The Assignment Ch. 04

Chapter 4.

--book--

Teagan watches Professor Jackson through hooded eyes as he orders food at the Chinese place in the food court. She hadn't expected to see him at the mall but when she'd caught a glimpse of his as she was headed to a table after grabbing her pizza from another kiosk she'd suddenly lost her appetite. So she was picking at the cheese on the dough trying to focus on something else when he sits down in the chair in front and her. "It's impolite to stare Miss. Moseley."

She swallows hard and kicks her suddenly dry lips, "I uhh...sorry." She isn't sure what to say, she doesn't understand why he is sitting by her. She nervously looks around her wondering if she should leave when he laughs, the sound deep and throaty. She doesn't like the way her stomach tightens at the noise and she sure as hell doesn't like the ache she is suddenly feeling...like she is hollow and empty.

"Teagan, I am not going to hurt you." He says this playfully but there is a dark edge to his voice and the look in his eyes is anything but playful. "I've been wanting to talk to you actually."

She picks up a slice of the pizza and looks at it disdainfully not wanting to eat it. "I am sorry professor, I just don't usually see my teachers outside of school."

He nods and takes a bite of what she assumes is chicken, after chewing for a moment he swallows. "Do you go to the movies often?" She blanches and shakes her head, taking a large bite of the pizza so she doesn't have to answer with words. "Fate must have been smiling on us that day then," he muses taking another bite of his food.

She doesn't think fate was smiling on her or she wouldn't be forcing herself to eat something she'd probably throw up later while entertaining a conversation with a serial killer. An unfortunately attractive serial killer, she wanted to scream and throw something at the ridiculousness that her body would picked this man of all people to be attracted to. "I suppose so," she mutters as to not appear rude.

"How old are you Teagan?" He asks as he sets his fork down and taps his fingers absently on the table.

"18," she answers confused as to why it mattered.

Then he grabs her hand causing her blush and stiffen, "you have such young skin." He traces his fingers over her veins circling back and forth. "untouched and clean, so perfect. Tell me Teagan have you ever encountered something so beautiful that you just wanted to keep it exactly as it was in that moment, forever as it is...frozen."

Her eyes widen and she attempts to pull her head back but his grip is too strong. "I uhh. I am not quite sure what you mean professor Jackson."

"Just Jackson will be fine," he says bringing her hand closer to him as he leans over the table and whispers. "I think you do understand what I mean Teagan and despite knowing that you still want to know me. This is my only warning sweetheart, run away now before it is too late."

Teagan feels a gush of air leave her chest as she stares at her hand so close to him, "I'm not afraid of you...Jackson."

"But, you should be." He says before drawing one of her fingers into his mouth and biting down on it hard enough to draw a small droplet of blood out the tip. She does nothing more than gasps slightly when he does this causing his eyes to darken. "Careful Teagan, wolves don't make for good pets."

She watches in fascinated horror as he sucks the blood off her finger and leaves the table tossing his mostly unfinished food in the trash and disappearing out of the food court area. "I am so fucked," she tells herself as she squeezes her thighs together to ease the ever growing ache.

--reality--

I reread the scene and grin, it is sexy in a fucking weird kind of way. I would be super embarrassed to say it was arousing out loud but given the type of book that reaction is so very perfect. I want to show it to Dr. Robinson so badly but it is Saturday and showing up at his house uninvited would be super stalker like. My stomach growled slightly so I got up and headed into the kitchen to see if there was any leftovers in the fridge that hasn't expired in the last decade. Spotting a bag of tacos from two days ago I grab that and proceed to make them ready to nuke when my phone vibrate in my pocket, I take it out and see the text from my mother.

Harrison wants to have dinner tonight.

I groan and sense a snarky reply, so go to dinner.

Funny, Rachel. I mean as a family.

Vomit. The idea of the prick being anything near my father makes me want to dunk myself in battery acid.

I am really busy with school Mom.

Rachel, please just this once.

Fuck. I am going to have to do this shit now.

Fine. What time?

8.

I will meet you outside.

Under no circumstances do I want that dickhead in my house. I have two hours so I toss the tacos in the microwave and walk back to my room to grab a quick shower. I contemplate wearing sweats and a hoodie but don't want my Mom bitching the whole time. What she sees in that scumbag is beyond me.

