Chapter Four: Broken Ass

Blue eyes to golden. Both pairs widened. His face, a painting of utter shock; mine, on fire. Our racing hearts beating loudly in my ears. Or is that mine?

Dad has no fucken clue, I mused. My G has the biggest smile on his face, his brown eyes almost glowing with glee.

"Hey bud!" This seemed to snap the man in front of me out of his reverie, and completely transformed him into a new man when he turned to my father with a bright smile on his face. The biggest I have ever seen on him. Granted, it is the first time I see him smile but that's besides the point. He has a beautiful smile. It isn't your typical panty dropping, knees knocking, fuck me silly smile. It's a little on the crooked side, but there is no mistaking the pearly whites hidden behind the folds of his lips.

I stood by silently and watched them interlock in one of those man hugs. I was trying to blink the image away. Nothing was making sense to me. There is no way we are going to be living with my principal.

"This is my one and only daughter, Azania. Zany, this is my godbrother and good friend, Anthony." My dad said, confirming my fears. Someone upstairs is playing with me. I am living in my worst nightmare.

"Yeah, we've met." Jackass said and my dad cocked his head in question.

"I feel like you could have told me that we'll be living with my principal." I mumbled to my dad and crossed my arms below my bust. His eyebrows raised in shock.

"Oh yes, how could I have forgotten? Legacy seat. You said you've taken the principal post but I had forgotten the name of the school. Damn, a dude sure is getting old." My dad said to Principal Jackass with a goofy smile on his face.

"Life has a funny way of working out huh." Jackass replied, his eyes fixated on mine.

"Well this is fantastic." I said, my voice dripping in sarcasm. My dad chuckled, Jackass did not. So, I guess his crooked smile is only reserved for his friends. That did not bother me. He could keep his smile for as long as he stopped trying to disrupt my life.

"Honey? Who is at the door?" A sing song voice asked from somewhere in the house. It only registered to me then that we were still standing at the door.

"Uh, George and his kid." He called back, making me scowl at him. I'm almost 18. The only kid I know is a baby goat. The porcelain doll with auburn hair that strutted to the door, made a sound that I could only guess was supposed to express excitement. She couldn't be older than 25; with sparkling green eyes and smooth flawless skin, like the porcelain doll she is. She was dressed in a white sundress with matching wedges, wrapped in elegance. Who the hell is still wearing wedges in this century? Her fragrance slapped me across the face as it enveloped me like a cloud of fog. She smells like apples. Her beautiful face lit up and split into two as she grinned at the sight of my dad and me.

"Oh Anthony, why are they still standing in our doorway like they are selling oranges?" She scolded her husband; I'm guessing by the gigantic diamond rock on her left ring finger.

"Please excuse my husband for his lack of hospitality. He didn't take his 'have manners' pills today." She said jokingly and I snorted. The irony isn't lost on me.

"Oh George! I haven't seen you in forever!" She said as she threw her slim arms around my dad's neck. Alrighty then. Jackass rolled his eyes and looked at me again, making me squirm.

"And you must be George's daughter. I'm Gia, Anthony's wife and I am so excited to have another girl in the house!" Porcelain exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me without a moment's hesitation.

"Okay Gia, you're scaring my guests." Jackass said as Gia stepped back to his side.

"Says the guy who has his guests standing in our doorway." Gia giggled, pushed Jackass out of the way and led us inside their humongous mansion. How does a principal afford all of this?

"Azania, come get your bags." My dad said after a while. We were seated in their spacious living room and I felt like I was sitting on clouds. I groaned.

"But tata, we just sat down. I'm still tired and those bags are heavy." I whined, hoping he would take pity on me.

"Haibo sisi, you get your butt up and out of that door right now!" He said, his tone suggesting that he was not to be argued with. I groaned and followed him out of the door, Jackass on my heels. We walked in silence to my dad's car, the air thick with tension. Dad had already unloaded his bags and was starting his trip back to the house, leaving my bags in the car. I asked him to treat me like a responsible adult once and he has been making me do everything myself ever since. I just had to open my big ass mouth.

