Chapter-7 Pay for hardwork

"What did you say? Why is she not with you? How the hell could you do this? The moment you enter the country, the first thing you do is take your underaged niece to a club. What kind of example do you want to set?" Aaliyah's mom growled at Lily as she entered the house, and Lily just rolled her eyes.

"She is eighteen already, Laura. You don't have to worry about her. She is safe. Yes, I did that, and I won’t ask for forgiveness. She needs to live a little. She isn't a toy that you can hide in a safe, Laura," Lily looked at Laura coldly.

If it had been anyone else, they would've whimpered at the cold glare that Lily was famous for in her department. But not Laura.

After spending so many years with Aaliyah's father, the real man everyone feared in the organization for his wicked ways, Laura didn't really fear anyone else.

“Where were you, Katherine? When your sister got lost, where exactly were you? What was so important that you couldn’t keep an eye on your sister? Have you forgotten why we moved here?” Laura shouted at her elder daughter, and Katherine sighed.

“I haven’t forgotten why we moved here, mom. But this isn’t the same as before. She isn’t getting stalked, and no one is coming for her. Can you please stop overreacting? She called and said she was safe. She will be here anytime,” Katherine said before huffing and going to her room.

"Well, that's exactly what my concern is. I am afraid that sooner or later, Aaliyah is going to turn into one of you. You guys don’t take these things seriously. Are you seriously waiting for everything that happened in the past to repeat? Live a little, my ass," Laura looked away.

Standing on the porch, Aaliyah was ready to turn the knob but paused when she heard her mother's words.

She would turn into one of you.

Closing her eyes to calm herself since she knew she was in the wrong for going clubbing, Aaliyah took a deep breath before opening the door, going straight to the staircase which leads to her room.

"Aaliyah Gold! Come here. I think we need to talk," Laura growled when she saw her daughter.

"I think we need to calm ourselves first. I went clubbing, mom. Almost all the kids my age do that. Ashton and momo have gone clubbing since they were 16. I haven't done something terrible that other kids don't," Aaliyah huffed.

"Can you stop relating all my deeds to me, like my dad or other related family members? You knew exactly how my dad was, and you married him. Stop making it look like it's our or his fault that he is like that," Aaliyah looked at her mom, and Laura felt stuck to her spot at her daughter's words.

Of course. This has something that not Aaliyah or Lily but everyone who meets her has said to her. Laura knew what kind of man he was, and she had been head over heels for him. She still is. No matter what, she would still marry that man again if time went back.

Her only concern is her children. The second last time they were attacked, Laura almost lost Aaliyah when Aaliyah got stuck in the house under the pillar during the fire. That moment made her go haywire and choose her children to stay away from their dad.

"Laura, calm down. Telling your kids not to be like their father when their father has been a role model for them for 16 years will only make things worse. Sometimes you need to hold your anger and protectiveness, or your kids, especially Aaliyah, are going to feel more uncomfortable with you than anyone else outside," Lily placed her hand on Laura's shoulders, and Laura's body trembled a little as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I-I am not upset that you guys went clubbing, Lily. I am upset because she got stuck in a gang war. I want to keep her away from these gangs and police. The more I try to do that, the more she gets stuck in it. What am I supposed to do as a mother to keep her safe? You tell me," Laura sat on the sofa with her face in her hands as she wept silently.

