted to be alone. Her home was her hide, her place. Just for herself and grandma. No one else shared this place with her but Officer Almond as she called him behind his back just come and go anytime he pleased.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Raymond cocked an eyebrow.

She unlocked the padlock and opened the grill for him. He entered the house with a chuckle and went straight to put the things on the dining table.

“Congratulation, mei mei,” he said again as he uncorked the champagne after shaking the bottle a bit.

She smiled weakly and started to take out things from the fridge, some meat balls and salad to make a quick fried meat ball and salad to accompany the so-called celebration. Obviously she had to feed him before his next shift. Thanks to him, she now memorized the shifts for the officers so it was easy for her to feed him whenever he came to visit her.

“I need to cook some rice first,” she shouted from the kitchen but he did not reply. No doubt he was drinking the champagne alone like usual because she did not drink alcohol, did not want to get hangover. The first time she drunk, it brought back the memory of that day, the day she found her grandma lying in pool of blood. She woke up screaming to herself and cried despite of the headache.

“Maybe some sparkling for you,” Raymond said cheerfully as he walked to her, holding the bottle with his right hand and a glass with just a quarter of champagne inside.

“I only get a job, not something to celebrate so much. 3 months will be a trial for me,” she murmured, pouring oil into pot.

“A trial but I know you can do it,” Raymond said as he rummaged through the fridge.

She did not reply. For him, she could do anything. She was after all his so-called god-sister so she could do anything she wanted.

...................................................................................................................................................................

She bent and took the brush. She opened an eye and brushed the black eyeshadow to her lid and did the same to the other lid. Once she was satisfied, she lined the eyeliner around her eyes, emphasizing the eyes, making they looked gothic. Then, she looked for the blusher for her cheeks.

“I know I am late but please,” she murmured when her phone rang again. With a heavy sigh, she reached for the ringing phone and answered the call.

“Ten more minutes, Marion,” she said boringly, too tired to go but had no heart to say no to the girls. Luckily Raymond had gone before she could kick him out. She would turn into a crazy witch if he did not stop drinking the champagne. Although he told her his shift started later than usual but she did not really like him getting drunk in her home. It would be an extra work for her to clean up after his mess. Not to mention the grocery she had to do every time he came. All he did when he visited his ‘sister’ was rummaging the fridge and finish off whatever in there and in the cupboard.

She finished pinking her cheeks a bit and slapped the lipstick to her lips before criticized her own reflection in the mirror. She looked too scary for others to approach her so it would be good. Hmm... maybe a bit more of eyeliner. She grabbed the eyeliner and drew more around her eyes. Hmm... getting scarier. Very good.

She reached her bag and unlocked the door. She was getting late and the girls would be even scarier than her make up if she still moved rather slowly out from the house.

She looked left and right, righting her denim jacket before taking a deep breath. If was still early but sometimes she could swear someone was looking at her, watching her every move. Of course she would not ask Raymond or that grumpy officer, hoping that it was just one of them watching over her from far. Besides, it was years after the murderer killed her poor grandma. Why would the murderer wait until now to kill her? No, she shook her head just to calm herself. Nothing bad would happen. If anything bad happen, it would happen long time ago, especially when she was still trying to catching up with her study and trying to forget the fact that she had to live in a new identity.

Instead of taking taxi, she decided to use bus. Guessed she really did want to come late. She adjusted the bag and walked to the bus stand. Few minutes while she was waiting for the bus, her phone rang again.

“I’m waiting for the bus,” she told Mary before Mary could scold her.

“Kiss, you are such a ... argh!”

She smiled at her friend’s frustration. Sometimes she felt uneasy to lie to them. She wished that she could tell them the truth about her, her name was Vicki Zhao and she was on the run from a crazy man who wanted to kill her after killing her grandma. Soon, her heart whispered. Soon enough the murderer would be caught and she could be true to herself.

Could she be the old Vicki, she wondered. Could she be the care-free girl who smiles and happy with her life?

When she reached the club, it was full of people. She scratched her head and looked around for her friends. They would not leave her alone, won’t they?