I was struggling with one of my heavy suitcases when his hairy forearms brushed over my hands to reach the handle. I watched his muscles flex under his skin as he hauled the bags out of the car. He is so strong. Jackass put the suitcase on its wheels and rolled it over to me and said, "don't hurt yourself."

I rolled my eyes and wheeled my suitcase back into the house. What a jackass. Porcelain showed us where we would be staying, and to call it a cottage really does not do this place justice. It was all hardwood floors, granite and black furniture. The living room wall was all but a window that gave you a magnificent view of the huge pool and garden. The kitchen was a small and lavish affair, with state-of-the-art appliances including a smart fridge and stove. My bedroom was straight out of a Pinterest board. The king-sized bed was the least exciting part of the room. And that was saying a lot because this was a huge step up from my double bed back home. The walls, cream. Furniture, cream. But it was everything else that added the personality to the room. The bedding was grey and decorated with throws and pillows in various shades of pinks. The wall above the bed was covered with black and white pictures in different sizes of Marilyn Monroe. There was a study desk with an iMac computer in the corner of the room. The other wall was just glass, like the one in the living room, showing me the same view. I'm going to enjoy that. I opened a door to what I thought was the closet, but it was a bathroom instead. My own bathroom. Sweet. One step into the bathroom, I noticed a door on my left. I opened it, and almost screamed in delight. A beauty room. As big as my room back home. On the right-hand side, would be where my clothes are going. The left side had a huge LED mirror, with a beauty desk and a LOT of makeup. I'm struggling to remember why I thought living here would be a nightmare.

The couple left us to settle in and as I was unpacking, dad came into my room and started helping me unfold my clothes.

"You don't mind, do you? You know, living with your principal and all." He asked as he unpacked my underwear. That should feel weird and embarrassing but somehow, it didn't.

"It's not like we have a choice tata. Sure, I find it weird living with the Jackass that suspended me on the second day of school, but I'll live." My dad laughed.

"Don't call him 'Jackass' to his face Azania. He's doing us a favour." He said and kissed my temple.

"How are you two friends anyway? Aren't you like twenty years older than him?"

"How old do you think I am?" he said with a laugh and plopped down on my bed.

"Our dads were partners at the same firm. Our moms were best friends. We basically grew up today. His brother was my best friend growing up." He said and smiled at the memory.

"Was?"

"Yeah, he passed away when you were just a baby. He was totally crazy about you. Declared himself your godfather before I could even ask him. Stupid fool." His eyes were sad as he told me this.

"What happened to him?" I asked carefully.

"Car accident. Aiden was an adrenaline junkie at best. He loved speed. He loved the chase. And for some time, I loved it too. We were racing down an abandoned road when he lost control and crashed into an old house. Anthony used to alternate between the two of us as a passenger, being too young to be behind a wheel himself. On that day, he was in my car. Elsewise, he might have died with Aiden, who died on impact." He said, his voice tight with bottled up emotion. His eyes were glossy with tears, but he tried the best he could to blink them away. One escaped.

"I'm sorry daddy." I said and crawled into his lap, wiping the stray tear away and wrapping my arms around his neck, nestling my face in the crook of his neck.

"I can't believe you're still crawling into my lap at your big age." He said with a weak chuckle, the sound getting stuck in his throat.

"How else am I going to comfort you, if not from your lap?" I paused, a thought crossing my mind. "I used to wake in the middle of the night to the sound of you crying. I was only a child and didn't know what to do. But I remembered how you'd cradle me in your lap every time I was upset and would sing to me until I stopped crying. I couldn't put you in my lap, but I figured it works the same. And so, I unfolded your hands from your face and crawled into your lap, and you held me until you stopped crying." My heart lurched in my chest as the memory fleeted at the back of my eyes. That woman had broken him. My strong hero. She had broken him into smithereens, and he was drowning, both in alcohol and tears. My dad hugged me tighter, probably thinking the same thing.

