Karyn opened her mouth. Two long, sharp fangs slid down like switchblades.
"Still think I'm cute?" she purred, flashing a grin that shined white.
I stumbled back a few steps, heart tripping over itself, my brain doing cartwheels trying to process what I was seeing.
Karyn caught the panic on my face and immediately softened, dropping the dramatics. "Oh, don’t worry," she said, raising her hands like I was a skittish animal. "I’m vegetarian. Cows, pigs, deer. Never human blood. Well… okay, once. Mom made me try it. 'Family tradition' and all that." She rolled her eyes like she'd just been guilted into eating broccoli at dinner.
I swallowed hard. “You’re a vampire?”
“Half. On my mother side” she said with a casual shrug, hopping off the wall and sauntering closer. “Mom’s full-blooded. As ancient as a dusty tomb. Always after the next hunt, wearing this ridiculously over the top cape. Dad was human. Had a thing for her mysterious, brooding vibe. She had a thing for his A-negative.”
I stared, still trying to catch up. My best friend was a monster. Well, not an evil monster, at least, it didn't seem that way. She was still... Karyn.
Sort of. A snarky, hoodie-wearing, fang-flashing monster. But she was still Karyn. I took a look. She was smiling. It suddenly dawned on me
“KARYN! It’s the middle of the day! It’s sunny!”
She smirked and pulled a tube from her pocket, showing it off like it was an infomercial . “SPF 100. Never leave home without it.”
