A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter compared to the others! I hope you'll enjoy the next one though ;)

April 14th, 1973

6:00pm

The Family House

Song recommendation: "Narcissistic Cannibal" by EarlyRise (originally by Korn)

The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Maria

-.-

I don't know what has come over me. One second I was absolutely hating the man who led me here - not wanting to even look him in the eye - and the next I was kissing him. It's wrong. It's so fucking wrong and I knew it too. A part of me felt disgusted in myself for falling for him. However, the other part of me doesn't feel bad at all. Johnny was right, I probably will never see Danny or my friends ever again. I'm either going to die within the next year or live out the rest of my life down here. It's not the life I wanted - but the life I'm being forced to have. If I have to get married and have his child - as everyone keeps reminding me - then I might as well give into it. I hate that I did that to Danny. I still love Danny but I can't lie, Johnny is very attractive. Not to mention, Danny would eventually have to move on too. Is this still considered cheating on him? My emotions and thoughts are playing a game of ping pong - bouncing back and forth between happiness and guilt. Guilt over kissing another man. Yet I enjoyed it despite Johnny being a sadistic serial killer and cannibal. The way he was so caring and loving - even confessing his feelings for me - made me feel like I was back on my first date with Danny. I was just so happy and excited - the butterflies consuming me as I couldn't believe what he was saying was real. It felt like all the puzzle pieces clicked into place. I had suspicions that he had feelings for me but never would've thought that he'd confess them.

Do I love Danny? Yes, I will always have a spot for him in my heart.

Do I love Johnny? Possibly, the jury is still deciding on the verdict.

The way Johnny has been treating me has felt so nice. The way his smile is contagious, his laugh sounds like a melody, his dark brown bedroom eyes cause my face to flush. Not to mention how rough his calloused hands are gentle around me and how his lips were making me addicted to the taste of cigarettes. Despite what happened to Virginia, Johnny was there to help calm me down. How he held and reassured me the best he could until I eventually calmed down - falling asleep in his arms. Even when I woke up from the nightmare - he was still beside me. Johnny didn't have to stay. He didn't have to comfort me at all. But he did - proving to me that he deeply cares about me.

Johnny didn't leave until the morning where I'm sure he's been busy trying to take care of his family. Sissy was the one who fed me this morning and afternoon. She told me that Johnny had been working at the slaughterhouse - taking care of the place. I wanted to gag as my mind wandered to Virginia. I wondered if he was cutting her up. Is she going to become one of those bodies in the gore room? Will her face be turned into a mask next? Will I be forced to eat her? No, Johnny hasn't fed me anything besides regular lunch meat and I've grown to trust him. When it comes to Sissy or someone else who has fed me - I normally dump anything suspicious in the bucket and eat what I think is safe. Thankfully, Johnny has been the main one to feed me.

Speaking of which, the wooden door unlocked before opening.

Johnny's worn out leather boots scuffed across the rough floor as he made his way across the room. I smiled softly at him but he avoided my gaze - his own was to the floor and glaring daggers into it. My smile slowly dimmed as I immediately noticed a weird shift in him today. Normally, he would greet me and do small talk - such as asking how I'm doing or some of my injuries. But not this time - he seemed completely different - or even when I first met him; just cold, angry, and distant. His shoulders and jaw were tense too - making me wonder if he was upset. Actually, I didn't have to wonder. I knew for a fact he was upset. His leather boots stopped a few feet in front of me as he dropped the plate of food onto the floor - causing the contents on it to fall and spill around the cement that was below our feet. There was something that I hoped was pork steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, and some buttered bread. All of it laid on the floor and my exposed feet - feeling the warm content dirty my already filthy skin.

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed as I glared up at him.

Johnny shrugged nonchalantly before coldly responding, "Dinners served."

I scoffed at him, "Why did you do that?!" Johnny remained quiet as he avoided my gaze. He was more interested in the rusty metal frame of my bed rather than the mess he made or how upset he had made me feel. Why did he do that?! All I did was smile and remain quiet as he walked in. Did someone piss in his bottle of beer?! I moved my head to the side - trying to catch his gaze - but to no avail as he only turned his head further away. Why the fuck is he being so rude all of a sudden?! The last time I saw him, he confessed his feelings for me, kissed me, and ended up staying the night. So what's the sudden change? I tried to pester further, "Johnny, talk to me. What the hell is going-"

"Are you going to eat so I can leave?" Johnny spat out as he cut me off - his tone cold and becoming more irritated with each word.

