Page 76 of So Thirsty

“Wait,” I say. “You have a little…”

She still has some of Levi’s blood at the edge of her mouth. She licks it up. “Probably shouldn’t have bitten him.”

“At least you didn’t kill him.”

“Are you being a dick?”

“No. I’m just saying.”

“Right. I mean, maybe it’s good that I bit him,” she says. “He definitely won’t come after me now. He’ll be fine. He’ll rebound with some groupies. He’ll be just fine.”

“I’m sorry, Nay.”

She sighs. “I know. Me, too.”

She opens the door and steps out into the lot. I follow her.

“Van’s back,” she says, peering over her shoulder as she unlocks our room. “Don’t look.”

She ushers me inside, closes the door, and locks the dead bolt, secures the chain.

I pull the curtain back just enough for a single eyeball. “It’s turning in here.”

“Really? Shit.”

The van parks on the far side of the lot, near the rusty playground.

“Maybe we’ll get abducted on this trip after all,” she says.

“It’s them,” I say, the handprint on the window reaching into the corner of my eye.

“Who?”

“The vampires,” I say.

“Why are you so convinced?”

“Because…” I say, waving her in to show her the handprint.

“So?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Someone’s getting out,” she says, and I yank the curtain closed. “Hold on. Let’s see who it is. They already know we’re in here.”

She peeks behind the curtain. “Hmm. I can’t really tell.”

I poke my head over. It’s a man. His back is to us. He stands under a sputtering streetlamp. One second, he’s drenched in bright orangey light; another, he’s in the dark.

“Is he alone?” Naomi asks.

My heart thrums.

“What’s he doing just standing there? Should we go out?”

“No,” I say, pushing her back and closing the curtain. “Absolutely not.”

“Should I call Ilie?”