"Plus, I'm your only child so I get to do whatever I want no matter how old I get." I said to lighten his mood, and I think it worked because he chuckled. I went back to unpacking shortly thereafter and only emerged from my room when Porcelain called us for dinner. I took a quick shower to wash away the day's sweat. I put on my Lounge black shorts and my favourite Lounge white jumper and slipped my feet into my Puma slides. I scooped my hair in a ponytail and walked towards the main house.

I was lost. The house had countless hallways and corridors that never seemed to end. I kept opening door after door, hoping and praying that it would lead somewhere. I heard music coming from somewhere down the hall and my curiosity quipped. I followed the sound and hesitantly opened the door slowly and poked my head inside. I almost fainted when I saw him.

Jackass was standing with his back towards me, in what looked like a state-of-the-art home gym. His muscular back was glistening with a thin layer of sweat and he was jumping up and down rhythmically to the music, as he punched and kicked the punching bag that hung from the ceiling. The room itself had mirrors from ceiling to floor on all 4 walls, making it look like a mirror box. And I could see Jackass from every angle humanly possible. I died a little when I got a glimpse of his taut and toned stomach. His abs were defined, and so was that oh-so-delicious happy V trail that disappeared into his sagging sweatpants. The Calvin Klein waistband was visible and suddenly, it wasn't Jackass I was looking at, but some supermodel. Sweat beads rolled down his face, his hair matted against his forehead. The man is pure sex on legs, and I had to pull my lips in my mouth to stop myself from drooling.

I didn't even realize the music had stopped until his piercing eyes were looking right at me. I felt my eyes widen with embarrassment from being caught ogling at my principal, and so I did what any sensible person would do in my position; I spun around on my toes and bolted. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, not even knowing where I was going yet somehow, I ended up in the living room. Porcelain and my dad were joking around while dad watched rugby on TV when I entered, huffing and puffing. They both turned to look at me quizzically.

"And then wena?" My dad asked, amused.

"Ur, y-yeah. I-I wa ... I was just uhm, trying to keep in shape." I answered, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

"You're such a peculiar child Azania. Come here, my child." He said motioning for me to join them. I groaned for what felt like the eighteenth time today.

"Tata! I told you to stop calling me that. I'm literally turning 18 in a few days. Child I am not. I am almost a woman grown." I said, mirroring words from a certain blue-eyed asshole. I flopped down next to him and listened to Gia's sing song laughter fill the room. Jackass walked in a couple of moments later, in a crisp white tee shirt, Adidas shorts and barefoot. His hair was wet, either from sweat or a shower. But something tells me he's not the type of man to sit in his sweat. He smells expensive. Exquisite. I dropped my head, remembering the incident that happened a few minutes ago.

"Says the seventeen-year old that still crawls into my lap." My dad said, snapping me out of my daydream. I wanted the couch to swallow me whole and save me from my dad's successful attempts at embarrassing me! The young couple chuckled, making me flush.

"Aww, that's cute." Jackass said under his breath. I don't think I was supposed to hear it, but I did. And my face grew warmer.

"I see you still walk around barefoot Antonio." My dad said and laughed, Gia joining in while Jackass scowled at him. I sagged in relief, happy that the attention had moved to someone else.

"Don't call me that. I'm a grown ass man now." He hissed back and puffed out his chest. Huh, that's interesting.

"I have been trying to break him out of that stupid habit but to no avail." Gia added, shaking her head.

"Take me as I am baby." Jackass replied and gave her a peck on the lips. I looked away, feeling like I am imposing on a private moment.

"I don't know if you guys heard, but my stomach is ready to start eating itself." I said. Everyone turned to look at me, as if remembering that I was in the same room with them.

"Come on, I raised you better than that." My dad scolded, making me fight the urge to roll my eyes.

"I wasn't trying to be rude. But the only reason I left my room to come chill with you old folks, was to come eat. But instead, I'm just chilling with you old folks." I said with a pout.