Taking a deep breath, she looked for even shadow of someone she knew. Hopefully none of her friends had gone home. She checked back her watch, feeling uneasy. They would not leave her, would they?

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly when she bumped into someone before turned to her right when she heard Marion’s voice.

“Kiss, there you are. You are late,” Marion muttered as she grabbed Vicki and pulled her toward the others.

“Sorry...” Vicki murmured weakly, not even listening to the gasp of ‘Vicki?’ from the man she just bumped into.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked at her, swearing he did not dream about this. Was he seeing things? The person was not a ghost because he could feel her warm body when he caught her from falling. “Vicki, is that you? Am I seeing a ghost?” he questioned but nobody heard his voice.

He moved forward, trying to get a glimpse of a girl he swore was Vicki, the girl who he and the others believed being murdered by a thief. He could not see her anymore. He groaned and tried to go toward where he believed she went but someone called his name instead.

“Vic, our place is over there.”

He threw a stare at his friend but because all of them were so used with him being so cold, his friend just laughed and walked back to where the others were waiting.

“Vicki,” Vic choked out, still trying to comprehend what he just saw.

...................................................................................................................................................................

Vicki/Kiss let the others threw her glares before sighed heavily. She reached a glass of Pepsi and sipped it slowly through the straw, waiting for the lecture. They always had lectures for her. Her unwillingness to step forward. Her inability to gather the will to win anything. Even with so many weaknesses, they could not help from including her in their group. It was as if she was alone in the world and needed someone to accompany her. Of course they did not know much about her except that she was an orphan and received money from the government because her late family did not leave anything to her.

“So, what’s your excuse for today?” Marion questioned.

“What’s with the make up?” Tracy asked weirdly.

Vicki pursed her lips and scratched her nape, looking for an excuse for both questions.

“I don’t have mood for men,” she answered finally, not even looking ashamed for her reason. In fact, she looked like she meant every single word.

The girls sighed heavily. They knew how she hated when the men hit on her during their night out. She did not work hard to get the attention from the men. Even without wearing make-up, men came to her like flies because of her mysterious look. Okay, fine. She was quiet all the time, prefer to day-dream but that was what attracted the men, especially playboys because of her look screamed innocents and naive and the men felt as if they were the one to break the glass around her. When they were still in school, Kiss did not receive that much attention, maybe because the boys preferring the popular girls but once they entered the university, Kiss received so much attention until she finally told them she’s lesbian. They were shocked of course but she revealed that it was a lie to stop the men from wooing her.

“Why don’t you tell them you’re lesbian?” Mary asked tiredly.

“Then they will say they’re the one who can make me straight back,” Vicki replied and sipped her drink again.

Mary, Marion, Tracy and Jenny sighed heavily. Kiss was right of course. These playboys would not take a no. In fact, in their sick mind, it was actually an invitation for them.

“Why are you late, then?”

Vicki finally smiled. She pointed her fingers to her work - the eyes - and received their frown.

“Being gothic is your answer?” Tracy asked in disbelief before added, “It took you more than an hour late to arrive just for the eyes?”

Vicki shrugged. She had no more excuse to give.

“Fine. Fine. I want to dance. Who wants to join me?” Marion asked, looking at the dance floor impatiently before at them.

“Me!” Mary and Tracy quickly followed behind Marion, leaving behind Vicki and Jenny. Jenny sat on the chair, next to Vicki. Vicki finished off her drink, trying to ignore the look from Jenny.

“Tell me the truth, Kiss. Are you a lesbian?”

Vicki almost choked. She looked at her best friend, coughing but Jenny looked so serious. Vicki reached for the tissue to wipe the water. Jenny waited patiently until Vicki managed to calm herself.

“Of course not. I am normal,” Vicki said.

Jenny cocked an eyebrow. Normal? Kiss never talked about boys, not even glancing once at the most popular boy in their school when she and the others were drooling at him. Kiss also never batted an eye when the most popular man in the university gave chocolate to her during Valentine ’s Day. In fact, it was the day when Kiss announced she was a lesbian, much to the embarrassment of the others.