*Later that evening*

Harrison sat across from me, his hand casually laid on top of my mother's. He'd ordered a salmon platter with some zucchini noodles and was currently spinning them on his fork. "Your mother tells me you are writing a book Rachel."

I don't fucking want to talk to him so I stuff some of my chicken florentine into my mouth and nod. I can't lie the food at this place is amazing, it should be though for the ridiculous price tag. My mother doesn't know what to order in fancy restaurants so she stuck with a garden salad and eel rolls with lemon mango salsa.

"What is the subject matter?" Harrison asks as he calmly removes his hand from my Mom's and start to cut his salmon. Salmon is probably the most disgusting fish ever and I don't eat any seafood so that is saying something.

"It is a romance novel," I say with a tight smile as I use a knife to cut myself a piece of the pumpernickel bread the restaurant offered.

He arches a brow and pours some sauce that came with his food over the fish. "You have never struck me as the romantic type Rachel."

"I'm not," I reply with a shrug adding butter to my slice of bread. "I didn't want to write a typical book, Dr. Robinson expects us to actually entertain him."

"Not too much dressing Stella baby. You're watching your figure remember?" He scolds my mother when she spoons some ranch onto her salad. "Now Rachel, I have tried to be the proper father figure in your life (I snort rather loudly and roll my eyes). I think it is high time you marry. (I freeze and narrow my eyes at him) Your mother and I have chosen the perfect man for the job."

"Fuck you," I say with a snarl as I yank the napkin off my neck and toss it on the table. "You are not my father, my Daddy is dead and you will never replace him. I also never plan on getting married and certainly not to some limp dick your pansy ass has picked out."

"Rachel," My mother gasps horrified.

"We are only looking out for your best interests Rachel," Harrison says before he rudely looks over my body. "You're not getting any younger and we would like grandchildren."

I cannot take anymore and I throw the contents of my glass at his face before spinning and running out of the restaurant. I had never wanted to strangle someone so much in my life.

--book--

"We are not allowed to speak about details of this case since it is an ongoing investigation. What I can tell you however is that this is the 2nd body of a young female that we have found in the last month and the cause of death is very similar." Detective Springfield tells the reporters at the press conference.

"Detective, are you thinking there could be a serial killer behind these murders?"

"Right now these cases are not linked, if after the autopsy the coroner tells us they should be then yes, we would be classifying the suspect as a serial killer."

"Detective, is it true that this woman like Ms. Hawthorne was found posed?"

"I cannot answer to specifics but, yes this victim was also posed."

"When will your offices be releasing the name of the victim?"

"It seems that our victim recently moved to the area as is not uncommon. We are waiting for her next of kin to identify her remains before we release her name."

"Is there going to be any curfews in effect detective?"

"At the moment no, it is too soon in the investigation to determine when and where these victims were abducted. I can say that all wan between the ages of 16 and 30 should partner up until the investigation is concluded and the suspect is apprehended. No further questions at this time, thank you all for coming."

Teagan stares slack jaw at the television. Jackson had apparently picked up another woman shortly after he dropped Candace off. "Holy fuck," she whispers trying not to alarm her Mother who was also watching the press conference.

"Do you need a ride to school today?" Her mother asks worriedly.

"No, Mom. I am fine, I just can't believe Gainesville is getting Bundied."

Her mother grimaces at her choice of term, "those poor girls. Teagan I know you, you're fascinated by this kind of thing. You'll make a wonderful police officer one day but I don't want you to involve yourself in this."

Too late...she thinks before offering her mom a smile, "of course not Mom."

--reality--

It's been 2 days since I've talked to my mother, I still can't believe her and that asshole tried telling me I needed to get married. Like I could ever just be a fucking house wife. I was so pissed that I barely wrote any of my book, I have a fucking deadline that I am missing because of those two idiots.

"You were supposed to be on chapter 5 by now." Dr. Robinson tells me with a frown, "I enjoy the material Miss. Galloway but if you don't make deadline it won't matter. An unfinished book counts for shit."

