Three Things

#1 Birthday Flashbacks

She could feel the cold in her bones.  A shiver ran up her spine as she stepped over a piece of discarded paper, that hadn't made it into the trash. It was dark and she didn't recognize the alleyway she was walking in. Which was strange in itself, as she lived in a town so small that they didn't have any alleyways. So where was she?  Unnerved and cold, she picked up her pace, hoping to make it to her destination soon. Where ever that was. 

The scuttering of a rat across her foot forced a squeal out of her. She laid a hand on her racing heart and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down. "I'm sorry that it had to be this way, Darling." A masculine voice spoke, startling her.

Whipping around, she turned to face the man, but his face was covered in shadows. He was faceless, despite this she felt no fear, only anger. "No, your not." She snapped, whipping away a tear. 

There was silence for a moment, and then her eyes widened, and her hand shook. "W-whats that? John, what's that in your hand?" She asked her voice shaking, as her emerald eyes identified a small knife. 

While she knew what would happen next, she prayed that this was just a nightmare. She didn't even have time to scream. The man; John slipped the knife in between two ribs, once. Twice. Thrice. Her nails dug into the black suit that covered his pristine white dress shirt. Slowly he lowered her to the ground, which was still wet from the rain earlier in the day. As she lay there slowly dying she watched as he fumbled around in her large white purse.

Just before the lights went out she watched as he pulled out her keychain and walk away.

~~~

Jackknifing off the bed, Grace let out a screamed gasp as she awoke. A torrent of fear and adrenalin raged in her system. Gasping for breath, the teen scrambled out of her bed, out of her room down the hall, and into the bathroom. Just making it before she threw up last night's dinner, taco bell. She moaned, and silently washed out her mouth before staring at herself in the mirror. 

She; thankfully, looked nothing like the woman in her dream. While there were minor similarities, you could only really see them if you looked hard enough. Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, she sighed. "Happy birthday to me." 

Grace let out a dry mirthless chuckle, as she turned and left the bathroom. Heading downstairs and into the kitchen, she smiled as she found her parents and two younger siblings waiting for her a the table with pancakes. After a round of soft mornings, and happy birthdays, Grace sat down and they started to eat. Her brother; the older identical twin smothered one chocolate chip pancake with peanut butter, while the younger twin, with plain pancakes, applied sugar and milk to his.

The teen figured she had weird brothers, but grace knew they all got it from their mother, who was a bit strange even by their standards. Small talk was made as they ate, and as breakfast ended, her father spoke up. "Now Grace, my brothers coming over early to give you, your present." 

Grace blinked, her father had never been close with his family, and they didn't see each other often, so it was odd. But she shook it off. It's not like it's every day that your niece turns eighteen. She mused silently as she nodded and headed back upstairs to get dressed. 

A few hours later there was a knock at the door, and her father let in a man that she figured was his brother and her uncle. He was attractive, with a strong jaw-line and a crooked nose. Her uncle gave off a certain look and vibe, one she figured that her father didn't like going by the slight frown tugging at his lips. Grace had only met her uncle twice before, once when she was five and again when she was ten. The years had been kind to him, and he smiled as he stepped into the house. "Hello Gracie, I hope you remember me."

"Of course, Uncle Johnathan. How could I forget you?" She said, "Your motorcycle was the talk of the neighborhood the last time you came around."

He snickered and pulled a small glossy black gift box, with a thin silver bow atop it.  "Here, your present."

Taking it with a smile, she placed a hand on top of it, and after a nod from both her father and uncle, opened her first present of the day. Lifting up the top, and quickly setting it aside, she unfurled the pale blue wrapping tissue to reveal...

A keychain. A very familiar keychain. A keychain that she had seen in the hands of a man that had just murdered a woman. A keychain that had three extra charms to it. Aside from the blue rose petal settled in a square bit of resin, there was a small monarch butterfly, a leopard print letter B, and a peace sign.  

Slowly looking up from her present, Grace laughed feeling a bit hysterical. "Where'd you get this? I love it."

John looked proud. "It was mine for a while, actually. Pops gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday, and his dad gave it to him on his eighteenth as well. It appears a bit of a family heirloom, handed down from eldest child to eldest child." He shrugged, then said," Since I can't have kids, I figured I'd hand it off to you."

Putting down the box, but keeping the keychain in her hand, she stepped forward to give her uncle a hug. "I can't wait to add to it." She whispered in his ear, smirking as she pulled back. 

He chuckled under his breath and flashed her a similar look. "I bet you do." He muttered in return.

her father apparently decided he'd out-stayed his welcome, and ushered him out of the house. turning around she headed up to her room, keychain in hand. These next few years would be interesting, to say the least. She hoped John would stay around. 

~~~

First, one to guess what the three things are for this one-shot gets the first request. Also if someone wants to take this one-shot and make something more of it, feel free to do so, but please let me know and send me a link to it. <3