Braxten High

Chapter 14

Azriel's POV:

I woke up to the sizzling of bacon and the sweet smell of waffles and pancakes. I walked out of my old bedroom, a lot smaller than my new one but I liked it better. Sliding a t-shirt over my head, I walked into the kitchen to see my dad humming The Beatles as he discarded his burnt attempts at pancakes and plated the nice ones.

I smiled. I missed this. I missed him. "Good morning dad, it smells wonderful in here," I said while taking a seat on the kitchen island and watching him drizzle chocolate syrup over my pancakes.

He slid the plate to me. "Good morning son, slept well?" he asked while dropping three strips of bacon on my plate. Cooked to a crisp, exactly how I liked it.

"Like a baby," I replied, wolfing down the breakfast. "This is so good, you've improved a lot since the last time I saw you." he laughed and patted my back. "As much as I love takeouts, I can't have them every day."

I'd stayed at my dad's place last night, as it was closer to Ayden's house. Okay, that's only a little true. I just wanted to see him and maybe ask him about the rope we found. We finished our breakfast in relative silence.

While he was doing the dishes and I was drying them off and putting them away, I noticed him smiling at me rather creepily. "What?" I asked, confused.

"Who is she?"

"I- I'm sorry, who?" I spluttered.

"You have a girl on your mind. I can tell. I've been able to call you out on this ever since your first crush when you were 10," he said smugly. I threw my washcloth down in defense. "Come on, that's not fair," I scowled, smiling a little. He ruffled my hair. "So?" he prompted.

"Fine I'll tell you. But for the record, I don't like her," I said, huffing. "I never said you did, son," he smirked. This man never lost his wits. I then proceeded to tell him about Zara, and he nodded at appropriate times, whacking me on the back of my head whenever he thought I was being rude.

"That's hardly the right way to treat a lady," he'd say.

As I was telling him about the recent happenings at school, I realized he'd already know. "Wait, your team investigated the cafeteria after we found Jenny's body there, right?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Jennifer's parents came to us, but the Headmaster himself called me to his study and asked me to call off the investigation for some money. When I refused, he simply called off my team and asked for another."

"Wait, so they didn't investigate the crime scene?" I asked, dumbfounded. Huh?

"My intuition says no. Simon asked for Jeffrey, and he is a crook. I bet he took up the offer."

"So is it possible for us to find more proof there?"

"Yes, technically it is. But don't go around playing with fire, focus on your education and soccer. Do you still write?"

"Well, I haven't really written in a long time," I answered, and just like that the topic of conversation was changed. I was going to go to Zara's penthouse to let her know about the recent developments, I thought to myself as I showered.

I borrowed my dad's old Harley Davidson and with a promise to return it to him as soon as possible, I left. On my ride, I couldn't help but think of how pale and hollow he looked, the bags under his eyes much more prominent.

Maybe he was overworking again, that's why my mom claimed to have left him. But we all know it's because she is having an affair. Yeah, he is probably working late into the nights again.

I pulled up at the penthouse and rang the bell. I could've just said this over text but oh well, I thought to myself as I waited for Zara to open the door.

"Hey?" she said as soon as she opened the door. I offered her a smile. "Uh hi, I was at my dad's place and he uh, said something I thought you might want to know." Why the fuck was I stuttering again?

"Okay, so you're going to come in or just stand at the door?" she said, smiling a little.

"Right," I walked in and dropped my backpack on the floor. "So apparently, the Headmaster asked for a different team than my dad's for investigation, and he thinks the leader of that team has been bribed to not investigate and close the case as a suicide," I said as I took out a bar of Snickers from the fridge.

"I can't believe that Jenny's parents are not doing anything about all of this. Anyway, that was my last bar of Snickers, what do you think you're doing?" she asked. I threw away the wrapper and grabbed a glass of water. "That sounds like a you problem, and what do you think one does with a bar of chocolate?" I hid my smile behind the rim of the glass.

"You're so annoying," she grumbled and I smiled to myself. What were these stupid feelings? "I know. Anyway, so that means whoever is doing this is immune to the police and that it is possible to find real evidence since technically they didn't really investigate."

"First of all, why do you keep smiling? And yes it is possible. Maybe you can ask your dad to send the rope to the lab and till then we can investigate ourselves?" she suggested.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "We really can't. Simon has bought the police team and sending it for testing may alert some of the crooks. But what we can do is our own investigation. We already know the murders were connected and it's an alumnus of Braxten High"

"Okay, we'll look into it further when Ayden and Scarlett come back; I really want to reach to the bottom of this. Also, uh, I wanted to ask if you're alright. I mean you were high the other day," she asked nervously.

I ran a hand through my hair again. "It's just, uh troubles at home. I'm fine though, thanks for asking," I replied softly. Something about her calm and caring aura made me show candor.

"Also, I might've been high, but I remember the, you know, the kiss. And I don't regret it. I may kind of like you," I finished, getting red. I wasn't used to emotional vulnerability.

"Uh, I thought you didn't remember it, you can maybe talk to me instead of, you know-" I cut her off by placing my lips on hers. "Do you want to go out with me?" I whispered. 

-zoie and dawn