Ugh, I know dammit. I want to tell him it wasn't my fault but the truth is I let that shit get to me when I should have just poured my frustration out on paper. Fucking wrote a scene where you actually see Jackson killing a person, not his usual style either just someone random because he couldn't fucking control the hate building within. Ok so maybe not, Jackson is a very controlled person who feels little to no emotion. I'm really not even listening to dr. Robinson give us a speech on the proper way to bring a book to a satisfying conclusion, because I am fucking rambling to myself.

"Remember a happy ending is not always a satisfying one. Just because two people decide to get married and have a bunch of crotch goblins doesn't mean the readers are enthused about that ending. Take for example Fifty Shades of Grey. Millions of women read the book and thousands wished it would have ended with the first one. Why? Because although there was no happy ending the book did conclude in a satisfying way." Dr. Robinson sits on the edge of his desk and leans towards the class, "Writing a great story is more than just making people love the message, make them hate it so much they throw it into a wall and spend an hour crying about it. Those are the types of books that get reread, those are the types of books people tell their friends about."

I already have my ending and I am sure if my book ever gets read by someone other than Dr. Robinson that it will probably piss some people off. That is the point. I don't want anyone to walk away from reading my book feeling good about it. Maybe I am unconsciously a sadist.

--book--

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Teagan curses as she dumps all her stuff off her desk into her backpack and runs out the front door. She was running late by 15 minutes and she knew she wasn't going to make it to Jackson's class on time. She also knew the bastard was going to take that shit personally. She darts around the corner of her block and smacks right into another person which of course sends her crashing down onto her ass and her bag flying out into the puddle next to the sidewalk. "Fuck me, could this day get any worse?"

"Oh, I think you being in the puddle instead of the bag would be worse."

Teagan stiffens as she recognizes the voice then slowly lifts her head up to see Jackson (the person she ran into) starring at her with an amused expression on his face. "Not really, I am late to class and my teacher is kind of an asshole."

Jackson chuckles and offers her his hand, she takes it hesitantly and he pulls her to her feet with little effort. "Lucky for you Teagan, your teacher has decided to take a sick day."

Her eyes roam his face for a minute before frowning, "you don't look sick."

"I woke up feeling a little chilled this morning. Thought perhaps I was catching a cold and decided it would be best to stay home. Wouldn't want any of my students becoming ill."

She swallows and tries to take a step back but he doesn't release his hold on her. "Do you live in the neighborhood?"

"No Teagan I do not," Jackson says as he walks over to her bag and picks it up. "I think you need a new bag."

Teagan grimaces and looks at the muddy water dripping off the bag. "Guess I am not going to school today," she grumbles reaching for the bag.

Jackson holds it out of her reach and smiles, "Since this is my fault I will buy you a new one. My car is just a few blocks away."

Teagan frowns, "you don't live here but yet your car is only blocks away."

"Don't be naïve Teagan," Jackson scolds gently. "You know who or I should probably say what I am. There is only one reason why I would be scrolling in a neighborhood that I don't belong in."

"Oh," she says with a squeak.

Jackson smiles and runs a finger down her cheek before signaling to follow him. Teagan bites her lip and trudges after him all the while thinking how stupid she was being.

--reality--

What am I doing? I look at what I just wrote and laugh, are women really this stupid? I would like to think I would never follow a dude I know is a serial killer to his car, that is asking him to kill my dumb ass. Don't worry though that isn't what is going to happen...

--book--

Teagan snaps the seatbelts over her and fidgets with her hands in her lap while Jackson puts her muddy book bag into a plastic one and drops it into his trunk. "So where are we going?"

Jackson slides into the driver seat and hooks his own belt, because safety first. Then he reaches over to make sure Teagan's is nice and tight which causes her to almost have a panic attack, especially when the back of his hand grazes over her breasts. "Where do you want to go Teagan?"

She licks her lips and stares at his hands as he slowly moves them to the steering wheel. There is something wrong with me she thinks as the ache she experienced last time they were alone returns. She fights the urge to squeeze her legs closed and clears her throat, "I uhh..."

Jackson chuckles and turns the car on, "why are you so nervous Teagan? Are you afraid of me?"

"Uhh," she squirms in her seat and thinks about the question for a moment. "No, not really."

