Janice Leagra

Janice Leagra is a writer/artist living in North Carolina. She was shortlisted for the 2017 Bridport Prize and was a 2018 Best of the Net nominee. Her stories have featured in Riggwelter Press, Spelk Fiction, EllipsisZine, et.al. She’s on Twitter: @janiceleagra and Instagram: janiceleagra.

BACKSEAT OFFERING by Janice Leagra

He’s just had a cigarette and a TicTac after doing a line on the console. His tongue tastes of tobacco and peppermint. The car is almost too warm. The engine’s running, the heat on full-blast. Still, goosebumps dot your skin. The light from the stereo shines lava red. It’s a raw, frigid night. The threat of snow hangs like a skullcap over Maple Lake. It’s the eve of your fifteenth birthday. He’s seventeen. He’s giving you your birthday present. Here, in the backseat of his Camaro. Fourteen isn’t so young. That’s what he’s told you for weeks. You thought sixteen…

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