My mouth hung open in shock as he literally had me at a loss for words. Johnny slowly lifted his head and finally looked me in the eyes. His brown orbs seemed full of anger yet an underlying sliver of sadness that he tried to hide. Something was weighing heavy on his mind. Was it him confessing his feelings for me? Was he upset that I said I didn't respond back to him? I didn't say that I loved him back. Truth be told, I don't know if I fully love him back - only that I do find him attractive, nice to be around (compared to the rest of his family), and he makes me feel safe. It took me months to tell Danny that I loved him back too. Yeah, he confessed his feelings first for me - just like Johnny did. But I didn't admit my feelings back for another couple of months after Danny did. I wanted to make sure what I felt was real and not just me getting ahead of myself. If I truly loved Johnny, I wanted to wait and tell him. I wanted to make sure what I felt was real and not me feeling pressured. I don't want to lie to him and that's the last thing I needed to do in this entire situation.

I originally was just going to go along and pretend to like him - but I can't lie to myself anymore. He's a very attractive man. I know that for a fact - without even needing to admit my feelings about him. Johnny's special skill is being able to use his good looks and charisma to lure women to their property. Although he didn't do that to me at first, I still fell for him like they all probably did. Except I'd like to think and hope that I've been able to see the real him - not the mask he tries to put on around everyone. I got to see his nicer, gentle, and caring side that he seemed to rarely show for his own personal reasons that I hope to understand someday.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I finally snapped before standing up and looking him in the eyes, "You're just gonna treat me like shit after last night? What happened between now and then?"

Johnny's nostrils flared as he warned me; "Maria, I can't do this. Not right now."

I didn't care as I continued, "Not now? Not now, are you serious?! Oh, sorry for the inconvenience! Let me remind you that you literally told me you loved me and even kissed me last night! Is that seriously not something you'd want to talk about? Or maybe how you're treating me? Why the fuck did you drop the food like I was some dog? Why are you treating me this way after last night? Didn't you say you loved me so why are you treating me as if I'm just... nothing to you at all?!"

"Ooooh myyy fuuuuckinggg GOOOOD!" Johnny's long exaggerated groan turned into a yell as he threw his head back in frustration - his muscular arms crossing over each other. His boots stomped and scraped across the floor as he paced the small room back and forth. Johnny snapped his head and glared at me, "You don't get it, do you?! You ARE nothing! You're literally nothing more than a body to carry some fuckin' child that we're forced to bring into this fucked up family! After that, you're fuckin' gone! You'll be six feet under or part of dinner - just like Virginia. YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN THAT! YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME!"

My eyes widened at his sudden outburst. Where was this coming from?! It felt like I just got whiplash due to all the recent events. My shock and anger of seeing Virginia die, to feeling loved and comforted by Johnny, to the shock and hurt of the words that just slipped out of his mouth. I blinked at him several times - trying to process all the information he just yelled at me.

Was he actually serious?! What about everything he confessed to me the night prior? Was that all for nothing?! All those simple happy moments too - were they for nothing? I thought that we might've been forming something. I had to be his wife eventually and I knew that he cared deeply about me - even before he confessed it last night. Why the sudden change to heart? Was it his mother? Was he putting on a show? Was it something I did? My confusion slowly turned into sadness at my own questions. I really thought he loved me. Why did he kiss me in the first place? Why did he tell me he loved me? Why did he kiss me back? But as quick as the sadness came, it left and was replaced with anger. Was I seriously nothing but a fucking baby machine to him? Did he seriously view me the way he probably hunted his victims? Why did he think he could talk to me this way? Why did he toss the food at me like I was some random dog? I deserve to be treated better than this. I didn't ask to be held captive, be his future wife, and future mother of whatever children I'd be forced to birth. If anything, he and this family should be grateful. He should've been grateful that I didn't take that big knife he likes to show off and stab it into his stupid fucking skull that's as fragile as his ego. Oh, I still remember how he tried to let me go the first time because he wanted a chase and challenge. I saw how bruised he became due to me not accepting it. Such a mama's boy who whines when he doesn't get his way. Fuck that! Fuck all of this! I deserve more than to be talked to and treated this way.

