Page 10 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares (The Society #1)

“Georgia’s about to have a real bad day then, isn’t she?’

I didn’t like the way Levi said my name. It sounded threatening and charming at the same time. Pair that with the way Ravi was staring at me, and I felt like a piece of meat on display. Issac just scared me.

So much so that I was a heartbeat away from taking my chances and bolting out of here.

I even looked around for the closest possible exit.

If I went to the left, I could rush to the door on the other end of the table without getting closer to any of them.

Maybe Rachel would stop making out and intervene?

Any chance I had for escape disappeared when the four of them surrounded me. They moved in sync without saying a word, as if they knew what the others were thinking. Or what I was thinking. That was a terrifying thought.

The twin, whose name I didn’t know, stepped around me before I could stand up, and sat in the chair on my right.

Issac plopped down in the one on my left, while Levi and Ravi sat on the table in front of me.

It all happened so fast that I didn’t have time to react.

Not that my frozen body would’ve cooperated at all.

Fear had me glued in place. All I could do was tightly pull in on myself as panic set in.

Suddenly, the seat of my chair felt harder than it was, while the air around me became heavy.

My chest struggled to suck more oxygen in, and I could feel my pulse vibrating through the wooden frame holding me up.

Or maybe it was beating so fast that I was shaking.

I couldn’t tell. My personal bubble was getting smaller by the second.

“What’s wrong, Peaches?” Issac rested his forearm on the table and leaned in. “Can’t breathe?”

Not when he was that close. I couldn’t even shift away from him because the unknown twin was right there on the other side.

“Come on,” Issac coaxed. “Suck in a breath. We can’t have you passing out too soon.”

Oh God, was I gonna pass out? What would they do to me if I did? I didn’t feel so good. My head was getting dizzy, and my body felt light.

A loud bang rang through the room as Ravi’s hand hit the table and he yelled, “Breathe.”

Oxygen suddenly shot back into my lungs with a large breath that made me cough.

“There we go,” Issac mockingly cooed, while rubbing my back.

I moved away from his touch only to bump into the twin on my right.

“Fuck off,” he snarled and shoved me back into Issac.

My chair jerked as my shoulder smacked into Issac’s chest, which was so hard it sent an aching bolt down my arm. I sat up as fast as I could, but not before Issac pressed his nose to the top of my head and inhaled, sucking in my scent as if he was a lion waiting to pounce.

“How’s she smell?” Levi asked.

“Like cherries and fear,” Issac answered.

Ravi let out a quiet groan that made unease swirl in my gut. “That’s something I’d like to taste.”

Why wasn’t anyone doing anything? Rachel wasn’t making out with her boyfriend anymore. She was right there, watching. It looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. She just stared at me with this look in her eye that did not make me feel any better.

She didn’t even open her mouth when I whispered, “Please, go away.”

Issac snickered. “Begging won’t do shit, Peaches.”

Don’t let them see you cry, Georgia.

“But,” he looked past me to the twin on my right, “Maybe Slater will give you a break?”

Slater snorted. “Not happening.”

This whole situation was bad, but I didn’t know how bad until Rachel and her make-out partner got up and walked away, without saying a single word. That didn’t mean all hope was lost. Maybe I could still defuse the situation?

“Listen, I understand if you’re angry about last night—which was none of my business by the way—but you don’t have to worry. I erased the picture.”

Honestly, I don’t know why I took it in the first place. By the time that point came in my crappy day, I was running on exhaustion and instinct. And since they now knew the threat was gone, we could all move on with our lives, right?

“Bullshit.” Issac snarled.

Or, maybe we couldn’t. “I did.”

“Then why did you threaten us with it?”

That was a valid point. “I lied.”

“Oh, so you’re a liar on top of being a snoop.”

Walking into an unlocked room hardly constituted as being a snoop.

“I really did erase it.” I insisted. “You can look at my phone and see for yourself.”

Issac held out his hand, palm up. That was when I remembered…

“I left it in my room.” Phones were a distraction, and I had class.

He huffed out a sigh. “That’s convenient.”

If anyone understood about not taking someone’s word, it was me. How many broken promises had I seen Mom suffer through?

“If I show you that it’s gone, will you leave me alone?”

“Sure.”

Well, that was a relief. “Really?”

My relief was destroyed with Issac’s sneer.

“No, not really. How fucking dumb are you?”

