Touch Me

Chapter 4

One week later…

Present Day (August 15, 7 hours earlier)

Cassie and her friends had been doing their best to milk Alexa dry of her monthly allowance the past week. She had managed to escape the interrogation of her roommates on Saturday after Cassie and Co blackmailed her, telling them that she didn’t really want to relieve that nightmare and it shut them up—though Sarah was obviously displeased, she agreed to let it go. She made up an excuse that she wanted to just wander around town alone to get her mind off it and they let her go, telling her to be careful.

Cassie, Leah, and Luke were all waiting in Ren’s car when she got to the gate. They pulled her in and immediately drove to the largest mall in Bournemouth. They spent 4 hours just going around and getting stuff that they liked, making Alexa pay for everything; they made her carry almost everything too. Thankfully, Ren took some of the bags, saying it would be very suspicious if she carried everything for them.

They made her pay for every accessory, every piece of clothes and every food that they wanted to have. She had to give Luke 1000 dollars for his guitar. She spent 1300 dollars on their shopping spree for that day alone. Her mother called her about her sudden expenses and she had to make up an excuse that she suddenly had the urge to buy some stuff.

She didn’t know how long she could continue to use the same excuse, especially since they'd still been asking her to buy them stuff throughout the week. Though her brother and father were pleased that she was finally spending a lot of money on herself, knowing she hated doing it even when she was young.

Cassie and the others made her do a lot of things too; their homework, their laundry and even tidy up their rooms. Cassie and Leah were in the same room, just like Ren and Luke. They would wait till the rest of their roommates left and make her clean the entire room, sometimes purposely making a mess of it.

Unfortunately, Ren was smart enough to tell the others not to boss her around whenever her roommates were present, as they would definitely find out. But what really made her dread this whole ordeal was Ren. The others were easy enough to deal with as they only wanted a credit card and a maid to boss around. Ren, on the other hand, kept looking at her weirdly. Sometimes with that sly smile that sent her heart thundering in her chest, fearing another wave of flashbacks. What made it worse was that he always found ways to touch her. He found ways to constantly touch her hand, her arm, her leg, her neck.

On Wednesday, while she was tidying up their dorm room, Luke had left to get something, so it was just her and Ren. As she was reaching up to place a book on the shelf, he quietly walked to her and placed his hands on her waist, pulling her body back against him as he sniffed her hair. She had panicked and had grabbed his hand, twisting it back. She let go as soon as she was away from him. She expected him to get angry, to curse at her or even try to hit her, but he just laughed before telling her he had enough fun for the day and that she could leave. But it was the way he always watched her and how he laughed after she assaulted him that made her even more afraid.

It was by mere luck that her roommates never caught on that there was something happening, although Sarah would sometimes look at her suspiciously. She didn’t want them to get involved, but a part of her wanted to; especially since she still hadn’t found a way to get out of her predicament.

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They cornered Alexa in the library around lunch time as she was returning a book. Luke grabbed her and pulled her into a secluded corner before smirking at her. She looked around, hoping someone would be close enough to notice her situation, but there was no one around as lunch was about to end and everyone was scurrying to their next classes.

“Listen slut, we need you to do something for Luke,” Cassie smiled sarcastically at her. Luke leaned back and wrapped his arm around Leah while Ren leaned against the wall beside her, his tall build blocking her from the view of anyone who passes by.

“W-what do you want me to do?” Alexa asked hesitantly. They smirked at her.

“Well, I don’t know if you heard,” —Leah starts, placing her hand on Luke’s chest—“but my boo here was humiliated by Professor Lockson when he took over their music history class earlier and so we want to get back at him a little,” She finishes and Alexa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What are you, a high schooler?

“But he’s a Professor...I can’t—” Luke cut her off with a glare.

“You can, and you will. Because if you don’t, you can say bye-bye to your perfect record,” —Luke sneered at her— “Besides, what you’re going to do is real simple and harmless,”

“What do you want me to do then?” Alexa asked in defeat. Luke smirked again but it was Leah who spoke up.

“Simple. All you have to do is bring a cans of spray paint, sneak into Professor Lockson’s classroom after curfew tonight and paint some colourful words that we’re gonna give you,” Alexa’s eyes went wide. Are they seriously asking her to vandalize a classroom?