"That's not what you said last night." My voice went cold as I kept my glare in his eyes.

"You think I was being serious?!" Johnny scoffed with an eye roll, "You're fuckin' hilarious, you know that? I only did that shit to chill your chicken shit ass down."

"No, you didn't." I argued.

"YES, I FUCKIN' DID!" Johnny snapped as he took a step towards me, "You kept fighting against me and I can't kill you - so I had to make you calm down some other way. So I re-shocked your system with a damn kiss and it fuckin' worked, didn't it?! Is that what you wanna hear?!"

I shook my head at him, "You told me you loved me."

Johnny's fists clenched as his nostrils began to flare up, "Well I fuckin' don't! I don't fuckin' love you at all. You're a goddamn idiot if you seriously believe if I would fall for some dumbass bitch who decides not to get help when her car breaks down, decides to take a fuckin' Sunday stroll takin' pictures of stupid flowers, crosses a very clear 'no trespassing' sign, and then decides to stumble into a goddamn chainsaw! I prefer my women much brighter than a box of rocks, thank you."

I chuckled with a large smile, "Oh you're most certainly welcome!"

Johnny smirked as the glare never left his eyes, "Don't back talk to me, sunshine."

"Why? Can't bite off what you serve?" I argued before standing up and walking over to him. My hazel eyes glared into his own brown orbs that still pierced into me. His jaw clenched as he let out a shaky exhale from his nose - trying to calm down - but in reality he looked like an angered bull. As I got closer to him, I noticed the vein popping out of his temple as his neck and shoulders were still tensed up. I could tell he was becoming extremely pissed but I didn't care - not one single bit. I might be his prisoner but I am more than that. We both knew that. I wasn't just some girl he could mistreat and not care about - he proved to me elsewise. I knew underneath everything he was saying that he felt some type of way for me - no matter how much he tried to deny it. He can run from his feelings but he can't hide them from me. I continued on; "You can't just stand here and tell me you don't even care about me. You're a much better kisser than a liar."

"Maria." His voice was strict and deep - trying to warn me, "You need to stop, I mean it."

"Then look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me." I crossed my arms over my chest, "If you can do that, then I'll believe you."

Johnny's gaze almost immediately looked away as he eyed the food on the floor that was now behind me. He squeezed his eyes shut as a loud exhale escaped from his nose - growing frustrated in himself. I only smirked at him. I knew it - I literally called it. As soon as I mentioned that he should look me in the eye, his gaze shifted completely away from me. He was saying everything else while looking in my eyes - but he can't deny his feelings for me. He knows that he can't say it. He knows that I knew it too. Johnny swallowed the lump in his throat as his brows furrowed together - as if he was contemplating something underneath his anger and frustration. My brows raised up as my smirk turned into a smile with a chuckle rolling off my lips. I caught him red handed. For once, it felt like I was the hunter who backed my prey into the corner. I had Johnny right where I wanted him. His words might've said one thing but his actions - even the slight ones - said a whole other story. He might call me a dumbass, but I'm not as dumb as he thought I was. At that moment, when I realized he couldn't do it, I saw the slight panic in his eyes. How his eyes shifted back and forth from the spilled food to my face and back to the floor. He was internally panicking which made it funny and somehow cute at the same time. The fact he knew he was caught and there was nothing he could say and do to back out of it.

"I knew it, didn't I?" I taunted him as I turned my head to meet his gaze, "I knew you didn't have it in you. I'm not stupid, Johnny. I know that you care deeply about me. You didn't even have to confess it last night - I've already known for a while. I was just waiting for-"

I was cut off with Johnny lightly shoving me. I stumbled back slightly before regaining my balance. Johnny didn't say anything as his gaze burned deep into my soul. If looks could kill, I would've been six - no - twenty feet underneath the ground by now. I scoffed up at him before shoving him back - his strong body not moving an inch against my significantly weaker strength. Johnny smirked before taking a step towards me - shoving me once again - this time a little bit harder. My brows furrowed together as my gaze never left his eyes and now slightly playful smirk. What the fuck is his problem?! He comes in here, treats me like a mutt, yells hurtful shit at me, and now thinks he can quite literally push me around? Fuck this shit!