"I've been called a lot of things, but old has never been one of them." Gia said with a slight chuckle. I wasn't amused. Does she think she's endearing? "You're a feisty one, aren't you?" she said, cocking her head to study me.

"You have no idea." Jackass commented and I narrowed my eyes at him, remembering how he has been treating me ever since I met him.

"How would you know?" I asked him, pursing my lips, and quirking an eyebrow.

"Hey, watch yourself." He dad scolded with his jaw clenched.

"I see suspension hasn't gotten rid of your attitude." Excuse me?

"Why are you coming at me sideways, I only asked how you'd know how I am. Because news flash, Principal Matthews, you don't even know me." I bit back at him. He was starting to annoy me. Sitting across the room with his left ankle on his right knee, acting like he has me all figured out.

"Coming at you sideways?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. There's a lot of that happening between the four of us.

"That is what I said, yes." I sat back and folded my arms, looking straight at him. The glint in his eyes told me he wanted a challenge. Or maybe my eyes saw what they wanted to see, because I wanted to give him a challenge.

"You're right. I barely know you. But only feisty people with inflated egos are capable of getting themselves suspended two days into a new school year." Oh, gloves are off then.

"Oh, you must be doing a fantastic job Principal Matthews. Two days at a new school and you have already suspended someone. Brava!" I rolled my head and raised my hand in mockery. His face darkened. He can't suspend me from his house, surely? Right?

"Okay, you two. Leave school politics at school okay? Here, you are just Anthony and Azania. Uncle and niece. Nothing more, nothing less. If I hear any of that principal crap again then you will have me to answer to mister. Now leave her alone." Gia said, coming to my defense. Jackass mumbled something incoherent and diverted his attention to the plasma screen. Uncle and niece my ass. Gia kissed him on the chin and winked at me, then asked me to help her out in the kitchen.

"Don't mind my husband. He can be such a dick at times." She said as we set the dining room table. If he's a dick and you married him, what does that make you? I gave her a tight lipped smiled and put forks on the left of each plate. Porcelain announced that dinner was ready a few seconds later, the men appearing a few moments after.

Dinner was going swell, Jackass and I avoided eye contact at all times, even though we were sitting across each other. Gia was an okay cook, it was nothing spectacular, a bit bland but I hadn't had a home cooked meal in a while so I was not complaining.

"So Nia, is it okay if I call you Nia?" Porcelain asked as I was putting a fork full of mashed potatoes in my mouth. I waited until I swallowed before I answered her.

"My name is Azania."

"Yes, I know that, but surely we can't call you Azania all the time. I'm sure you have a nickname?" I had another forkful of potatoes, with a bite of some of the lamb stew and chewed. Choosing my words carefully in my head.

"My father calls me Zany, and I don't like it. But since he gave me the name, he can shorten it however way he wants. My friends have tried calling me Zee, Nia, Azzy, Aza and other ridiculous names. But I have been trying to break them out of that habit. My name is Azania. I love my name and everything it stands for. Because of circumstances, I was never connected to my roots. I have no ancestors to appease. No clan names. I have nothing from the culture I was given. I can't speak the language. My hair is curly but soft. My eyes are hazel. I am light skinned whereas my father is not. My name is about the only black thing about me. And I do not grant anyone permission to take it away from me. My name is Azania." I finished and forked more mash. God snapped when he made potatoes. Truly unmatched.

A silence stretched across the table. Not that it surprised me. I used to hate explaining why I insisted on being called by my full name. People didn't get it. According to them, I am white. My dad was adopted by a white family when he was an infant. Raised by white people all his life. With a white name. Married a white woman, who loved being with a black man. And loved having a black baby even more. My dad refused when she wanted to name me 'Africa'. She said I deserved a black name. A name to remind me of my true heritage. And so, my dad said Azania. And although my mom's reasons were fueled by what I believe to be a disgusting fetish, I love that she did that for me. My name means everything to me.

"Of course, pray forgive me Azania. A beautiful name." Gia said, in her sickly-sweet sing song voice.