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Present time (10:30 PM)

Logan’s POV

Today was always the worst of the whole year for Logan Sawyer. This day marked the fifth death anniversary of his mother and the end of his engagement to the woman he thought he loved and who he thought loved him. He could never concentrate on this day, and he always drinks twice the amount of alcohol than on a normal day. Too bad he can’t leave to drink in the comfort of his home yet.

Well, there’s always his secret stash of whiskey under his desk. No one’s here anyway.

After deeming it not too risky to drink in an empty building, Logan opened his locked drawer and took out the medium-sized flask hidden under several files and small boxes. Hello old friend, it looks like you’ll be accompanying me in grading these projects.

He used to be a famous and critically acclaimed painter and photographer, and earned great recognition as a filmmaker with the 3 short acclaimed films he’d directed, but he decided to retreat from the spotlight two years after his mother died and he broke off his engagement to his fiancée; by then, he was too depressed to create anything anymore. He hasn’t painted or photographed or directed anything for the last three years. He’d decided to just spend his time teaching at Wingston University, though he was still a hot topic in the art world and many were still hanging on, hoping he would release a new piece. Well, they could keep waiting for all Logan cared⸻ he was content to stay here and do this job.

The university had offered this job to him five years ago and he accepted it without second thought because he wanted to teach and see what the next generation could come up with. Though it started as a part time job, he accepted to work permanently as soon as he realized it was far from the city. He used to be one of the best, now he was just a slightly controlled drunkard.

(11:15 PM)

Logan woke up to the sound of a slightly hoarse voice calling out his name. He lifted his head from his arms on the table and squinted at the open door of his classroom. It was Harvey, the 40-something-year-old guard.

“Professor Sawyer, I’m sorry for disturbing you but it’s already quarter to midnight,” Harvey’s hoarse voice spoke to him quietly but firmly. Logan didn’t even notice that he fell asleep. He could still feel the buzz of the alcohol going through his head. At the thought of his whiskey, he immediately looked around to find the flask and hide it before Harvey could see it. It was on the ground near his feet, covered from Harvey’s view by his table. He sighed in relief and smiled sheepishly at Harvey.

“Sorry Harvey, I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep,” he says as he tries to stand and gather his things without stumbling, head reeling from the alcohol, his words slightly slurred.

“That’s alright sir, I understand you have a lot of work to do. Best go home and rest for tonight though; you look exhausted,” Logan nods.

“I’ll be out in a few minutes,” He gave Harvey a small smile and Harvey nodded, and walked out. He truly didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep, he had planned to call up the waitress from Deep’s and lose himself in her. He smirked. She was a wild one.

The image of that wild girl riding him last Saturday got him hard. He sighed again. Great, now he’s drunk and horny as f**k.

With another sigh, Logan grabbed the files on his table, placed them in his bag and left the room. He couldn’t wait to get home and continue drinking till he passed out. Thankfully, it’s Friday, which means he could drink himself to oblivion and not have to worry about showing up drunk to his classes.

Logan was just about to pass through Professor Lockson’s room when he heard a faint rattling sound and then hissing. Cautiously and quietly, Logan opened the door to Professor Lockson’s room and peered in. There was a young woman leaning over the professor’s table, her back to him as she moved the spray paint in her hand all over the table. There was a bag on the floor beside her with more spray cans peaking out.

Logan studied her for a moment. She was in all black; dark jeans, black converse and a black hoodie with the hood pulled back, revealing rich, long, curly brown hair. Or was it black?—He couldn’t determine its exact colour but the dark tresses looked so soft that he was tempted to come closer just to feel them around his fingers. Despite the hoodie, her long legs were visible enough to boil his blood. The sight of her bent over the table with her perky ass facing him turned him on, his blood rushing south.

A few seconds of shamelessly admiring the young woman’s butt, he finally realized what she was doing, and noticed several crude words spray painted on the wall beside him. Vandalizing? What on earth did Professor Lockson do to warrant this from the young lady? Logan decided it was time to bust this girl’s bubble and confront her.

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

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Alexa’s POV

“Well, well, what do we have here?” A deep voice suddenly resounded around the room. Alexa jumped up, quickly spun around and looked at the door. f**k.

Her heart sped up and her breath got caught as she looked at the tall, intimidating figure standing by the door with his arms crossed. Oh God, it was Professor Sawyer! s**t, s**t, s**t!

