His eyes swept over the young men as he retreated another step.
“What’s the matter? Leaving already?” Kash mocked. A couple of his friends chuckled behind him.
“All this over Stella?”
He tilted his head, studying Mano like he was something amusing. “Let me explain why this is happening.” He lifted a finger, counting. “First, you took my girl.” Another finger.“Second, you spilled coffee on my shirt and beat me until I was bleeding. So tell me,” he said, stopping right in front of him, “if you were me, wouldn’t you want to beat the shit out of you?”
Behind Kash, the group began closing in.
Shit.
“Well? I’m waiting for an answer.”
“You started it. You and your friends.” Mano snapped.
Kash laughed, and the others joined him. “We were just messing with Ody. That’s all.”
“And the coffee you threw at him?” Mano asked.
Kash’s laughter faded. “If you’d stayed out of it, none of this would’ve happened. Ody takes it like a good boy. We weren’t gonna hit him untilyoushowed up.”
Mano kept backing away, eyes narrowed.
“I wanna ask you something, and I want the truth,” Kash said, crossing his arms. “Did you freak out so much because you’d been through this yourself?”
Mano stopped walking. For a brief moment, his face went completely still.
Kash noticed. A slow grin spread across his lips. “Yeah?” he said, tilting his head. “Did I hit a nerve?”
Mano’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.
Kash stepped closer, studying him now with open curiosity. “Looks like our tough guy used to get bullied.” He let out a short laugh. “Tell me something. Why were you bullied?” He paused, watching Mano carefully. “Because you’re an orphan?”
The moment the word left his mouth, something snapped in Mano. His face twisted with rage. He glared at him, shaking with fury, then charged. His fist smashed into Kash’s face with a raw shout.
The others grabbed him and shoved him back. Mano managed to hit the first two, but hands clawed at his arms andlocked him in place. He grunted, fighting to break free, as Kash slammed a punch into his jaw, snapping his head sideways.
“From now on, I want you to behave even better than Ody. If you don’t, we’ll come find you again.” A punch drove into his face. “And make sure you remember it.” Another punch. “It’s your choice if this continues. And from what I know, you’re all alone. I can bring more people to fuck you up.” He punched him in the stomach, forcing a groan out of Mano.
“And if you try to play hero again, I’ll beat Ody worse than I’m beating you.” Kash spoke slowly while Mano stared at him with pure hatred.
Two guys held him. The rest stood back while the last one kept hitting him. Mano twisted in their hold, trying to break free, but their grips only tightened.
“And about Stella. I know how you treat her. If you don’t start acting like a gentleman, we’ll do this again.”
“You’re not telling me to stop seeing her?” Mano forced the words out through the pain.
“Even if I did, would you listen? As long as she wants you, I can’t stop it. But until I win her back, you’re gonna treat her right. Got it?” Kash threw a hard punch near Mano’s lips, then let him drop.
Two of the guys kicked him in the ribs. The impact knocked the air out of his lungs.
For a second, the blows felt painfully familiar.
“Look at the little shit who dared talk back,” one of the high school boys yelled as the others closed in around him. “Not so talkative now, huh?”
Fifteen-year-old Mano curled up on the ground, trying to shield himself, but it did nothing.
“You like that?” one of them spat.
