The Investigation

Chapter 1

Azai Carter

Tomorrow, I'm officially turning 21. As exciting as it sounds, it makes me so damn anxious. Why? You may ask. That's because each year my dad throws a big party for me, and each year, I beg him not to because I hate the attention I get.

Yeah, I must sound crazy but it's true, I hate being in the spotlight. Like you know those awkward ass moments when everyone sings  happy birthday to you and you just sit putting on your best fake smile and pretend you're enjoying this while everyone's voice is cracking by each verse. Yeah, I'm not for that shit.

The only things I like about my birthday are the gifts and the late night movies with my dad. My dad and I are very close. We are like peanut butter and jelly, two peas in a pot. But we only became close when my mom ran away with another man. Sucks, but I think it was for the best because my dad was always unhappy with her. They'd get into huge arguments at least every day about the smallest things.

The biggest one, though, was when I came out to them. My dad supported me to the max, but my mom, on the other hand, wanted to kick me out. The argument ended with my mom telling my dad she had been in an affair for 2 months now, and then she left. So you could say the cause of her leaving was because of me. But my dad assured me that it wasn't my fault and he's actually happy that she left. That did make me feel a bit better, but I still feel guilty.

"Azai, Azai, AZAI!" I snap out of my thoughts. "Were you even listening?" Olivia said, pouting. Olivia has been my best friend since the first day I started college. I mean, she was the only one who spoke to me. She talks so much, unlike me, who only talks when I have to, but she's actually really sweet. "No, sorry I wasn't listening." I apologize. She smiles, tilting her head to the side, her long blond hair moving with, "it's okay." She's also that cliché blond with the blue eyes and good body. Boys don't go crazy for her, but she has had 3 boyfriends before, according to her.

"What are you doing after class?" She asks with curious eyes. Did I mention her eyes scare me from time to time? I guess I didn't, but she has this certain glint in her eyes that I can't describe, but I tend to brush it off. "I don't know, but my dad said that we're going out for dinner." Every year before my birthday, my dad takes me to these exotic restaurants out of town. It's like a little surprise before the actual surprise, you know. "Where to?" She asks.

This is another problem I have with her, when I go out with my dad - my dad being the only person I go out with - she always asks were we go which is none of her business, I know she means no harm but it just gets on my nerves. "I don't know yet." I reply with clenched teeth. Probably noticing how tense I became by the question, she apologetically smiles and looks away.

When it was 12 o'clock, I stood up, saying my goodbyes to Olivia, and went to my next class.

^^^^^^^

After the lecture, I started walking back home while listening to music. Since the house was 15 minutes away from college, I just walked. Plus, it's a good way to look at hot guys. When I reach home, I see my dad standing outside with a woman. His face perks up when he sees me, "Azai!" He waves his hand, indicating that I should come to him. "Hey dad, who's this? He gives me a brief side hug. "This is Zelsha. Zelsha meets Azai, my son." He says proudly. "How nice to finally meet you, I certainly heard a lot about you from your dad. You guys must be close?" She says, giving me a hug.

"Yeah, we are very close." I say awkwardly. "I heard you go to university. What do you major in?" She asks with enthusiasm. "Literature." I say. "Wow, literature?!" She says with wide eyes. I nervously chuckle and nod my head.

^^^^^^

"She a handful." Having to listen to a middle-aged woman talk about her life story was just draining. "Tell me about it." My dad says plopping on the couch. I get us two cans of Sprite from the Fridge, I walk to the couch, plopping myself next to my dad, handing him his can.