I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t go back in the past and change my actions, and I’d already gotten rid of the evidence. What more did they want?

“What do you want from me?”

“We told you what we wanted. Suck Ravi’s dick.” Levi said, to which Ravi smirked.

My eyes flew from one to the other. They had to be bluffing. It was a picture and an empty threat. There was no harm done. Therefore, I had nothing to make up for.

“I’m not doing that.”

I once again attempted to stand up, and Issac once again pushed me back down. This time I didn’t take it as well.

Slapping him across the face, I jerked back from his hand. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

Darkness took over Issac’s expression as he turned his face back to me.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Levi tsked.

His threat didn’t bother me. I’d moved past fear to anger.

“If you touch me again,” I hissed at Issac. “I’ll scream.”

Issac snorted out a snicker. “You think these sheep will help you?”

“Yes.” Sure, some would sit by and watch—like Rachel—but not everyone would.

Issac stared directly into my eyes while he bellowed, “Everyone get out!”

People like him always thought the world would fall at their feet. Maybe in his world they did. He obviouslycame from a family with money, but this was a college campus. Not his house or family business.

No one here would listen to him. The assumption that they would was so ridiculous that I would’ve laughed if the sound of screeching chairs and footsteps didn’t immediately follow his demand.

I stared, stuck in a state between horror and awe as everyone began to file out the door.

They were actually listening to him. How could this be real? I was so shocked that I couldn’t do anything but watch as the last person walked out and the door closed, sending a resounding bang through the now empty room.

What the hell?

I’d seen people follow others around. The queen bee in my high school had a trio of minions, and the quarterback ordered around most of the team, but this was an entire room full of people who were adults, not teenagers desperate for attention.

And they still left. Even the staff was gone. A king didn’t have that kind of power.

I looked at Levi, Ravi, then over to Slater, and finally returned to meet Issac’s glare. “Who are you?”

Not a single muscle twitched on Issac’s face. “I’m your god, Peaches.”

Dread chilled my bones. Issac wasn’t god. He was the devil, and the look in his eyes said he wanted to take me to hell.

“What are you going to do to me?”

Issac tipped his head. “Before or after you suck Ravi’s dick?”

My eyes drifted back over to Ravi. My stomach churned at the smirk curling his lips. I would run if I wasn’t frozen in place. I couldn’t move if I wanted to. Even my breathing had stopped. Panic was no longer the problem. It was the icy tendrils of fear crawling through my veins.

“I won’t do it.” Other people in this place might listen to them, but I wouldn’t. “And if you try to make me, I’ll bite it off.”

Issac leaned in to growl in my ear, “Then I guess we’ll have to fuck you instead.”

I didn’t think, I just reacted and reached down into my bag to grab the only thing I had for protection—a can of pepper spray.

Ravi and Levi were halfway across the table when I stood up, pressed the button, and arched the spray through the air.

The spray hit Slater in the face, Ravi in the eyes, and Levi got it right in his open mouth. I was swinging over to Issac when a rush of air blew past me, and I suddenly found myself slammed hard, face-first into the wall.

Pain radiated down the front of my body, while confusion took over my mind. Slater started falling when I sprayed him, and I saw him hit the floor. It took someone a few seconds to fall, yet I was two feet, if not more, away from the three screaming boys. That wasn’t possible.

Stuck in a state of shock, I watched as Slater screamed and wiped at his face. Ravi and Levi weren’t doing much better, but one person was missing. That was when I felt the hand on the back of my neck.

Issac stepped in and ripped the pepper spray out of my hand. “Give me that.”

If Issac had thrown me, I might have made it here before Slater finished his fall. But I wasn’t thrown. I was held up against the wall by Issac, meaning he brought me over here. But that was impossible. No one moved that fast.

Breathing through the burn in my throat, I coughed out, “Who are you?”

“I told you, sweet Georgia,” Issac hissed. “I’m your god.”

There was a logical explanation for all this. There had to be. I didn’t believe in God or supernatural beings, Issac’s seemingly impossible speed aside. However, I was significantly more scared now than I was a few seconds ago, especially considering how mad the other three were.

“Goddamnit,” Ravi furiously wiped at his eyes. “Somebody get me some fucking milk.”

His twin was in just as much pain. Slater had torn his shirt off and was using it to scrub his face. “Fuck that bitch up, Issac. I want to hear her scream.”

Levi tried to say something but instead threw up on the table.