Mano lay there, bloody, bruised, barely conscious on the schoolyard pavement.
“And don’t let me hear you talking to the principal,” the boy warned. “I’ll bring the others. You have no idea what they’ll do to you.” They laughed. “Talk back again and find out.”
The memory shattered when another kick slammed into Mano’s side.
They kept kicking him until Kash lifted a hand. He stepped over and straddled him, Mano barely able to lift his head. “Now let me hear it.” A punch. “Gonna act tough again?” Another punch. “Gonna get involved if you see us messing with that loser again?”
Mano didn’t move. His head hung to the side, eyes half-closed.
“Hey. I’m talking to you.” Kash grabbed his jaw and forced it up. Mano’s eyes fluttered. “You understand who’s in charge now?”
Mano took a shallow breath and nodded the tiniest bit.
“That’s what I thought. You gonna behave now, or I’ll bring more?”
Mano’s eyes closed. Kash jerked his jaw again. “Stay with me. You gonna stop acting tough now?”
Mano nodded weakly.
“Good. See? Not that hard.” Kash stood. The six boys stared down at Mano lying broken on the cold ground. “Let’s go.” They walked away.
Mano didn’t move. His ribs throbbed, his back burned, his face ached with every breath.
He fumbled for his phone. The screen was cracked, but he unlocked it and opened his contacts. There was no one to call. No family. No friends. No girl who mattered. He closed the list and opened his DMs. With trembling fingers, he tapped a name.
“Moro mu…” Anna gasped as Ody kissed along her neck. Their lips met.
He slipped her shirt off when a sound came from his phone. He glanced over.
“Leave it,” she murmured, but he blindly reached for it.
Mano Jones: Call me.Next to the message was a ten digit number.
“Hold on,” he said, moving away.
“Ody, seriously? No phones. We agreed.” She straightened on the bed.
“Wait. Something’s wrong.” He dialed the number Mano had sent.
Mano’s phone rang in his hand. He stared at the cracked screen, saw an unfamiliar number, and answered with a wince as he brought it to his ear. “Yeah…”
“Mano? What’s going on? Why did you tell me to call you?”
“Where are you?”
“At Anna’s place.”
“If I’m interrupting—”
“No, you’re not. Is something wrong?” he asked.
Mano suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, crying out.
“Mano?” Ody’s voice sharpened. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“They hit me.”
“What?” He shot up from the bed, his heart dropping. “Who hit you? Mano, what happened?”