"Then why do you tremble every time I touch you?"

Teagan blushes and tries to think of a way to answer that without coming off as a total nutcase. The attraction she feels towards him is some kind of Stockholm Syndrome, witchcraft, Satanism, voodoo doll nonsense. "I...uh...well not very many people touch me I guess."

"You're very beautiful, so obviously that is a lie. Don't lie to me Teagan," He says sternly as he pulls out on to the main highway. "We have a good relationship going here, wouldn't want to ruin it with sin."

Sin, what an interesting choice of word. I actually wouldn't mind committing at least one sin with you. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and nibbles on her bottom lip before letting out a long sigh, "I don't have many friends and have never had a boyfriend. I am a little too weird for a town full of rednecks and country thugs."

"You've never had a boyfriend?" He asks a frown forming between his eyebrows, "So you're a virgin?"

How the hell did we get on this topic? Fucking Christ. "Uhh, yeah?"

"Heh, I bet that pussy is nice and tight." He says softly almost as if talking to himself, "I forgot something at my house do you mind if we stop there on the way to the store?"

"Sure," She says still reeling from him talking about her sexually.

"Great, it will only take a few minutes."

Fucking stupid. Just agree to go to the serial killer's house Teagan.

--reality--

I glance at the clock, 3 am. What the fuck? I rubbed the palm of my hand over my eyes and let out a loud yawn. Only I will stay up 6 hours writing the prelude to a sex scene. I close my laptop and turn off the desk light before tugging off my Jean's and collapsing onto my bed. My eyes drift closed and I see Jackson as I have written him leaning over Teagan and placing his arm on either side of her braces against that wall behind her. My eyes snap open and I glare at my ceiling, just fucking great now I am dreaming about this fucking book.

--book--

Jackson's house is an older ranch style house that sits on 10 acres of pine trees. There are no neighbors within a mile and the nearest one looked like it belonged in an episode of Breaking Bad, in fact Jesse Pinkman probably lived there. Teagan looked around the yard nervously as Jackson unlocked the front door. "My parents owned this property before they died. My father he bred horses, there is a large barn on the back of the property that houses a cooling chamber. He used to it to store horse sperm when he wasn't using It," he tells her as he let's her into the house.

"Is that where you?" Teagan asks before she blushes and realizes that was probably a really stupid question.

"No," he chuckles leading her into the kitchen. "I wouldn't know where to start with all that equipment. My father however was a brilliant man. He would take me out there to watch him with the horses. On occasion I would be locked in the cooling chamber for a few hours."

Teagan pales disgusted by the story, "that is child abuse."

Jackson shrugs and pours her a glass of water from a pitcher in the fridge. "The tap is contaminated by the horse manure. And to acknowledge your comment yes, my father was an abusive asshole. I am quite glad that he is dead."

Teagan couldn't blame him and the abuse was textbook for making a serial killer. "I am sorry you had to go through that."

"I find you very attractive, do you want to know why?"

Her eyes widen and she looks at her glass nervously, "uh...sure?"

He smiles and takes the glass setting it on the counter behind him, "you're not afraid of me. I could tell you in graphic detail how much I enjoy watching them squirm and pain fill their eyes when they realize that they are about to die. I could tell you how hard it makes me to touch their skin after it has grown cold. And instead of running you stare at me like I am the most fascinating person in the world." She blushes and stammers making him grin and run a finger lightly over her bottom lip, "tell me Teagan if I was to slide my hand into your panties would your pussy be wet? Does the fact I am dangerous make you want to cum?"

Teagan whimpers and pulls her lip into her biting it. "I...fuck I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Teagan go lay down on the table," Jackson whispers pointing towards the dining room. Teagan obeys nervously, once on her back he walks over and unbuttons her pants. She squeaks and starts breathing erratically. "Shh, I am not going to hurt you." He soothes as he grabs the waist band of her pants and yanks them off in one tug. "These are cute," he says playing with the bow on the front of her panties before ripping them off her at the hips.

"Holy shit," she whispers as he throws now ruined underwear next to him on the ground.

"Such a pretty pussy you have Teagan," he cajoles using his thumbs to open her. "I can't wait to ruin you."