I reached up and slapped him across the face - a loud smack echoing through the small room. Johnny's face turned to his left as he looked down at the floor again. A reddened mark was starting to form on his face - opposite of his scar. Johnny touched his cheek as his smirk grew a bit more before a low chuckle. He bit his lip as his head slowly turned, his gaze meeting mine again. I figured he'd be angrier than earlier but he wasn't. He was actually smiling slightly - almost like he enjoyed it. My brows knitted together in frustration and confusion as he took a sharp inhale. That's when Johnny reached up as his hand struck across my face back. I let out a startled gasp as both my hands held the area of my face. My eyes widened as my mouth dropped - in complete shock that he would hit me back. Is he actually wanting to fight right now?! He was fucking enjoying this too! Oh, this cocky mother fucker! I let out a low frustrated growl as I reached up and slapped him again - resulting in Johnny's smile to only widen. My significantly weaker arms pushed against his chest with no budge as he began to chuckle at my attempt to fight back. As I went to shove him again when he grabbed both my hands and began to walk me backwards. I struggled against his grasp as he pinned my wrists to the wall near the weird homemade lamp in the corner. My arms flared against his grasp as he towered over me, his brown eyes no longer angry at me, and the smirk never leaving that smug expression he has now.

"YOU'RE SUCH AN EGOTISTICAL, NARCISSISTIC, PIECE OF SH-"

I was cut off with Johnny smashing his lips against mine. I gasped as my eyes began to almost bulge out of my skull from the amount of shock and different emotions he was forcing me to feel in such a short amount of time. Johnny's hands dropped from my wrist and slid down to my neck where he gently cupped the area between my neck and jaw. I knew this was wrong. He should be answering my questions instead of pushing me around and now kissing me. I shouldn't allow this - yet I somehow was. My eyes fluttered closed as I melted into his kiss once the shock wore off. Our lips moved in perfect sync as the sound of his lips connecting with mine filled the once tense air around us. Johnny's chest was pressed lightly against mine as I felt his body heat against me. The anger began to slip away along with the pain in the side of my face where he had hit me back.

That's when I heard it - a soft moan escaping from his cigarette tasting lips. It was then that I realized how he most likely enjoyed our fight. He probably came in here to try to prove some point to himself but ended up in this situation with me. Johnny is far from normal - that I knew like the back of my hand. So part of me isn't surprised he would enjoy this. However, what surprised me the most was actually myself. I felt chills run down my spine as the sound kept replaying over and over in my head. In the middle of our kisses, I slid my tongue into his mouth. Johnny's grip that cradled my neck and throat got slightly tighter as his tongue fought against mine in dominance. A soft moan of my own escaped which caused Johnny's kisses to become more aggressive than before. His teeth clashed against mine but neither of us flinched as we both had a desperate hunger that needed to be filled. The predator was devouring it's prey as if he had been eyeing it for such a long time, literally starving, and going in to finally get a taste.

One of Johnny's strong hands gripped the back of my neck as he dragged me over to the bed. The back of my knees hit the bed before the rest of my body hit the mattress. I slid all the way up to where my head hit the make-shift pillow - watching Johnny walk closer to me; the way his hips swayed with each step he took along with the sound of his leather boots thudding against the floor which was in sync with my heart. Johnny's eyes never left mine as his own knees touched the foot of the bed. His arms extended forward as his knees bent as he began to crawl up to me. My heart rate increased as that intense gaze of his never broke mine. His body crawled up to me like a wolf who was sneaking up on its prey. Except for some innocent rabbit or sheep - it was me instead.

I was his prey.

"You sure you want to do this, sunshine?" Johnny's voice was lower and huskier than normal. His eyes were clouded over slightly - as if something had possessed him. I wasn't a stranger to a scene like this. Maybe not this intense though. Danny had the same look in his eyes at times and I only knew that meant one thing. Sex. I never fully went all the way with Danny though. I wanted to wait a bit longer as I was mainly scared of the pain - plus growing up with Catholic views of waiting until I was married. Did that stop us from fooling around? Fuck no. Danny and I were two late teenagers - young adults who deeply loved each other. But sadly, Danny wasn't here. I was starting to accept the fact that I wouldn't see him again and Johnny was the man who I needed to be with now. My life has an expiration date that will come sooner or later thanks to his family. If I only had months to live, then I was going to make the most of it no matter what situation I was in.

With a confident nod, I finally answered him; "Yes, I want to do this."