Stella: PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE
His phone rang again. He snatched it up and put it to his ear.
Stella’s voice exploded through the speaker. “You’re not okay, Mano! One day we’re making plans and the next you’re cutting me off!”
“Your ex beat the shit out of me! What do you want from me? Leave me alone!” he shot back, pushing himself up from the bed.
“Don’t blameme! You had beef with him before this. Even if he wasn’t my ex, he still would’ve hit you!”
Mano ran a hand through his hair, anger rising. “Oh yeah? What did he say?”
“That you messed him up for some kid!”
“A kid he was bullying!”
Stella scoffed. “So what? What does that have to do with me?”
Mano’s grip tightened around the phone. “I don’t wanna see you again. The only reason I put up with you was because you were blackmailing me.”
“You’re gonna regret this,” she hissed.
Mano leaned back with a dry laugh. “Oh, you’re gonna threaten me with the pictures? Post them. I looked damn good in them. Might even get new admirers.”
“You sure about that? Think carefully. You’re gonna regret it.”
“Go fuck yourself.” He tossed the phone across the mattress.
He stood there, chest heaving, anger tearing through him. His pulse wouldn’t settle. Between Kash, Stella, the nightmare, the picture… it felt like the world wouldn’t let him breathe.
Tomorrow was Thursday. He’d have to go back to campus, to exams, to Kash… to Ody. All of it waiting for him, like another punch he wasn’t ready to take. And whether he liked it or not, morning would come.
Ody headed to campus for his Biopharmaceutics exam, trying to focus, but the tension of the last few days clung to him like a shadow.
He was halfway to the cafeteria when he spotted Kash standing alone, leaning against a wall.
Ody’s expression tightened. The image of Kash punching Mano flashed through his mind, sharp and unforgiving. He expected a threat, a glare, anything. But Kash didn’t even sneer at him. If anything, his gaze looked different.
Ody kept walking, unease settling in. He was alone, and Kash still didn’t move.
He met Steve and Chris, grabbed a coffee, and the three headed toward the exam building. Inside the classroom, Ody felt Kash’s eyes on him as the papers were handed out.
Even after the exam, Steve and Chris stuck to him like glue, one on each side.
When they reached the main building, Mano appeared in the hallway, heading their way. The moment he saw Ody, his eyes dropped to the floor. Heat crept up his neck as the memory of waking up wrapped around him hit all over again.
“Morning,” Ody said.
“Morning,” Mano muttered, already stepping past him.
Steve and Chris exchanged a look.
“What exam have you got?” Ody asked before he could slip away.
“Choral conducting.”
“Do you have another one after that?”
“Yeah.”