Meanwhile, Aaliyah tossed in her bed, the voices from downstairs clearly reaching her room.

~~~~~

The next day.

"Hey, about last night. Did your mom give you a good one?" Ashton hushed.

"Don't mention it. I got caught up with some gang members. You didn't see mom's face when I got back home," Aaliyah shuddered before scooting closer to him.

"Guess who I met in the club," She wriggled her brows, and Ashton looked at her with curious eyes.

"Mr. Volkov, our new teacher. He was also there. I am sure he was there to find himself some fun, you know," Aaliyah winked at Ashton and Momo, who raised their brows at her choice of words, looked behind her, and evened their expression before coughing lightly to hint at Aaliyah.

"Why are you guys not saying anything? Isn't this irking? I can't even imagine the fate of the girl he would -" Aaliyah couldn't complete her words as Ashton placed his hand over her mouth, almost knocking her down from the chair.

"What the hell?" Aaliyah growled as she bit his hand off, making him howl in pain and stumble away from her.

Aaliyah was about to ask Ashton why he did that, but she felt a weird chill run down her spine.

She turned around and almost fell on her butt, if not for Ashton, as she looked at Mr. Volkov in shock.

"Well, I didn't know my matters as who I sleep with interests my dear students," Volkov raised his brows, and Aaliyah looked down at her hands, embarrassed.

"Can I have a word with you, Miss Gold?" Mr. Volkov asked, and without thinking twice, she shook her head

"No, you can't," Aaliyah voiced out before realizing what she said when Mr. Volkov raised his eyebrows.

"I mean, it's our PE class," Aaliyah covered her words quickly, and Volkov smirked.

"It's okay. I will write you a pass," He said before walking ahead toward class.

She was done for. It’s already bad enough that Mr. Volkov has caught her checking him out multiple times, and now she was openly talking about his s*x life. He is going to think that she is after him.

Well, she indeed finds him attractive, but he doesn’t need to know that, does he?

"I hope I won't have to repeat myself," Volkov looked at Aaliyah from the corner of his eyes, and Aaliyah came out of her thoughts before nodding and shooting a pitiful look at her friends.

Once inside the classroom, Aaliyah couldn't even walk towards the seat when Mr. Volkov pinned her on the wall, his hands on either side of Aaliyah, making her feel like a déjà vu.

Swiftly closing the door with his left hand, Volkov gazed into her eyes.

"I am going to ask you a few questions, Aaliyah, and I want you to answer them honestly, okay?" Volkov said, and Aaliyah, who was gazing into his eyes, looked at his lips briefly before nodding, her actions not going unnoticed by Volkov, who smirked inside his head.

"What were you doing in the club?"

"I was there with my Aunt Lily to have some fun,"

"Do you know who you beat there?"

"A person who was trying to feel me up because he was interested in me," Aaliyah said without emotion, and Volkov paused in his tracks, turning to her.

"Are you okay?" Volkov's voice softened a bit.

"Nothing that hasn't happened before," Aaliyah smiled bitterly, and Volkov pressed his lips into a thin line.

He didn't like the sound of her answer.

"And about the fight. How did you know how to handle a gun?"

"My father taught me," Aaliyah's answers were straight and forward, but for some reason, Volkov felt like she was also hiding behind them.

Her father taught her to use a gun even when he was possibly a cop. Isn't he being a bit too protective and lenient with her age, given how the suicide rates are most in this group?

"If you are worried, I might tell everyone that a few goons were looking for you, probably to kill you. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I don't like spreading personal matters,"

"But weren't you just talking about me? About me finding a sex worker or something like that?" Volkov voiced as he bent toward her, making Aaliyah's facade of strength crumble a little.

"Well, I wasn't exactly talking about something that would get you in trouble, was I?" Aaliyah asked, and Volkov looked at the girl's deep, light-brown eyes before smiling at her, making her heart skip a beat.

"Anyway, the real thing I wanted to talk about is your studies. Principal Lincoln asked me if you would be interested in an English Olympiad held in a month. Out of three, only two students will be representing the school. You and the other two students might have to get extra classes after school to improve your skills. You are the second best in the grades, and I will teach the other two students on different schedules. Are you okay with it?" Volkov searched her eyes slowly, noticing how her eyes were widening, finding it a little comical.

"I don't think you need to bother. My elder sister has a friend who is good with these things,”

“I insist since you saved my life,” Volkov reasoned, and Aaliyah shook her head.

“We both helped each other. So it's fine. Good day, Mr. Volkov," Aaliyah smiled at him and turned around, ready to dash out of the classroom.

She was already in a deep sh*t since her mind and body were constantly feeling like he was seducing her, she didn't want more alone sessions with him.

She thought she gave him a satisfactory answer, but unknown to her, the answer only provoked Volkov's curiosity more. It didn't take a fool to guess she was trying to avoid him, and for some reason, it irked him.

He wanted her to believe him and not run away from him.

That's why, before she could take one more step, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him, making her bump into his chest.

"Our tutoring session will begin today itself. I forgot to tell you. I am not taking no for an answer," Volkov spoke, his hand automatically reaching for her face.

"I am not charging you any extra fee. Money is the least of my concern. I just can't let my savior fail the first term, can I?" Volkov grabbed her chin, feeling a dangerous predatory sensation traveling inside his body, which didn't go unnoticed by Aaliyah.

The thought of bending her on his table and smacking the life out of her for even trying to disobey him was clouding his mind, her large ass touching his soldier as he held her from behind was doing no justice to his thoughts.

She didn't know if she was being paranoid, but it felt like Mr. Volkov was forcing this session on her, and something told her he would get his way around either way, so it was better to go along with his plans.

She wanted to give him an answer and get this over with, but the way he was holding her from behind was making her unable to concentrate on anything other than his intoxicating smell and body heat that was seeping through his shirt.

Finally finding her voice, Aaliyah took a step ahead of him before nodding.

"I'll let my mom know. And money is my least concern too. You don't need to give me any discount. I'll be paying you for your hard work. Thanks for this," Aaliyah said before walking out of the room, and Volkov didn't try to stop her this time. It was good that she didn’t turn around, or she would’ve noticed his little soldier already reacting to her, and that would’ve left an impression that he still didn’t want to.

I'll be paying you for your hard work. Why did he feel like it had multiple meanings behind it? Meaning that he doesn't want to talk about it? Volkov thought before looking at his cr*tch and groaning. He didn’t know things would be this difficult as a teacher.