"Water under a bridge." I said with a flick of my wrist, in dismissal.

"Your father tells me that you're a netball star." She said, catching me mid-chew. I swallowed too quickly and had to cough the food out of my pipe. My dad rubbed my back as I reached for my glass of water, catching the intense stare coming from across the table, his brows furrowed.

"You could say that." I answered once I regained my composure.

"Nonsense! She's the best the school has ever seen. She might even go pro!" My dad said proudly, making my heart swell with appreciation.

"Aw tata, stop." I mumbled quietly.

"You don't need to be modest. Even the greatest in the world admit to their greatness. It won't make you any less great." He added, lightly bumping my shoulder with his.

"How old are you?" Porcelain questioned. What is this? An interview?

"Turning eighteen soon."

"Ooh, that's exciting. Remember my eighteenth birthday babe?" She turned to Jackass, who was tossing the peas around on his plate. I could relate, I didn't like those either.

"Who could forget? That was an epic night." He said dreamily, and again I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"You two were wild kids back in the day." My dad added, shaking his head while the couple laughed.

"Wild doesn't even begin to describe it! Do you have a boyfriend Nia? I mean, Azania. Sorry." Porcelain had her lip between her teeth, looking nervous. At least she corrected herself.

"Uhm yeah, we've been together for three years now." I answered with a smile on my face, thinking about Kevin always put a smile on my face. I caught Jackass' eye for a brief second and as usual, he was scowling.

"Aww, that's so cute. Does George approve?" She directed the question to my dad, who laughed and nodded.

"George approves. He's a good lad. Not that it would make a difference if I didn't. She would just go ahead and date him with or without my consent." Gia laughed. Her laugh is annoying.

"My dad didn't approve of Anty when we started dating. Called him all sorts of profanities." I snorted at that. Did she really just call him 'Anty'? Okay little ant man.

"But we dated anyway." Jackass replied with an annoyed tone. What crawled up his ass?

"I would love to stay here and chat with you old folks, but I haven't spoken to my boyfriend, and my best friend in three days. Tata, can I have my phone back?" I interrupted, wanting to escape the trip down memory lane. My dad shook his head at my bluntness and said no.

"Why the hell not?!" I asked, flabbergasted.

"What you are not going to do, is talk to me like that." My dad said, his irritation showing.

"I'm sorry. But may I please have my phone back?" I asked again, and he said no.

"Different house, same rules. You're still grounded." He said with finality.

"This is bullshit." I said and stood up in a haste, the chair falling backwards. My dad's face turned purple, and that's when I knew I went too far.

"I am not going to tell you again young lady, watch your language!" He shouted and everyone around the table flinched, including me.

"I learned my lesson dad. I'll never be late again or enter the principal's office without permission or slip detention. It has been three days. Don't you think I've suffered enough?" I tried to reason with him, but his mind was made up. And I knew there was no convincing him.

"No, I don't think it's enough! You know better than to behave this way. Clearly, I have loosened my reigns too much because it's one thing after the next with you and I am getting tired of it. If you want to be treated like a responsible adult, you better start acting like one!" He shouted again, finally letting go of his restraint and making me feel like I was six years old again. Looking up, I found Gia and Jackass looking at me, their faces saying something different. Gia felt sorry for me, Jackass was pleased.

Tears pricked my eyes. I hate being scolded in front of people. Especially in front of this asshole and his annoying wife.

"Forget I asked." I said and left; my vision blurry with tears. I locked myself in my room and sulked, feeling like a petulant child. That was embarrassing. How was I to hold onto my dignity and show this man that I am not the feisty child he thinks I am, if I am still being scolded like one?

A few hours passed since the dinner, I was completely done unpacking, loving my room. I imagine having a lot of fun and peace in here; painting, reading, writing and yoga. By then, everything was quiet, dad had gone straight to bed after dinner. I could hear his light snores from my room. My head was pounding so I went into the ensuite and washed my face, trying to make my eyes less blotchy. I walked out of my room and into the small cottage kitchen and searched for something to eat. The kitchen was well stocked but nothing in there tickled my fancy. So, I padded back to my room to retrieve my slides. After putting them on, I silently made my way to the main house. I knew my way to the kitchen now and the hallways were dimly lit, so I didn't have any trouble finding it. It was quiet, so I assumed that the couple was asleep. I opened various cupboards looking for something until I came across heaven in a jar. Nutella.

