Page 47 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares (The Society #1)

Georgia

H ome break-ins weren’t new to me. It happened to Mom and me three times.

The first time, Mom scared them off, the second, no one was home, and the third, I scared them off with a bat.

In most cases, burglars didn’t want the hassle of dealing with someone.

They were looking for an easy score and nothing more.

This one was very different than that. Whoever broke into my house wasn’t an addict looking for his next fix. They did it solely to mess with me, and I was having none of it. Assholes had already invaded my life.

I’d be damned if I was going to lose the sanctity of my home as well. That was until I realized that they could see me, and that changed everything.

As soon as I felt breath on the back of my neck and a quietly uttered ‘boo’, I took off. It was so dark in here that I didn’t know where I was going, but I could see moonlight beaming off the loveseat in the living room. So that’s where I headed with my lamp in hand.

Running with such a cumbersome item wasn’t easy, but it was the only defense I had. When something reached out for me from the darkness, trying to block my exit through the bedroom door, I was glad I had it.

I swung that lamp like my life depended on it.

Not only did I hear the shade tear and the bulb shatter, but I felt the impact. Even then, I was entirely sure I hit someone until I heard a growled, “son of a bitch,” as I ran into the living room. If I were able to see the person, I might’ve stayed to beat them some more, but I couldn’t.

Hopefully, my strike would discombobulate my attacker long enough for me to get out of sight. I could hear him grumbling as I jumped up on the loveseat and climbed over the top.

Keeping the lamp firmly in my grip, I dropped down on the floor and pressed my back against the fabric-covered frame. It wasn’t the best hiding place, but it was better than being out in the open.

My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs that it hurt. Then again, that could’ve been my lungs. Heavy breaths scratched down my dry throat like sandpaper. My entire body was on high alert, which did me no good. Panic and fear never got anyone out of danger.

I needed to take a minute, calm down, and figure out my next action. However, I wasn’t sure if I had a minute. It wouldn’t take long for whoever was in my house to find me. That is, if they didn’t see where I went.

Cautiously, I peeked over the top of the loveseat. There didn’t seem to be any movement from over there, but the house had fallen silent again. For all I knew, he was somewhere else, slowly stalking up to me.

“Fuck. Okay…” I ducked back down and inhaled a deep breath. “You got this, Georgia,” I told myself. “You just have to make it to the front door.”

Shit! The front door! That was how I got out of this. It was right there. All I had to do was make it through the kitchen. But could I do that without being caught? I was fast. All that running had to pay off at some point, right?

I got back on my feet but stayed in a crouched position. Before I did anything, I needed to make sure the coast was clear. As I lifted up to take another peek, a sound stopped me dead in my tracks.

Crunch .

Why did that sound like glass?

Crunch .

The lightbulb! He was coming out of my room.

Crunch .

My heart stopped as I held my breath.

Please don’t hear me. Please don’t hear me.

Ever so carefully, I dared to peek over the edge. A very large figure stepped slowly towards where I was hiding. He wasn’t sneaking or creeping along as if he didn’t care about being seen.

He was casually strolling. And that wasn’t the scariest part. It looked like a man but had no distinguishing features. Black arms, black legs, black torso, no face that I could see. Just black, like a shadow come to life.

What the hell was happening?

My fingers clutched tighter onto the lamp as it stopped about six feet away from where I was hiding and tipped its head.

“Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey…”

Why did that voice sound familiar? It was distorted and echoey but still familiar.

“Along came a spider,” the figure’s voice dropped down an octave, “who sat down beside her.”

Why did it feel like he was staring right at me when he said that?

“And frightened Miss Muffet away.”

That was a different voice, and it was much closer.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I slowly turned my head to the left. I felt my heart stop as my eyes landed on the widespread smile of a fanged clown.

Every childhood nightmare I’d had came rushing back as I screamed, smashed the lamp on its head, and leapt over the loveseat. I’d rather face the shadow man than be anywhere near that thing. I hated clowns.

The clown fell back, and I ran for the door.

Ignoring the kerfuffle behind me, I moved as fast as I could. I needed to get to the door—every fiber of my being became focused on that one task. There was just me and the door. It was so close I could taste freedom. My fingers grazed the doorknob, hope rose in my heart, except it wouldn’t open.

I tried again and got nothing. The knob wouldn’t even turn.

“No, no, no,” I muttered while unlocking every lock I could find.

But it did no good. The door refused to open. I was trapped. And worse yet, I wasn’t alone.

