Their eyes met.
“He’s not alone, Ody. He’s got people. You’ve seen that.” He glanced away. “They’ll come back worse.”
Ody exhaled, closing his eyes. “And if they jump you again at uni on Wednesday?” he asked. “At least let’s tell our professors.”
“Sometimes you talk like a ten-year-old,” Mano snapped, and Ody frowned. “You think these guys will stop because a professor scolds them? They brought bats to a schoolyard like they’re in some mafia movie.”
“Something has to be done. I can’t stand seeing you get hurt again.” The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Mano went still, something shifting in his expression.
Ody lowered his head. “I’ll go with you. I’ll ask Steve and Chris too. If there’s four of us, they won’t dare mess with you.”
“How about I hire a couple of bodyguards too?” Mano said dryly.
“No need. You’ve got us.”
“Ody, be serious. I’m not some weak kid.”
“I know you’re not weak,” Ody said. “You weren’t weak this morning either. But he still hit you.”
Mano’s jaw tightened. “He caught me off guard. He landed the first punch and then kept hitting the same spot. If he hadn’t ambushed me, I’d have destroyed him.”
“I just want this to stop.” Ody sighed. “Can it stop?”
Mano looked away. “Go ask him. I’m not the one keeping this going.”
“So after this, you’re not doing anything?”
Mano’s gaze flicked back to him. “No. You said it yourself. If I do something, he’ll retaliate.”
Ody held his gaze. “Good. So it ends here.”
Mano said nothing. The silence between them thickened. He looked away first, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Okay… let’s eat,” Ody finally murmured, more to break the tension than out of hunger.
They moved to the kitchen in a quiet haze. Ody cooked almost mechanically, glancing at Mano every now and then, checking for signs that he was calming down, that he wasn’t hurt more than he let on.
Mano sat at the table, elbows on the surface, staring at nothing. The weight of Kash’s threat hung between them like smoke.
They ate with almost no conversation. Forks scraped against plates, a few nods passing between them. Mano muttered that the food was good. Ody told him to eat a little more.
After they finished, Ody gathered the plates. The silence still felt too loud. He grabbed his laptop and returned to the living room, stopping in front of Mano. “Wanna watch a movie?” he asked.
“What kind?”
“Something without guns,” Ody said while browsing online. After a moment, he added, “Can I ask you something?”
Mano stiffened. He already knew he wouldn’t like it.
“Your parents…”
“Stop.” Mano cut him off, eyes closing as a weight crushed his chest. Everything he had spent years trying to bury surged up. His breath hitched, and before he could push the thought away, the memories slammed into him.
“Move! What the hell are you staring at?”
A voice he had never forgotten. Cold, sharp.
