DON'T CHEAT ON ME!

CHAPTER 28: Escape

I don’t know when the terror became something else—something darker. At first, it was fear, the kind that chokes your throat and turns your stomach into a pit of acid. But now? Now, it’s more like a twisted fascination. I’m trapped, tangled in this feeling I can’t untangle. I should be screaming. I should be fighting. But instead, I’m just here—watching him.

Watching Jordan.

His bare chest glistens in the faint light of the room, his muscles rippling with every movement. He’s a thing of beauty, a monster draped in perfection. I can't tear my eyes away even though my skin is crawling.

I can feel the heat of him even from here, even through the suffocating fog of fear that clouds my thoughts.
I should be disgusted, repulsed by what he's doing, by how he's slowly taking off each layer, but all I feel is an odd pull, something that makes my heart race, makes my breath catch.

“Jordan..”

I whisper, barely able to form the words. My lips tremble.

“Please... ”

But my plea is futile. I already know it. I’ve known it for months now, ever since I first met him. He’s always gotten what he wants, and now, he wants me like this.

Vulnerable. Helpless. Trapped.

But then, something happens.

A sound. A rustle in the dark, a thump against behind me.

I freeze. What was that?

Jordan’s eyes snap toward the door, a flash of irritation crossing his face. He turns his head slowly, like he’s calculating the intrusion, weighing the risk. I don’t dare to move. I can feel the tension in the air, the shift in the atmosphere. Something isn’t right.

Before I can process what’s happening, the door slams open. A figure appears in the doorway, cloaked in shadow, a hulking figure whose silhouette doesn’t quite make sense. And then I see it.

The farmer.

I know him, vaguely. He’s the one who lives in the old house near the edge of the woods, the one everyone avoids. But something is different now. His face is distorted, his skin pale and stretched thin, and the most unsettling part? His mouth. It’s gone. His lips have been torn, or worse, removed entirely. His tongue is a gaping, bloody hole.

I gasp, the horror of it too much for me to process. He’s looking at us, at me. There’s something wild in his eyes, something frantic, desperate. The farmer’s gaze flickers between Jordan and me, and his hands tremble, gripping a rusted sickle. It’s only when he moves toward Jordan that I understand what’s happening.

He doesn’t see Jordan for what he is. He sees him as a threat. A figure in the way of something he doesn’t understand.

The farmer lunges, swinging the sickle with a primal scream, but Jordan, ever the predator, is quicker. He dodges the first swing, but the second one catches him. The sickle slashes across Jordan’s side, and he lets out a strangled curse, stumbling back. His face goes pale, his eyes widening with surprise before they narrow into a seething rage.

"Idiot!"

Jordan mutters under his breath, wiping the blood from his side, his expression darkening.

The farmer doesn’t stop. He’s relentless, swinging wildly, unable to communicate anything other than the primal instinct to fight. There’s no logic in him, no reason. Just a monster fueled by panic.

And in that moment, Jordan does something I didn’t expect—he collapses.

It’s not an act. He’s actually crumpling to the floor, the blood staining his clothes and the floor beneath him. For a second, I think he’s dead. His eyes roll back, his body going limp in a way that makes my stomach turn. The farmer, unaware of the deception, steps over him, continuing his frantic assault. He’s too far gone to see through Jordan’s manipulation.

I don’t know if I’m relieved or horrified. But this is my chance.

The ropes that bind me are tight, cutting into my skin with every movement I make. But I force myself to work against them, pulling against the knots, fighting the panic that threatens to overtake me.

The farmer’s back is to me. I don’t think he even knows I’m here anymore. He’s too focused on Jordan’s limp body.

I jerk at the ropes one last time. The knot gives way. My wrists are free.

I stagger to my feet, my legs weak and shaky beneath me. I can’t focus on anything but getting out of here, getting away from Jordan and the farmer and the nightmare I’ve found myself in. My heart is pounding in my chest, my breath ragged. I know I should run, but I glance back at the man lying on the floor.

Is he faking?

I can’t tell. But I don’t have time to figure it out. I have to get out.

I move quickly, almost stumbling in my haste, my body still disoriented from everything that’s happened. I push through the door, the cold night air hitting me like a slap to the face. The forest is dark, the trees looming over me like dark sentinels.

I don’t know where to go, don’t know if running through the woods is even a safe option. But I do it anyway, my feet pounding the soft earth beneath me as I push myself forward, toward freedom. Toward anything that isn’t this house, this nightmare.

But then I hear it. A crash. A rustle of footsteps.

I freeze.

A shadow emerges from the trees, its outline slowly becoming clear. It’s him.

Jordan.

His face is pale, covered in blood, but his eyes... those eyes are wide with that same hungry, predatory look I’ve come to know all too well. He’s awake. And he’s coming for me.

But then something else happens. The farmer, that horrible, twisted figure, is behind Jordan now. And he doesn’t see me—he sees Jordan. He’s looking at Jordan like he’s the threat, like Jordan is the one who needs to be destroyed.

The farmer raises his sickle again, swinging it in a wide arc, aiming for Jordan’s back. Jordan doesn’t see it coming.

Thwack!

The sickle connects with Jordan’s back, right in the shoulder, the sound of flesh tearing as he stumbles forward, a strangled gasp leaving his lips. He crashes to the ground again, this time in a heap, the life draining from his face.

I don’t wait. I don’t know how much longer I have before Jordan comes to again. I just run.

I hear the farmer’s labored breath behind me, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop. I push through the dense trees, my body aching with exhaustion and fear, until finally, I reach the edge of the forest.

I don’t look back.

I don’t need to.

I’m free now..

I’m free?