Page 65 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares
He was the real threat, except I refused to bow down to him. After all, bullies only bullied someone as long as they let them. I was better than that.
My hammering heart disagreed.
Issac rose from the bed and strode forward, causing my pulse to thunder against my ribs so hard I couldn’t breathe.
The closer he got, the tighter I gripped the can in my pocket. That was my one safety net. The feel of the aluminum against my palm allowed me to suck a little oxygen into my lungs.
Until Issac stepped up to me.
As his foot came down in front of me, I felt his long, cold shadow stretch across me, darkening the air around us. Whatever boldness I’d managed to fake cracked wide open, leaving behind nothing but my trembling body and the pulse wildly fluttering in my throat. His presence was not only suffocating but overwhelming.
I had to crane my neck to meet his eyes, and even then, all I got was the curve of his mouth. If it came to a fight, I would not be the winner. I wasn’t sure if there would be enough of me left to be considered the loser. But that wasn’t my biggest concern.
“If you touch me, I’ll scream.” I could feel his hands on me, crawling over my skin and pawing at my breasts.
Issac glared down at me and let out a low, condescending tsk that scraped across my nerves like gravel. “Go ahead, scream.”
“There are other people in this house,” I pointed out. “They’ll hear me.”
“And?” Issac shot back.
He wasn’t afraid at all. Why should he be? No one helped me in the cafeteria, so why would they help me here? This was a bad idea. I don’t know why I thought I could do this.
“Careful, Issac,” Ravi sang from in the room. “She might have more pepper spray.”
That’s right. I did have pepper spray. Aha!
My chest puffed out, then quickly deflated when Issac said, “She does. It’s in her left pocket.”
His piercing turquoise eyes stared down at me, as if daring me to pull my weapon out. Suddenly, the can in my palm felt more like dead weight than a safety net.
“Look,” I swallowed down the lump of fear forming in my throat. “I just want my things back. That’s all.”
“Why don’t you call the cops?” Issac cocked a brow and added, “Again.”
How did he know about that? The cops refused to pursue it. They weren’t even going to question him. Did someone tell Issac? No, they couldn’t have. No one knew. I didn’t tell anyone. Meaning, the only way he could’ve found out was if the police told him. All of Rachel’s warnings suddenly felt a lot more real.
“Don’t look so surprised, Peaches. I have people everywhere.”
The world fell out from under my feet as reality set in. “You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?”
“No. But if you’re a good girl and do what I say, maybe I won’t kill you,” Issac bent down and hissed in my face. “Now, get the fuck out of my room.”
His hand hit my chest, shoving me out in the hall, before he slammed his door shut so hard that it cut through the air.
Pain tore through my spine as I hit the floor, knocking the breath out of me and taking my dignity with it. There was only one option left…
Run.
Ravi
My brother was the golden boy of our family, and not because he wanted to be a football star—Slater fucking hated football. His role was a strategic move. While we were twins, we were very different people. The only thing we had in common was the hatred of our father.
Vengeance was our goal, but when dealing with General Pierce, that didn’t come easily or quickly. It was a long game we’d been playing for ten years now. It started with Slater being the twin who lived up to our dad’s expectations, while I was thedisappointing one. Why? Because no one paid attention to the disappointment.
My brother was the shining star, and I was the shadow they’d never see coming.
Strategy was important when it came to war, but there was more than one way to win it all, depending on what type of battle one was waging. Storming the beaches of Normandy versus being someone’s second was very different.
