Page 25 of Prodigal Son

“No.” Juniper held the lighter over the bowl, but it was mostly resin at that point.

Trent snorted. “Mabel’s probably watching us right now through her crystal ball.”

“Yeah, right.” Tapping the ash onto a nearby rock, Juniper stuffed the bowl into the pocket of her torn jean shorts. It was too damn cold for shorts, but she liked the way they looked with her black tights and boots. “Throw another stick on the fire.” She burrowed deeper under her wool coat.

“I’ll keep you warm.” Trent nestled closer, nibbling her shoulder and neck.

She shoved him away, preferring the warmth of her coat. “Quit it.”

“But I’m a vampire. I vant to drink your blood!”

“A second ago you were imitating an insane dragon queen.” Zoey poked the fire with a long branch.

“It’s this magic weed. I can be whatever I want.”

“I’m not even high.” Juniper wondered if she accidentally grabbed some kitchen herb instead of pot.

“Did you guys hear about the bodies they keep finding in the woods by Jim Thorpe?” Zoey had a penchant for ghost stories whenever they stood the chance of feeling extra paranoid.

“What bodies?” Juniper’s aunts didn’t own televisions. They also believed the news on social media was full of conspiracy theories and fear mongering bullshit, so Juniper rarely paid attention to anything out of her small, unbearably boring, suburban teenage world.

“All women’s bodies. There have been, like, eight of them or something. They’re completely drained of blood and some of them have even been sexually assaulted—post mortem.”

Juniper drew back in disgust. “Ew, gross.”

“Is just my fellow vampires,” Trent said in a heavy Transylvanian accent. “Ah, ah, ah!”

Zoey rolled her eyes. “You sound like that puppet on Sesame Street.”

“You sound like that puppet on Sesame Street,” Trent sneered, mimicking Zoey in a whiny voice. “Lighten up.”

Juniper ignored their bickering, her mind returning to the man who visited her aunt’s store earlier that day. “What if it actually is a vampire out there?”

Her stare locked on the mesmerizing flames as she recalled every underwhelming detail of the guy. Talk about a legendary letdown. Nothing screamed Dracula like suspenders and an Amish hat.

Trent snickered. “The weed’s hitting her now.”

Juniper’s stare snapped to his. “I’m serious. What if vampires really existed? Maybe that’s what’s been killing those women.”

“After 2020, nothing can surprise me.” Zoey flicked some fallen ash off her jeans. “A global pandemic, killer hornets, and the government finally acknowledges aliens, sure, why not throw vampires into the mix?”

The wind whistled through the trees. A swirl of ember and ash floated skyward. Usually smoking pot relaxed Juniper, but after bailing on studying to hang with her friends, she knew she was going to bomb her algebra test tomorrow and her aunt was going to murder her.

She couldn’t unwind. Not that studying would have helped her relax. She was already failing her math class beyond redemption. Why did people need algebra anyway? Who gave a shit what X stood for?

“Is it raining?” Zoey looked up at the trees. “I swear I just felt a drop.”

“An owl probably just peed on you.” Trent flicked the lid of his zippo open and shut, open and shut. Click, clack, click, clack, the continuous snapping disrupted the tranquil crackle of the fire and only added to Juniper’s irritation.

“There it is again! It’s definitely raining!” Zoey stood. “I’m done.”

“Oh, come on, it’s just a little drizzle,” Trent argued. It really didn’t matter what Zoey wanted. If she said black, Trent automatically said white. The two of them together were a constant headache.

Zoey gathered her belongings. “I just got my hair done. I’ll meet you guys at the car.”

She marched off and Juniper frowned. “Do you hear that?”

“Zoey’s drama? Yeah, it’s a little hard to miss.”

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