Teacher with Benefits (18+)

Chapter 17

TW: This chapter contains depictions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.

After their encounter, Jacqueline hurried back to school, arriving just in time for her parents to pick her up from "detention." To her surprise, it was her brother Kai who showed up instead.

As she approached the car, Kai rolled down the window and said, "Mom and Dad are pissed, Jacqueline."

Jacqueline sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration as she slid into the passenger seat. With another deep sigh, she asked, "What did I do now?"

Kai shrugged as he began to pull out of the school's parking lot. "I don't know, but just expect to be yelled at."

Jacqueline leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes in exasperation. It seemed like all she did lately was upset her parents. She hardly recognized herself anymore—sneaking out, lying, and thinking less about her future and more about a man who happened to be her teacher.

The drive home was silent, a heavy tension hanging in the air. Kai glanced at his sister occasionally, but Jacqueline kept her eyes closed, trying to brace herself for what was to come. The familiar sights of their neighborhood blurred past until they finally pulled into the driveway of their modest suburban home.

As they entered the house, the door creaked loudly, announcing their arrival. Their father, David, was already waiting in the living room, pacing back and forth. The moment he saw Jacqueline, his face twisted in anger.

"Jacqueline!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the house. "Get in here, now!"

Jacqueline swallowed hard, her stomach churning with dread. She walked into the living room, her shoulders hunched and her eyes cast downward. Her father's eyes were like daggers, piercing through her.

His face returned to a scarily nonchalant stare, yet it was still somehow terrifying. "Sit down, Jacqueline. I need to have a word with you."

Jacqueline's hands began trembling in her lap as she sat down across from her father, directly facing him. "W-what is it?"

David took off his glasses, placing them on the table next to him. "The way you have been behaving lately is unacceptable. I don't recognize you anymore. Kai's been telling us that you are hiding things, and I want to know right now what those things are."

Jacqueline glanced at Kai, who was giving her an innocent, pretending look. A surge of rage filled her, knowing her brother was being an asshole by instigating. She stuttered, trying to figure out how to say something that wouldn't get her yelled at. "I...I'm sorry, Dad," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," David replied, his voice firm and full of disappointment. "You think you can just do whatever the hell you want without any consequences, is that it, Jacqueline?"

Jacqueline stammered, "Dad, I-I don't think that. Not at all."

"Bullshit, Jacqueline!" he said, slightly raising his voice. "You've been lying to us, sneaking out—and with that moronic fight, you're throwing your future away!"

He loomed over her, his anger now palpable. "And for what, Jacqueline? What could possibly be so important that you're willing to risk everything?"

Jacqueline's eyes filled with tears, but she didn't dare look up. Her silence only seemed to enrage him further.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" he commanded, his voice booming.

She lifted her head, meeting his furious gaze. "Dad, I—"

"Don't 'Dad' me!" he interrupted, his voice dripping with contempt. "You've been nothing but a disappointment lately. Your mother and I have sacrificed so much for you, and this is how you repay us? By acting like some rebellious teenager with no regard for her own future?"