A snide chuckle came from my right. “Where do you think you’re going?”

It wasn’t the shadow man or the clown. This was someone new. A man in a black hockey mask with a golden slash down the middle. There were three of them.

Hockey mask shook his head. “Give it up, Princess.”

Something in the back of my head itched at familiarity, but there was no time to think about it. The clown had pulled himself off the floor and joined the shadow man, who headed this way. If I didn’t do something, they would have me cornered.

Spotting something out of the side of my eye, I sprang to the left and grabbed the wooden spoon out of the sink. It wasn’t a lamp, but it would still hurt.

“Stay back,” I warned all three of them.

Shadow man snorted.

Hockey mask scoffed, “What are you going to do with that?”

“Yeah,” the clown agreed, then mocked me. “Please mommy don’t spank me.”

Something about this felt off. That’s when figure number four stepped out to join us, and I was more confused than ever.

I stood there with my mouth open, staring at the new man and his baby head mask.

It wasn’t a creepy baby—although it looked creepy on him—it was a smiling coochie coo cute little baby face.

What the… wait.

One…two…three…four.

Issac, Ravi, Levi, and Slater.

My face dropped as I stamped my foot on the ground. “Seriously? What the hell!”

How did I not pick up on this before? Of course, it was them. Who else would it be?

Slater aka hockey mask crossed his arms. “Someone found their balls.”

“Yeah, well, someone is about to get kicked in the balls again.” I looked directly at the shadow man. “Right, Issac?”

Now that I knew who they were, I could easily pick each one out. Levi had a leaner build, and Issac was the tallest, meaning the other two were the twins. Those two were harder to pick apart. I based my guess on who the hockey mask was by the way he crossed his arms.

Shadow man, aka Issac, snapped his head around to the baby mask. “What the fuck, Ravi? I told you that mask was going to fuck shit up.”

“You’re the one who told her who I was.”

“She knows who we are, idiot,” Slater growled.

I did. It took me longer than it should’ve. That was a disappointment I’d settle with myself later. It probably would’ve helped if I had my glasses. They would be less blurry, but I could see them well enough. Hope Levi enjoyed the lamp to the head. Prick.

“Maybe you gave us away,” Ravi argued with his brother. “Pick something other than a hockey mask next time, athlete.”

“No,” I interjected. “It was the baby mask.”

They all stared at me for a second before Ravi growled, “Fuck it.”

He ripped the mask off his head and tossed it on the ground. “Happy?”

“I’d be happier if you never wore it in the first place.” Issac removed his mask and sighed, “It doesn’t matter now.”

Levi and Slater followed suit while Issac ran his turquoise glare over me. He was not happy.

“That’s some towel you have there, Peaches.”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was mad at my towel. Honestly, I completely forgot that it was the only thing I was wearing up until that moment. I was too busy trying to escape the crazy masked fiends that had invaded my house.

“Yeah.” Levi eyed me suspiciously. “That thing should’ve fallen off a long time ago.”

I smiled back at him. “It has a button.”

When Mom first got these towels, I thought they were a waste of money. Now I thought they were worth every cent.

“Actually, it has two buttons.” Ravi corrected.

“Two or one, what’s the…” wait? My eyes narrowed on Ravi. “How do you know that?”

A sly smirk spread across his face as mortification rolled through me. He watched me shower.

Oh my god.

“That’s right,” Ravi sang. “I know what’s under that towel.”

Levi tipped his head. “See, I think the rest of us should know what’s under that towel.”

That wasn’t happening. I crossed my arms over my chest and took a step back. “Or… you guys could leave now that you’ve had your fun.”

That was a good option.

The cruel laugh Issac barked out told me that he didn’t agree with my option. “What makes you think we’ve had our fun?”

This wasn’t good. Issac had that same glint in his eyes that he did in the cafeteria.

“How about we play a game?”

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like his game.

“What are you thinking?” Ravi asked.

“I don’t know.” Issac’s eyes never left mine. “I was thinking a little predator/prey.”

I didn’t know who to be more afraid of. Issac or Ravi? The other two didn’t seem that interested in toying with me anymore. But those two looked positively predatory. Ravi even reached down and grabbed his groin as if the idea of chasing me down excited him.

Because let’s face it, I was the prey in their game. Not that I had a choice to play. Nor was I going to stick around to hear Issac’s fucked-up rules. The second Levi turned his head, I slipped past him and ran for the only place I could think of to hide.

My bedroom.