She froze, her fingers losing their grip on the spray can, causing it to fall on the ground. She didn’t even hear the door open. Professor Sawyer looked at her sternly and glanced at the spray paint on the ground, plus the ones peaking from the bag she brought and had placed on the ground.

“Well? Are you going to explain yourself, young lady?” Professor Sawyer’s deep voice scared her. Though his words were a bit slurred, it was barely noticeable, and hardly relevant at the moment. Logan Sawyer was one of the top professors in Wingston University; already a highly acclaimed artist and photographer himself, and owned a famous art and photography studio; not to mention his extremely handsome, Armani model-like appearance, which added to his intimidation. He’s also one of the younger professors, and an important member of the school board.

Every student, no matter if they were in Performing or Fine Arts, all had to go through Professor Sawyer. His opinion mattered and his judgements were almost always correct. But he was a tough person to please.

And here she was, a graduating student caught by Professor Sawyer himself vandalizing a classroom. God, her life was about to end.

Hello ugly orange uniform...

“I-I... I was just...I didn’t..,” Alexa stammered, shaking in fear as Professor Sawyer lifted a brow. s**t!

Fuck!

I’m so f****d!

Being blackmailed by a bunch of students was one thing; being caught vandalizing by a professor was another. If Cassie and Co decided to spread that photo of her, she would get some warning or worse, get suspended; but to be caught by a professor vandalizing university property would certainly lead to expulsion. Alexa paled more as she thought of what was gonna happen.

“You what? I suggest you explain yourself as quickly as possible before Harvey comes to check. He knows I’m on my way out and he’ll surely wonder what’s taking me so long, so I advise that you make it fast young lady,” Professor Sawyer's deep and stern voice scared her more than his words did, but as they sunk in, she started stuttering out why she was there.

“I…I didn’t want to do this, Professor Sawyer. I was just forced to...p-please professor; I really didn’t want to do this..,” Alexa pleaded desperately. She couldn’t get kicked out. This would disappoint and humiliate her family as well as ruin her future career.

“What’s your name?” Professor Sawyer asked as he quietly closed the door behind him and locked it. The room was only illuminated by the light from the hallway peaking through the door’s glass panels and the low lamp light on the desk that she turned on.

“A-Alexa...Alexa Ivanov,” Her lips trembled as she spoke.

“Ivanov? The top student?” Professor Sawyer asked as he walked closer, tilting the low lamp so that the light would shine on both their faces. She nodded her head and hoped that he didn’t remember she was also the girl he had to hold up when she bumped into him.

“Well, Alexa, do you know what the consequences are of vandalizing university property? A minor offence would result in suspension; the sanction of a major offence, however, is expulsion. If I recall correctly, this is your last year in Wingston, correct?” —A nervous nod— “Then it would be a real shame indeed if you were kicked out right now,” Alexa’s body shook so hard she almost fell to her knees. She couldn’t let this happen. Especially not because of Cassie and her f*****g friends.

“B-but Professor Sawyer, I was just blackmailed into doing this...I didn’t—” He cut her off, his face passive.

“Well you could try to use that as a reason, but you know how hard the chancellor is when it comes to offences; and based on the amount of damage I see in this classroom, I’d say she won’t be too lenient,” Alexa looked around, tears threatened to spill when she realized he was right. I am so f****d.

She looked at Professor Sawyer once again and a thought came to her. He was a respected professor in the university, he was a member of the board. If he vouched for her, then she could get a more lenient punishment. If he speaks on her behalf, she won’t be expelled. She focused her tearful eyes on him and spoke hesitantly.

“Professor...professor please, please help me plead my case to the chancellor. I really was blackmailed into doing this—by Cassie Reese and her friends. They’ve been blackmailing me since last Friday and they forced me to do this to get back at Professor Lockson. P-please professor, I don’t want to be expelled...please..,” A stray tear fell down her cheek as she pleaded with the professor.

He stared at her for a moment before turning to look at the vandalized wall illuminated by the light from the door. He looked to be in deep thought and she begged him silently through her eyes to help her.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was really just thirty seconds, Professor Sawyer turned to look at her again. His aura had somehow shifted; he looked and felt taller, more intimidating; more...dominant. She held her breath and tried to steady her thundering heart as he looked at her with a heated gaze and opened his mouth to speak.