It was December 23rd. Marie chewed on her thumbnail. It had been 7 years since she had last been to her hometown. Her best friend since childhood had invited her for Christmas, and for once in the seven years since her grandmother had died, she obliged to come into town for a visit. Marie and Hollie had been inseparable as children, and Hollie's family had treated her as one of their own. Marie's parents had died when she was two, leaving her into the care of her mother's mother, her only living relative. She had loved her grandmother exceedingly; she had been so upset when she had died, that after entering college she hadn't returned to the small town, despite Hollie's many invitations.

Marie was now 25 and a successful artist in the city. She stood at 5'7” with a short haircut which made her look somewhat like a pixie. Her hair had always been unruly as a girl and she liked the style much more for her golden blond hair. Her blue eyes always had that sparkle to them which caught people's attention, with big long lashes, and she had a soft pouty set of lips which always looked like she'd been eating strawberries. She was stunning with her high cheekbones, long slender neck, and willowy body, with just enough curves to make men look twice.

The cab pulled up to the curb in front of the oh-so-familiar Peters house. After paying the driver she opened the door and stepped out into the falling snow. The air was crisp and she unloaded her bags from the truck of the cab before shuffling up the walkway. She looked around the neighborhood. It seemed not much had changed and she felt nostalgia as she grabbed the door knocker and gave it a couple wraps. She pulled her scarf around her tighter as she waited for someone to answer the door.

There was a high pitched squeal as the door was flung open and Marie was embraced by her long-time friend. “Oh my god! I am so glad you came!” Hollie cried. “Mom and Dad are in the kitchen and Chris is upstairs,” she blurted as she bustled Marie into the house. “We figured we would give you time to get settled and then have dinner,” Hollie relayed to her as they walked up the stairs. Hollie was shorter than Marie, and brunette. She had more cleavage and hips than Marie would ever have, and in high school guys tended to like Hollie better. Marie had always been teased by some of the boys for being skinny. She hadn't grown into her looks until she'd been in college a few years. Even Hollie's older brother Chris had relentlessly teased her about being a stick, and had given her the name "Twig Girl." Marie always hated that name…and despised him for it.

Chris had always been popular in high school. He was brunette like his sister and had hazel eyes. He'd played sports and was well built. All the girls liked him. Marie had heard from his sister that since high school he had become quite the playboy. He was forever out with a multitude of different women. This irked Marie somewhat because in spite of everything there was that niggling little bit of jealousy. Not that she would ever let either of them know about that.

An hour later Marie had freshened up in the en suite bathroom adjoining the guest bedroom, unpacked her things and headed downstairs for dinner. She was famished and the smells of the turkey dinner enticed her. She was about to enter the dinning room when she was pushed