Even with all that blood, I knew she wasn’t dead. Just knocked the fuck out.
At that exact instant, Daggett came running in. He was out of breath and looked petrified. With panic in his voice, he said, “Oh, dude, we are so screwed.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
PRISCILLA
Cora got her wish. We were actually seated around a bundle of candles and roasting marshmallows that were stuck to the end of butter knives and pens. I didn’t join because I thought marshmallows were nasty.
“How can someone dislike marshmallows?” Cora judged. “It’s like disliking water.”
“They’re gross. They’re the food equivalent of glitter. No matter how hard you try, you can never get it off your hands.”
She chortled. “Can’t argue with that, to be honest.”
“It’s amazing how someone so preoccupied with what animal products go into her body has no issue with what fake food does.”
“We all have to have our vices. Mine are sweets.” She moaned and said, “Man, I haven’t had these since I was a kid.” Cora bit down on her marshmallow and pulled it out of her mouth slowly so a long string of goo hung between her teeth. Dana was next to her, eating hers like it was corn on the cob. Melanie just twisted her marshmallow in the flame until it turned black. I don’t think she ever took a bite.
Dana cleared her throat. “You know, I’m pretty sure marshmallows aren’t vegetarian-friendly.”
Realization struck Cora, and she dropped the food from her hand. “Wait…what?”
“There’s gelatin in it.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means I’m gonna be sick,” Cora said, reaching for a napkin and wiping her mouth clean.
I looked at Dana, still confused. She said, “It’s collagen taken from animal body parts.”
I broke out into a fit of laughter. “Some vegetarian you are!”
“It’s been a long day, I wasn’t thinking!” Cora shouted at me, running to the garbage to toss out her dirty napkin and then returning to the table. “I used to eat these before I changed my diet, I…stop judging me!”
Tap, tap, tap.
I looked behind me at the window. The blinds were down, but from the edge I could see the cord from a satellite dish banging against the glass outside. It about gave me a stroke.
Melanie noticed me checking the window, and looked at me strangely. “You think someone’s out there?” she asked, dryly.
“You say that like no one would be,” I replied. “Speaking of, what exactly are we dealing with here? How crazy are these chicks we’re hiding from?”
Melanie smacked her lips. “You don’t want to mess with them, I’ll say that.”
“I can imagine how nuts they are now. They weren’t exactly the brightest bulbs when I knew them.”
“They were never stupid,” Dana said. “Tiffany was silly, but Veronica and Molly aren’t morons like you pretend they are.”
“They weren’t when I was with them either,” Melanie added.
I shrugged. “Molly threw a benefit on the night of a full moon when she knew her brother was a loose cannon. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t strike me as a triple-digit IQ kind of lady.”
“In fairness to her,” Cora began, “Molly wasn’t expecting the blue moon. Plus, the date of the party was moved.”
“Blue moons are the worst,” Dana grumbled.
I scoffed. “Typical Molly. Instead of just canceling the party, she let us all be shoved into a tiny tin can to be werewolf food.”
Melanie continued twisting the marshmallow in the flames as she shook her head. “It blows me away that they were ever normal people living normal lives. They’re completely off the deep end.”
“Are they amplified versions of themselves now?” Cora asked.
“I don’t know. What were they like when they were alive?”
What better person to fill her in than me? “They were big into parties, dresses, braindead stuff.” I glanced over at Dana and said, “No offense.”
Dana shied away and poked at her marshmallow. “I’m not that into that stuff anymore.”
“Don’t let her bully you over that shit,” Melanie snapped.
I’ll be the first to admit I can be a miserable bitch sometimes, but this wasn’t one of those times. “I was being genuine. I know she’s into that kind of stuff and I was trying to be a good person about it, dammit.”
“You mock girly shit like you’re not sitting over there with ten pounds of makeup on your face. God forbid a girl like something girly.”
“Okay okay, chill, sister. You don’t need to vamp out at me.”
“Was that supposed to be a vampire pun?”
“If it was, it sucked,” Cora said and then proceeded to laugh and snort. “Did you get my pun?”
“Yeah, we got it,” Melanie barked.
“So clever,” I added.
Cora scrunched up her face, and she looked like one of those ugly-ass pug dogs. “Well, excuse me for trying to lighten the mood. Let me go launch myself out of a second-floor window.”
“Just don’t make a mess,” I told her.
“I thought it was funny,” Dana said with a shrug.
It validated Cora’s lame humor, and she smiled. “See, someone appreciates my greatness. Thank you, Dana. You were always my favorite.”
“You’re welcome.”
I groaned. “This circle jerk is really adorable. When’s the wedding?”
“March,” Cora replied without missing a beat. She could be such a dumbass, but her stupid jokes and timing did make me laugh from time to time. I’d rip my own arm off before I let her know that, though.
With annoying people fresh on my