A small happy dance later, I had the jar and 3 slices of warm white bread in front of me, waiting to be devoured. I got a mug out of the cupboard and filled it with milk and a teaspoon of honey. I put it in the microwave and warmed it on medium for 30 seconds, bouncing on the balls of my feet from the sudden chill that raised goosebumps on my skin. When my honey milk was done, I perched myself on one of the barstools and laid out my meal before me. I spread some Nutella on a slice of bread and took a bite, chasing it down with the milk.

"Is that my nutella?" I didn't hear him come in, so I got such a fright, jumping and falling off the chair. I hit my head hard on the floor when I landed, the ringing almost immediate. Jackass exclaimed somewhere in the background. I tried to roll onto my side and hissed at the pain that shot up my spine coming from my ass. Everything hurts. I whimpered in pain, writhing around on the cold floor.

"Shit, are you okay?" He asked as he rushed to my side. I couldn't control the tears that rolled on the sides of my face, unable to conceal the amount of pain I was in.

"Azania? Tell me what's wrong. Where does it hurt? Did you hurt your head?" He asked, voice filled with worry. He said my name.

"It hurts." I cried, trying to curl into a ball.

"Where does it hurt?" He asked in urgency.

"My head. My ... ass." I answered midcry and he froze, not quite sure if he heard me correctly.

"I'm sorry, did you just say you hurt your ass?" He asked in absolute disbelief.

"Yes ... that is ... exactly ... what ... I said." It hurt to speak.

"It looks like your head is bleeding. Wait, don't move." He put his hands on my shoulders and gently moved me, so I was laying on the floor facing the ceiling. His fingers were cold as they massaged along the sides of my neck and behind my ears. He asked me to move my head side to side. It hurt to move but I did it.

"Okay, I'm no expert but I don't think you broke anything. I'm going to need you to get up, as slow as you can, so we can locate where the bleeding is coming from. Can you do that?" his voice was gentle, nothing like the Principal Jackass that I know. He helped me sit up. I blinked hard to get rid of the wave of dizziness that washed over me. Jackass put his fingers in my hair, searching for the wet spot. I love having fingers in my hair. I closed my eyes and savoured the feeling, forgetting the pain for a few seconds.

"Okay, you're bleeding a lot more than I would have liked. Stay here." And he was gone. When he came back, he had a 1st aid kit in one hand, and an ice pack in another. I sat there quietly as he tried to clean the wound over my hair, my head buzzing. After a few moments, he wrapped a bandage over my head.

"This is why you don't go sneaking around in the middle of the night and helping yourself to my secret stash." He said softly, a little amused.

"My bad." I said through my teeth, trying to bite the pain away. I shifted from one butt cheek to the other, hissing at the pain.

"Keep the ice pack on the wound. I'm going to go grab a shirt and we'll wake your dad. You need to go to the hospital." He said. And it was only then did I realize that he was topless. I felt lightheaded.

"Uhm, no. Please don't wake him. He has been suffering with insomnia, let him sleep. He'll worry." I said, pressing the ice pack to my wound like instructed.

"Okay then, be right back." And he was off.

I waited for him on the floor, laying on my side. I don't know when I stopped crying, but my head felt like I have been crying for hours. This sucks ass.

"Think you can manage standing up?" he was back, wearing a black Nike hoodie with his car keys in his hand.

"I want to say yes, but to be honest Principal Matthews, I don't think I can." I admitted shamefully, tears pricking my eyes again.

"I got you." He said softly, and in one smooth sweep, lifted me off the ground. It hurt, but not as much as it did sitting on my ass.

"Let's go get your ass fixed!"