“Look, I don’t like women in term of what you think,” Vicki explained quickly.

“You’ve never looked at men before,” Jenny pointed out, not even feeling ashamed to corner her best friend. They really wanted to know whether their best friend had problem but Kiss really surrounded herself with a wall. Whenever they tried to question her, she always pretended to study to stop them. Now, Jenny made sure that Kiss could not use that method anymore. Besides, she was suspicious about something.

“Do you have a secret you hide from us?”

Vicki gulped. What now? Why now? Why couldn’t they just accept her for who she willingly to reveal? Why they must want to uncover the layers she wrapped around her to see who she really was? Didn’t they know that she was trying to keep them safe by not including them in her secret?

“I’m tired. I want to go home,” Vicki said finally, faking a yawn.

“Kiss, I don’t know what you are hiding but I know one thing. We want you to be happy but it seems like the secret you’re keeping is making you... not you,” Jenny said desperately, holding Vicki’s hand, noticing that she had hit the mark when she felt Kiss’s hand shaking, even her body was shaking. She patted Kiss’s hand. “I am here for you. All of us are here for you. Share your burden. We might not able to solve your problem but at least you will feel better.”

Vicki sniffed. Could she? Could she really tell them everything? But it would danger their life if she did. She was trapped. She wanted to be what she used to be, a happy-go-lucky girl but it was hard to do that when the image of her grandmother lying in the pool of blood haunting her every single moment.

“I’m sorry. I really can’t. I’m sorry,” Vicki choked out, pulling her hand from Jenny. Then, before Jenny could say anything, Vicki rushed out from there, bringing along her broken heart.

“Kiss!”

She ignored the call. Now, she wanted to go home to hide. She wanted to be alone. Being alone was better. She did not have to face others. She did not have to think of excuses to give to cover her secret.

“Well, well, well. We meet again.”

Her body stiffened to hear the chuckle. She knew that voice somewhere. Before she could remember, a pair of arms grabbed her and pulled her toward the back lane. She gasped when the person pushed her to the wall. He smiled, leaning closer to her, revealing his face.

“You...” Vicki choked out, remembering the face rather vaguely. She knew him. He was the one she bumped into the day she found her grandma...

“You killed grandma,” she cried, finally managed to connect those two memories and received laughter from him.

“You have grown so pretty now. It’s lucky for me to leave you that day,” he chuckled, running his finger along her jaw, ignoring the flitch from her. He enjoyed making her scared. It was worth to see the awareness of death in her pretty brown eyes. He surely would enjoy killing her. After all these years hunting for her, looking for where she was hiding, he could not believe his luck when he saw her entering the club. Luckily, his lovely weapons were strategically placed in his car so whenever the need, he could simply grab one of them and do his work.

“How could you?” she cried.

“The pleasure is all mine. Your grandmother was so fierce in defending her life so I expect more from you. Now, you’re making me losing my mood with all the cry. Fight. Fight me,” he demanded, holding the sharp knife to her neck.

“No...” she choked out, crying.

“What’s with the cry, sweetheart? Are you afraid? Fight me. You know you want to have your revenge on me. I killed your grandma,” he laughed.

“Grandma...” she choked out.

“Yes, your grandma. I killed her with my own hand.”

It was hard to breath. She struggled to gulp some airs but his evil expression was like a mask, or a pillow pushed to her face, blocking oxygen, blocking her from breathing. She gasped and it made him laugh even louder.

“Ah... afraid. I love your smell. Be scared. Be very afraid.”

“Hey! What are you doing?”

The murderer looked at a man running toward them before leaned his face closer to her, enjoying the flitch from her. He pressed the knife closer, enjoying the blood slowly dripping from the wound before he pulled the knife away.

“Until next time,” he winked, pulling the necklace from her neck and ran away.

She let out a gasp. Her weak knees gave way and she fell on her knees, still shaking. He found her. Despite of what the policemen did to her to keep her safe, he still found her. Was her life coming to an end now?

“Are you alright? Vicki?”

She looked at him before everything turned dark.